Contract Paralegal Job Description

Paralegals: Basic duties and profession

The level of education is what distinguishes a paralegal from an attorney. A lawyer needs a bachelor's degree and 3 years of post graduate education. A paralegal only needs six months of post-secondary education to be certificated.

An attorney is free from interference. Attorneys and their offices serve the courts at their pleasure. Attorneys only answer to the Bar Association.

Paralegals are required to work under the supervision of an attorney. Attorneys use paralegals in many ways. NALA says that proper utilization of the services of legal assistants contributes to the delivery of cost-effective and high quality legal assistance.

paralegals in a law office can help reduce the hours attorneys have to work on a case. The paralegal needs to make the client aware that they have a choice of meeting with their attorney or their assistant, and that they must be aware of this. A paralegal should always be careful to only give legal advice to her managing attorney.

That doesn't mean a client can't be advised on what to do. Recent legislative changes and case law will be current for a paralegal. If you didn't see the recent case of Hooper v. Hooper from the Tennessee Supreme Court, you can make a difference of hundreds of dollars per month in lost child support.

Paralegals: A New Form of Legal Assistant

paralegals can help with a number of things, including reviewing client files, conducting legal research, preparing documents for legal transactions, interviewing clients and witnesses, and assisting at closings and trials. Paralegals should not practice law. Paralegals help deliver legal services.

They can provide legal advice, but not without the supervision of a registered member of the legal community. paralegals may find more specialization by joining a side A paralegal may be interested in working with the government and may specialize in the duties required for working in a state or county prosecutor's office.

Corporate lawyers and law firms help businesses with their rights and obligations. Corporate law can encompass a wide range of legal issues. A paralegal is an individual who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency, or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.

Paralegal Resume: A Sample

A paralegal is a professional who has the knowledge and expertise to carry out procedures in legal issues under the supervision of an attorney. The paralegal job description states that the paralegal should perform substantive and procedural routine duties of legal work with the knowledge of legal concepts to make the work of attorneys easier and simpler. As experts in finding factual information, paralegals also perform the task of interviewing witnesses with a unique intelligence to extract valuable information from them and also evaluate the credibility of the information by carrying out further investigation.

In order to simplify the job of attorneys and other legal practitioners, paralegals will present the relevant details to them in the many documents gathered from research for a case. The job history and other sections are included in the paralegal resume. The sample job description shows the information that can be used in the employment history section of the resume to highlight the functions and roles paralegals play in a law firm.

The Benefits of Paralegal Jobs

Paralegals are trained to help attorneys deliver legal services. They may work for law firms, corporations, the government, or other practice environments, but always under the supervision of a lawyer. Legal advice can't be given by paralegals.

They can't represent clients in court, or sign documents that will be filed with the court. What a paralegal can do is dependent on their employers. Some attorneys find it easier to give up work.

A paralegal's main purpose is to free up attorneys' time so they can do things like advise clients and appear in court. Paralegals who work for firms in metropolitan areas earn more than those who work in smaller cities and rural areas. Entry-level paralegals in rural areas can earn up to $25,000 a year, while experienced paralegals in large cities can make six figures annually.

Lawyers are more likely to delegate tasks to paralegals because of the increased workload. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects paralegal positions to increase by 15 percent from 2016 to 2026, which is much faster than average. Being a paralegal is a people profession, because they work in tandem with attorneys and support staff.

Paralegals in Intellectual Property Law

The paralegal job description is hard to pigeonhole, as it varies from one firm to another. The paralegal position is one of the most rapidly evolving legal jobs, as the role has expanded in recent years. A paralegal must feel comfortable working in a small law firm and take on leadership.

Thorough trial prep experience is a must, with at least three years of litigation experience a must. There are various trial prep duties. Intellectual property paralegals help attorneys and trial teams with all aspects of intellectual property case management, including the discovery process, trial preparation, case investigation, tracking and communicating case-related dates and information, database maintenance, and the review and preparation of documents, reports and correspondence.

Paralegals: Communication, Teamwork and Technology

Communication is a must in law practice. Up to 80% of your day is spent communicating with others, whether you are interviewing a new client, contacting an expert, taking the statement of a witness, or discussing a deal with your supervising attorney. As the lawyer's right-hand, paralegals are often used to help clients, experts, vendors, opposing counsel and other parties in litigation or transaction.

The ability to communicate clearly and effectively is a paralegal skill. It's important to have top-notch writing skills in a paralegal position. A paralegal can draft correspondence, pleadings, discovery, motions, briefs, legal memorandums and other documents.

Paralegals draft resolutions, agreements, contracts and related documents. Paralegals who excel in writing will set themselves apart from their peers. Technology skills are a sought after paralegal skill.

Paralegals must master a growing array of software as technology is incorporated into every aspect of law practice. Paralegals are often charged with technology purchases. Legal technology has given rise to paralegal niches.

Paralegals who have advanced technology skills have a competitive advantage. Rarely are paralegals assigned to a single case. In the real world, paralegals juggle multiple tasks and priorities.

The SQE for solicitor apprentices: A new route into the legal profession

Paralegals are legal professionals who work in law firms but are not qualified to be solicitors, barristers or legal executives. Firms have become reliant on paralegals to do much of the work previously done by solicitors, but they are still traditionally support staff. In practice, there is little to no difference between an associate and a paralegal.

The term legal can be used to cover a variety of roles. Many university graduates and school leavers find paralegal work to be a good way to enter the legal profession. Law graduates and candidates who are interested in becoming paralegals often work as paralegals to gain important legal work experience before applying for a training contract.

Law apprenticeships are a job-based route into the legal profession that are available to leave school. Instead of going to university, a legal apprenticeship may be an alternative to becoming a solicitor barrister, as it will allow you to get on-the-job training and qualify as a lawyer. The SQE will be required of all solicitor apprentices in September of 2021.

Online Bachelor's Degree in Paralegal Studies

Paralegals are key to the success of any legal team, whether working in real estate, healthcare, government, corporate, personal injury or family law. Today's paralegals are often leaders of legal departments and even entrepreneurs who offer their services as consultants and independent contractors, thanks to changing dynamics in the legal field. People will rely on you to be an expert fact-checker and researcher that brings unparalleled organization skills and a keen eye for detail, no matter where you end up.

Paralegals are both specialists and generalists that meet the needs of employers by performing a wide array of administrative and legal tasks, while also becoming niche experts in specialized areas of law. It is ideal for busy professionals, working parents, or anyone who doesn't live near a school with a paralegal program that they can take online. It is important to have access to an education in paralegal studies to be able to work in the field.

Have you already earned an associate degree in paralegal studies? Transfer your credits to a bachelor's degree program. If you transfer credits from an associate degree in the same major as paralegal studies, you can complete the program in less time.

If you have transferrable credits, you can enter the bachelor's program as a junior and focus on core courses. You can change your paralegal specialty through your selection of electives, as well as expand your knowledge in a specific area of law. Do you have a degree in paralegal studies?

You can still transfer credits to a bachelor's degree program in paralegal studies. General undergraduate courses are the ones that you can build on after completing your associate's degree. The credits for math, science, and even some of the other courses can be used to get into a paralegal studies program.