Requirements for IRP status:

1. Current employment as a paralegal
   Paralegals are those persons, regardless of job title or classification, who are employed by a lawyer, law office, government agency or other entity in Indiana and working under the direction of an attorney in a capacity that involves the performance of substantive legal work that usually requires knowledge of legal concepts, and who perform those duties at least 70 percent of the time. Substantive legal work is defined as work for which an attorney is ultimately responsible, and absent such paralegal, the attorney would perform the task.
   
   
2. One of the following:
   
   • Bachelor’s Degree and a Paralegal Certificate from an institutionally accredited paralegal program
   • Bachelor’s Degree from an institutionally accredited program plus at least 2 years of paralegal experience
   • Associate’s Degree in paralegal studies from an institutionally accredited paralegal program plus at least 2 years of paralegal experience
   • Certification in paralegal studies from an institutionally accredited paralegal program plus at least 2 years of paralegal experience
   • Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) (as offered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations) and is in good standing
   • Paralegal CORE Competency Exam (PCCE) (as offered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations) and is in good standing
   • Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal (CLA/CP) certification (as offered by the National Association of Legal Assistants) and is in good standing
     
   
   
3. Application and supplemental documents:
   
   • Resume outlining experience and job duties as defined above
   • Proof of education, if applicable, as defined above
   • Two letters of recommendation (at least one letter must be from a current supervisor)
   • Certificates of completion from any continuing legal education courses completed since July 1, if applicable
     
   
   
4. Associated fees:
   
   • $125 initial application fee
   • $50 annual renewal fee

Paralegals are not required to be members of the ISBA to apply for IRP designation. Please note that applying to become an IRP does not automatically also include ISBA membership. Information about paralegal membership and its benefits can be found here. 

To maintain IRP status, a minimum of 6.0 hours of CLE, of which 1.0 hour must be an Ethics Component, must be completed by June 30 each year. An annual renewal fee of $50 is also required.

Please contact the CLE Department at 800.266.2581 or cle@inbar.org with questions.

Interested in applying?

To better align with the ISBA membership year and dues cycle, IRP applications will be accepted during an open enrollment period of July 1 – September 30. If you are interested in applying and would like to be notified when applications are available, please complete the form below.