Many job seekers, due to the current economic crisis are searching for careers that won’t disappear after a bad year of business. As hard as it may be to believe, a few fields today are actually still growing. One such area of interest is paralegal work. Many people with interest in the justice system find themselves gravitating toward a paralegal career.
Paralegals are educated in the law and justice system. However they are not lawyers. The lower hourly rate at which paralegals work, help the law offices who employ them to save overhead cost by not assigning lawyers to the same tasks. In some states “independent paralegals” work outside of law offices providing limited legal services to those who can’t afford a lawyer or don’t need one.
According to the law of the United States, only lawyers can offer attorney-client relationship privileges, set fees for legal services, collect fees for legal services, advise clients on the law, appear in court on in place of a client, or sign papers on in place of a client. Other than these exceptions, paralegals can legally use their knowledge of the law to perform almost all of the same tasks as lawyers.
One difference between lawyers and paralegals is that lawyers typically have a broad base of knowledge and duties while paralegals typically do more specialized work or have a niche area of expertise. They do, however, often perform many different tasks. Some of their duties include preparing evidence, legal writing, and research on both the law at large and the individual cases at hand. Whereas lawyers strategize and think about cases, paralegals help with all of the daily tasks required to allow lawyers to form case strategies. Perhaps the biggest difference is that generally speaking all of the work a paralegal performs is in the end supervised by a lawyer who is held responsible.
State licensure and education requirements for paralegals vary greatly from state to state as there is no set national criteria for this work. For example, independent paralegals are not allowed to operate in Florida. Another example is that California requires completion of an American Bar Association approved course of study by all paralegals working within the state.
Many law schools across the country now offer course in paralegal work as the career field continues to grow. Similarly, many colleges and universities now offer concentrations for those entering this profession.
For those interested in professional certification, NALA (the National Association of Legal Assistants) and NFPA (the National Federation of Paralegal Associations) both provide options. This certification may make prospective employees more desirable to law firms. Because it’s a known standard, it help law firms to know that an applicant already has reached a certain level of skill.
A paralegal career can be very different from one state to the next but always involves knowledge of the law and usually involves assisting lawyers. It’s a career path that continues to be recession proof and it may be a good choice for those interested in entering the legal field.
Top ranked paralegal studies will prepare the individual for a profession in law. Obtaining paralegal certification requires knowledge and experience in the field.