What is a Paralegal?

A paralegal is a person who assists the attorneys in the delivery of legal services. A paralegal is also known as legal assistant. A paralegal should be qualified through education and training to perform substantive legal work. Substantive work of paralegal includes recognition, evaluation, organization, analysis, and communication of legal facts. Paralegal cannot represent a client. Attorneys are responsible for the legal work delegated to paralegals. The attorney is held responsible for ethical violations committed by a paralegal. Paralegals are members of national and local associations and they should follow the ethical codes of those associations.

Paralegals are of great assistance to attorneys in that they help the attorneys to prepare complex cases. They are prohibited from practicing law without license. Paralegals are not allowed to give legal advice. All work performed by the paralegals must be under the supervision of an attorney. Paralegals can conduct interviews and maintain general contact with the client. They can locate and interview witnesses and draft legal documents and pleadings. Paralegals can conduct legal research and attend court or administrative hearings and trials with the attorney.

Paralegals generally work with attorneys, judges, prosecutors and public defenders. They also work with corporations, banks, consumer organizations, finance companies, accounting firms, real estate agencies, advertising agencies, engineering firms, government agencies and insurance companies. Paralegal may work as freelancers in private practice. Paralegals can also specialize in special areas such as health care, family law, civil litigation, environmental protection, personal injury and criminal law.

Most of the paralegals would have completed a bachelor?s degree in paralegal studies. A certified paralegal is one who has completed the voluntary certification program of a professional association. The American Association for Paralegal Education, National Association of Paralegals and National Federation of Paralegal Associations conduct different certification programs for paralegals. Paralegal is not a licensed profession in United States.

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What Does a Paralegal Do?

Paralegals are assistants specially trained to handle the day-to-day needs of the lawyers they work for. Whether you are the sole assistant to a top lawyer or part of a team of paralegals in a legal department, your job will include the following tasks:

Draft and file documents, Interview clients, Research cases and precedents, Non-legal research

As a paralegals, you will be able to find work anywhere including private law forms, the district attorney's office, government agencies, major corporations, banks, hospitals, or insurance companies.

What training do I need to become a paralegal? Community colleges, online institutions, and vocational schools all offer certificates, associate's degrees and bachelor's degrees. No matter which program you choose, you will be trained specifically for the position of paralegal.

Your training as a paralegal will give you the tools to make a lawyers job go more smoothly without the ultimate responsibility of the cases. The list of tasks delegated to paralegals grows daily but their scope of practice is very specifically defined especially regarding presenting cases in court, offering legal advice, and setting legal fees.

What will I earn as a paralegal? Education and experience greatly impact your earning potential as a paralegal. Where you live and who employs you also affects your rate of income.

Large firms and companies in large cities generally pay more than their smaller, more rural counterparts. Many paralegals, however, are often given bonuses in addition to a salary that could land anywhere between $28,000 and $50,000+. Legal secretaries make a bit more with salaries that range from $32,000 to $53,000+. Senior paralegals command salaries of $35,000 to $60,000+.

Do I need to be licensed or certified to be a paralegal? No. There are some national exams for paralegals but none are required. It is recommended that you enroll in an American Bar Association approved program.

What is the future of the field? The position of paralegal is expected to grow faster than most professions in the next decade, by more than 30 percent.

Melissa Steele is a featured writer for EducationGuys.com. She has been writing about college degrees & trade schools since 2004. To learn about legal degrees and law schools online, please visit us today.

The Lawyer's Secret Weapon - Paralegals

Efficient management of caseloads and staff is required for lawyers to fully utilize the potential of their practice. Paralegals can play a significant role to ensure this goal. The Department of Labor is projecting that paralegals will be among the fastest-growing professions in the economy by the year 2008.

Below are some of the benefits that attorneys and clients can experience from the employ of a good paralegal:

Benefits to Attorneys

Most legal firms are not streamlined in order to make optimum use of staff. Many lawyers are doing the same work that paralegals do. By allotting work to a paralegal, your own time can be utilized by handling those tasks that require your expertise. Instead of handling every last detail of each case (can you say micro-manage?), set up time each week/day to meet with your paralegal, so that they can bring you up to speed on each case they?re handling for you. The payoff? Increased income from the ability to handle more cases, and more time off, as your presence at the office isn?t required to get everything done.

Benefits to Your Clients

According to a study conducted by American Bar Association, 70% of people choose not to seek help from lawyers for their legal needs. Why? The high cost of legal services and the headaches of dealing with lawyers.

Why not use this information to your advantage by offering every client the services of your excellent paralegal staff?

Clients who retain you are seeking to rely on you and your staff. Clients are aware that your availability to them is costly. So delegate. When dealing with a paralegal, clients see up close how the appropriate time and attention has been given to their case. This helps clients feel confident about your firm?s legal services, and also helps to form a strong relationship between the client and your firm. Moreover, the paralegal?s close interaction with the client can help you understand all aspects of the case better. Without such personal attention, clients may feel overlooked and apprehensive about seeking your help with additional matters.

Benefits to the Paralegal

Paralegals, as evidenced by their choice of profession, enjoy challenging jobs. With increased interaction with you, a paralegal will be able to perform varied tasks, and decrease your workload substantially. According to a recent study by National Association of Legal Assistants, the tasks of assisting clients, drafting correspondence and pleadings, research, case management and document analysis are the aspects of the legal profession preferred by paralegals. Again, delegation makes sense, so that your expertise can be utilized for revenue production.

By taking advantage of the suggested benefits listed above, you can not only streamline your office, but you will also find that you have the time (and energy) required to look for new avenues of growth.

Jack McDonough is a Colorado CPA, speaker, coach, author, and consultant to professionals in the legal and accounting industries who desire to make more money while working less hours. Jack is President of Wealthy Professionals LLC. WealthyProfessionals.com

The Principal P's of a Paralegal Career

Being a paralegal, or legal assistant, is a fulfilling and challenging career. It can be rewarding. It can also be quite stressful. The four P?s will pave the way for a successful paralegal career. These are:

1. Punctuality. Ever notice how your stress level rises when you?re late for work or a meeting? You sit in traffic and the clock is ticking out a drumbeat in your head. By the time you get to work, you?re flustered and certainly not in the best mind frame to calmly begin your work tasks. Instead of this nerve-racking scenario, the practical, punctual paralegal plans on leaving for work 15 minutes earlier. This allows extra time for unforeseen circumstances to intrude but not alter one?s sense of serenity. I have a rule of thumb ? anticipate five irritations while driving to work and smile through them. If there?s more than five, well, maybe it?s time to pull off the road and let the maniacs go on ahead.

2. Patience. Be gentle with yourself. If you feel tenseness building, take deep, cleansing breaths, and several more as needed. Oxygen fills your lungs, your pulse lowers, and a feeling of peacefulness returns. Paralegals practice patience toward co-workers, clients, phone callers, anyone who may not quite have being gentle with themselves mastered yet.

3. Perseverance. A missing witness? Keep trying to locate him, and stop when you do. A file has disappeared? Search until it?s found and ask others for assistance. Feeling brain-dead while summarizing a very dry deposition transcript? Get up and stretch, look out a window for a few minutes while you feel yourself relaxing. Then don your determination again, and get back to the grind. Legal assistants who excel in their jobs are dedicated to completing tasks.

4. Pride. If you know you?re doing your best, you will feel proud of your accomplishments. Ensure your work product reflects positively on you and your boss. Every document going out of your office gauges quality; for professionals this is extremely important. Sloppy work does not go unnoticed. Check and then doublecheck your documents. Are they as clean and attractively presented as possible? If so, sit back and smile.

The above principal P?s for paralegals are, of course, only part of what highlight good skills. But they are very important. They also contribute to attaining satisfaction and pleasure in one?s position. Being good at your job AND enjoying it, what a great combination!

Laura McDonald is a paralegal. She has many years of experience in the areas of personal injury (accident related and medical malpractice), workers? compensation, civil litigation, family, environmental, and corporate law, estate planning, and bankruptcy. She is employed by Michael L. Hawkins & Associates, P.L.L.C. in Frankfort, Kentucky. Her website is: http://www.paralegalsecretary.bravehost.com. Laura is available to encourage anyone interested in entering the paralegal field or seeking to improve related skills

Paralegal Certification - An Insider's Perspective

Believe it or not, a paralegal (or legal assistant) is not a licensed profession in the United States. While some paralegals originally received on the job training when the profession came into existence in the 1960s and 1970s, more people entering the field today do so with certification. Certification is voluntary, not a requirement to be a paralegal. However, a paralegal with certification and special training is generally better prepared for promotion and will stand out in a field of candidates who might likely meet most qualifications but who are not certified.

To get certified as a paralegal or legal assistant (the terms are used interchangeably), one must pass a test from one of several paralegal organizations. Certification for paralegals is a little like that of attorneys. Just because an attorney passes law school doesn't make him or her a lawyer. They must first pass the bar exam. The same situation is true for paralegals. Completion of a certification program does not make one a certified paralegal. It's passing the exit exam that issues that certification.

In addition to entering the field as a certified paralegal, most of today's legal assistant professionals choose to continue their education as an on going process. Some want to specifically develop certain areas of their work -- like receiving additional training in commercial law, criminal law, estate planning, etc.

When you are searching for a certificate program to either begin or continue education in the paralegal field, you will have to weed out those programs that are not right for you. There are quite a few programs out there. Some say they are approved by or compliant with the American Bar Association. The best way to check is to contact the bar association in your state. Tell the bar association representative that you are seeking information about either entering the field or continuing professional development certification and ask for program referrals. While most states do not require certification for people to be a paralegal, the state's bar association will be able to hook you up with some of the organizations and programs they do recognize as reputable.

If you are looking into various online certification courses or correspondence courses, check with your state's attorney general's office and better business bureau to see if any complaints have been filed about the institution offering the courses. The state's bar association would be another good source of information as well.

While selecting your choice of study for paralegal certification may take some legwork initially, it will pay off for you in the future. Besides, the research you do as you search for certification information will better prepare you for the types of research you may end up performing as a legal assistant. Additionally, it may save you a lot of expense and heart ache in the future. Nothing would be worse than "completing" a paralegal training program only to find out that its certification is not recognized widely and after the expense and time, you basically have nothing to show.

How An Online Paralegal Class Works

The information covered in the online paralegal programs are much the same as their traditional campus counterparts. In this article I will discuss how paralegal online courses work in detail.

Once enrolled in the class, the student is able to enter the online classroom anytime they want. Here you complete assignments, quizzes, and puzzles related to paralegal work. These assignments will have due dates, and it is the responsibility of the student to meet the deadlines.

The progress of students will be measured using student assessment and other charts, which allow students to see their progression throughout the course. Classes may often be held during the spring and fall seasons, and intensive courses are usually offered during the summer.

Each course may take up to eighteen weeks to complete, and upon completion the student will be awarded with three credits towards their degree. The summer courses are much shorter, only lasting about 6 weeks instead of 18.

When taking online courses, students pay per class instead of all at once in a large lump sum. This is excellent for people who work full time but don't have a lot of money. They can save up money from their job, and pay for their classes individually.

The cost of online paralegal classes is very attractive to many students. Some online colleges charge as littles as $78 per class, much lower than what you would pay attending a traditional institution.

Some paralegal online classes use distance education software. This is basically open source software that numerous colleges have chosen to use, and it lowers the costs in taking the classes. This software creates an interface, which is easy for students to navigate. They also have discussion forums and email, which is easy for students to use.

The students can get feedback from the instructor for each project they complete, and their grades can electronically be sent to them. Group areas of the course can be built where a number of students get together and work on various projects.

A lot of multimedia is used in online paralegal courses. Students may be able to log in and watch uploaded videos of their instructors giving lectures and explaining assignments. Students often have the option of taking fully online courses or taking some classes online while physically attending the college to take other courses.

Paralegal students may also purchase ebooks for their classes and download them onto their computers. Because the books are electronic, their costs are much lower. A student can expect to spend between 2 or 300 dollars for books required for 12 classes. This is very cheap compared to traditional hardback college books, which individually may cost over 100 dollars.

Online classes have excellent advantages over their traditional campus counterparts, and as the Internet continues to advance, online paralegal courses will become much more interactive.

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Paralegal and Paralegal Certificate

Paralegal or legal assistant is a distinguishable person who assists attorneys in the delivery of legal services. Through formal education, training and experience, legal assistant has knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney.

In the United States, there are more than 120,000 paralegals that have received paralegal certificates that do tasks and become vital members of the legal community. Paralegal are either hired by lawyers, law firms, corporations, governmental agency, or other groups of the same manner.

Paralegals, as a legal assistant have limited task. They could mot represent a client in court not give legal advice. They cannot set fee or accept a case. In short paralegals cannot assume the duties that are set for legal officers only.

However, paralegals can perform tasks under the supervision of the attorney. These can be, but not limited to, conducting client interview without bridging the gap between paralegal and attorney. Paralegals can also conduct survey, investigations, and research whether statistical or documentary. Paralegals can also summarize depositions, interrogatories and testimony. They can also attend hearings and trial with the attorney. And with legal assistance, paralegals can author and sign correspondence but does not include legal opinions.

But becoming must have a formal education about the profession. The Associate Degree Programs, Bachelor Degree Programs, and Masters Degree Program are some of this. There is also what we can the Certificate Program that is offered to various educational institutions that can be between 16-60 semester units.

Some educational institutions accept student and afterward award paralegal certificates to those who finished at least three semesters in college or 36 units credits. There are also eight courses in legal studies to finish before a paralegal certificate can be given. These are Business Law, Family Law, Introduction to Civil Procedures, Introduction to Criminal Law, Bankruptcy, Real Estate Law, Legal Research and Writing, and Legal Ethics.

Upon completion of the course, but before the awarding of paralegal certificate, the individual is not yet to be called paralegal, because the paralegal certificate can be obtained by standards set by the American Bar Association. The standard requires completion of the Certified Legal Assistant certifying (CLA) examination of the National Association of Legal Assistants. The school that award paralegal certificate should have American Bar Association approved program of study for legal assistants. The candidate should first graduate from a course of study for legal assistants which is institutionally accredited but not ABA approved, and which requires not less than the equivalent of 60 semester hours of classroom study.

In addition, a paralegal certificate can be obtained he the candidate graduated from a course of study for legal assistants, other than those set forth in (2) and (3) above, plus not less than six months of in-house training as a legal assistant. He or she should also have an attained baccalaureate degree in any field with an "in-house training as a legal assistant" not lower than six months. Achieving all these, paralegal certificate is ready to be given.

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