This is because there is an increase in the demand for paralegal services. A direct result of this is that more and more people are opting to becoming a paralegal.

Consequently, the job market is becoming very competitive. Previously, a person could become a paralegal with no formal paralegal school training.

Why Spend The Time Getting A Paralegal Degree?

These people learned on the job the duties and responsibilities of being a paralegal.

On the job training is still routinely done in the firms but employers now want their paralegals to have some paralegal qualifications.

The minimum paralegal qualification is the certificate. A certificate is usually granted after a few months training.

Certificate programs are offered at community colleges, vocational and business schools.

Paralegal Degree Standards

A certificate is good for entry level jobs but anyone serious about having a career as a paralegal and wanting to advance in that career should pursue a paralegal degree.

A certificate is suitable for people who are already holders of a bachelor’s degree, even if the degree is not related to law.

The certificate course should always be by an accredited school.

It is possible to get an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree in paralegal studies.

A master’s degree is quite rare but is an option pursued by people specializing in very technical areas.

The associate degree is the most common. This type of paralegal degree will typically last two years and is offered at vocation schools or universities.

A bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies is also offered at some universities and will entail four years of study.

There is a recent push by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations to have people interested in becoming paralegals to pursue bachelor’s degrees.

A master’s degree even though rare is likely to set you apart from the competition. As your career advances the more education you have, the better. This degree will normally last two years.

After getting the right paralegal degree, it is important but not mandatory to become certified.

A lot of people confuse certification with getting a certificate in a paralegal program. These two things are very different.

Who Certifies Paralegals?

Certification of paralegals is done by four bodies, the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), the National Association of Legal Secretaries (NALS), the American Alliance of Paralegals Inc (AAPI) and the National Federation of Paralegals Associations (NFPA).

The three bodies NALA, NALS and NFPA require an individual to pass a written exam before being certified. AAPI offers paralegal degree certification based on an individual’s experience and education.

Law school takes a great deal of time to complete and is quite the expensive undertaking.

If you have neither the time nor the financial capability you should look into becoming a paralegal as it is an excellent way to become involved in law.

Paralegals, also known as legal assistants or law clerks typically work in a law firm to assist lawyers in their day to day duties.

They are not only found in private law firms but will also work for government bodies, NGOs and corporations.

Paralegals may assist a lawyer in everything he does except in what is deemed to be the practice of law.

Becoming A Paralegal

The first step towards becoming a paralegal is to finding the right paralegal school.

The right school for you will also depend on the type of paralegal training you are looking.

There are three main ways to a paralegal education. You can get a certificate, an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies.

There is not a great deal of regulation in terms of what kind of training a paralegal must have. However, it is best to get at a minimum, an associate degree.

The field is becoming very competitive and employers are likely to prefer more qualified individuals.

A certificate course in paralegal studies is best for people who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field and want to join the legal field.

Becoming A Paralegal – Where To Get Educated?

There are very many paralegal schools and it may be very difficult to narrow down your options.

An easy way to do this is to look at the schools accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) or the schools that are accredited by agencies approved by the ABA.

Even though some employers are currently not insisting on ABA approved courses, this may change in the future.

Besides having the right qualifications, a paralegal requires certain other skills to become successful.

A significant part of a paralegal’s job is carrying out legal research so an individual will need to have excellent research skills.

Excellent writing skills are also a must-have. The job requires a lot of legal writing, drafting of legal documents and summarizing research into reports.

Other necessary skills to becoming a paralegal include communication skills, organizational skills, attention to detail and critical thinking skills.

Even though they are not lawyers, they do a lot of the substantive legal work a lawyer would typically carry out.

In fact the only tasks a paralegal cannot do on behalf of a lawyer are providing counsel on legal issues to clients, appear in court as a person’s representative or anything that would be considered to be directly the practice of law.

Typical Paralegal Services

The tasks that can be delegated to paralegals are governed by the professional rules, regulations and statues that govern the practice of law in the specific jurisdiction.

A lawyer will delegate some of the work he is supposed to do but he is ultimately responsible for the work.

This necessitates the lawyer to strictly supervise paralegals to ensure that they are acting in a manner that does not go against the lawyer’s professional and ethical obligations.

Paralegals do not require formal paralegal training because they can get on the job training.

However, while on the job training is still widely carried out, many employers want paralegals they hire to have paralegal education.

Even with education, most lawyers will train their paralegals to ensure that they can carry out the tasks assigned to them.

This is all part of the supervision process. If a lawyer fails to properly supervise a paralegal working under him, he is liable to serious consequences. He may be deemed to be guilty of malpractice and may be fined or suspended for a period.

What Paralegal Services You Provide Will Determine Where You Work

Paralegal services will differ from firm to firm, or will depend on the type of company the paralegal is working.

Paralegals will work in a law firm, for a lawyer, government body, corporation and any other body that does legal work.

The paralegal services will also differ depending on the location because of what the specific state law may prescribe as being the practice of law. Some states prohibit the delegation of some tasks that are expressly allowed in other states.

Paralegal services are not only offered in an employment setting.

Some paralegals do opt to freelance and therefore work on a contract basis for different people.

It is possible also to specialize in the different fields in law practice. These areas of specialization include litigation, immigration, family law, foreclosures, criminal law and intellectual property.

Paralegals that have more than one area of specialization and multiple paralegal services will find better job opportunities for themselves.

Paralegals are very important members of a legal team.

Not only do they make a lawyer’s work easier by easing some of his workload, the presence of paralegals in a legal team will translate into lower client fees. How does this happen?

The billing rate for paralegals is lower than that for associates or partners.

What Do Paralegals Do – Why Are They Important

If partners performed some of the tasks that could be assigned to paralegals such as carrying out research, clients would be billed at higher rates resulting to higher fees.

A paralegal’s role is not to reduce costs though, lower billing is just a handy by-product.

They perform all the roles that would otherwise be performed by lawyers.

In fact, a well trained paralegal can carry out all the duties and responsibilities of a lawyer except what would be considered the actual practice of law.

This means that a paralegal cannot represent a client in a court of law, cannot give legal advice, cannot set legal fees and cannot sign legal documents as an individual’s representative.

What Do Paralegals Do – The Difference Between A Paralegal and A Lawyer

Another difference between paralegals and lawyers is that paralegal training is not as rigorous or as long as training for lawyers.

Paralegals can work with as little as two years training in a paralegal school. In fact, some paralegals get by with just on-the-job training.

Paralegal duties and responsibilities will vary depending on the work situation and specialization.

However, there are some general duties a paralegal will perform.

These duties include carrying out research on law, cases and procedures, interview clients and witnesses, keep clients informed on their cases, correspond with clients and other lawyers about the cases, maintain client files, draft documents, summarize information and maintain the law library.

On top of the general duties, a paralegal’s job description will include other duties which are dependent on their area.

The different areas include family law, real estate, foreclosures, immigration, litigation, business or corporate law and others.

A paralegal in litigation for instance will be required to prepare subpoenas, serve the subpoenas, prepare court exhibits, get the jury list and collect information on the jurors, collect information on adverse witnesses, attend trial and take notes on developments and reactions, draft settlement documents for lawyer’s approval, attend settlement conferences and prepare a notice of appeal.

On the other hand, a paralegal in business or corporate will be required to draft minutes or board resolutions, prepare and file necessary documentation for the formation of a company such as articles of incorporation.

Hopefully this helps answer the quesiton: What do paralegals do?

There are many law firms that will hire people with no formal paralegal training and continue to train them on the job.

In house training is an excellent way to learn the ropes of being a legal assistant or for any other job.

Why Attend A Paralegal School?

However, it is always a good idea to attend a paralegal school and get a certificate showing that you have formal education.

This is because some law firms will not hire people without proof of paralegal training.

If you opt to get some paralegal training, you should choose, as much as is possible, a paralegal school that has accreditation status. It is still possible to get employment after attending one of the paralegal schools that is not accredited.

This is true particularly if the state does not have a local accrediting body.

When looking for a paralegal school, the school’s accreditation status is not the only thing you should look into though.

An important factor to consider is the school’s reputation. You should do some research on the schools you are considering to find out what past and present students say about the school.

You can, if possible, visit the school campus to get a feel of it. The internet is a very useful resource when you are looking for information. It may also be a good idea to talk to members of the legal fraternity to hear their thoughts on the quality of the school.

Researching Your Paralegal School

When researching the school’s reputation, you should also look into its faculty.

The people teaching the program directly affect its quality. Questions to ask are how qualified is the teaching staff?

Are the teachers trained paralegals or lawyers? How are lectures delivered?

It is crucial to find out if there is opportunity to participate in clinical or practical experiences and of the school arranges these for the students.

The curriculum or coursework is another important consideration. It should include classes in law, ethics, torts, critical thinking and any other relevant courses.

Checking out the paralegal school is particularly crucial for distance learning and online programs.

There are a lot of bogus and phony online or distance learning programs set up by scam artists to swindle unsuspecting individuals.

You should go to the official website for the Distance Education and Training Council to check out the legitimacy of the online or distance learning paralegal school you are considering.

The outlook for this particular profession is exceedingly promising for the next few years with the increasing demand for paralegal services.

To start on this very promising career, a person will need some paralegal training.

Paralegal training can be acquired in two main ways:

On the job training and formal training.

For a long time, firms were hiring graduates fresh from high school and training them on the job to be paralegals.

On the job training is still widely practiced but more and more employers want to hire people who have some sort of qualification in paralegal studies.

This qualification can either be a certificate, an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree.

On the job training for paralegals exists because there are no certification requirements for paralegals in all states except in California.

From the year 2000, California enacted a law that requires all paralegals wishing to practice in the state be certified.

Formal training is becoming almost mandatory due to the increase in the number of people wanting to be paralegals.

Getting a qualification in paralegal studies betters a person’s chances in this highly competitive field.

Where Can You Find Paralegal Training?

Paralegal training is done at community colleges, vocational schools, business schools and even at some universities.

The different levels of training programs will offer different courses.

However, guidelines offered by the American Bar Association state that a paralegal training program should offer a minimum of 60 hours of classroom training with a third of this time being dedicated to the legal system and the law.

Some of the courses taught in paralegal schools include legal research and writing, ethics, contracts, civil procedure, torts, business law, jurisprudence, dispute resolution, civil litigation and real estate law.

An associate degree program which is completed after two years of full time study will incorporate other courses such as courses in math, English, science, computers and business studies.

A certificate program which may last anything from 3 months to 12 months will be more concentrated on the specific paralegal studies.

As the duration is limited, a typical program will cover the basics of law and other necessary skills a paralegal needs.

Certificate programs will more often than not offer specialization courses rather than general ones.

There are several areas of paralegal training specializations which include health, family law, real estate law, corporate or business law, environmental law, litigation, labor law, trusts, probate and criminal law.

While the possibility exists in getting on the job training, more and more employers are opting to employ paralegals with some paralegal training.

Like with other professions, higher education means better job prospects and better pay.

This means that if you want a successful career as a paralegal, you should definitely acquire one of the paralegal degrees available.

The Most Common Paralegal Degrees Are The Associate Degrees

You can get schools offering bachelor’s degrees but this is not as common as associate degree programs.

A few schools will offer master’s degree but this is quite rare. Getting an associate degree in paralegal studies will typically take two years of studying full time.

These degrees are offered at community colleges, vocational schools, law schools and at some universities.

Entrance requirements will vary depending on the specific school but will usually include a high school diploma.

Some people will opt to take an associate degree in paralegal studies as an added qualification to their bachelor’s degree in another field.

Majority of the people with bachelor’s degree will however opt for a certificate in paralegal studies as opposed to an associate or bachelor’s degree.

The coursework for an associate degree will entail a significant law component but will also include other general subjects like math, English and bookkeeping.

Where Can You Find Paralegal Degrees?

Some schools offering associate degrees in paralegal studies include Kaplan College in Texas, Keiser University in Florida, Westwood College in California, TCI College of Technology in New York, Sanford-Brown Institute in Pennsylvania and Pioneer Pacific College in Oregon.

Even though most employers consider an associate degree as sufficient qualification for a paralegal, it may be a good idea to look into a bachelor’s degree.

Because of the common acceptance of an associate degree as adequate paralegal training, bachelor’s degree programs are not as easy to find as associate degree programs.

In many cases, the bachelor’s degrees will not be purely paralegal degrees but will have it as a minor specialization.

This is still adequate for entrance into the paralegal field. It is possible for associate degree holders to transfer credit and pursue a bachelor’s degree.

Paralegals do not have to be licensed to practice but it is a good idea to get certified as this will better your employments chances and enable you to command higher pay.

There are several bodies that certify paralegals through paralegal degrees and these include the American Alliance of Paralegals, the National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations.

From the different names, it is quite clear that they work in the legal sector doing different things such as researching, clerking and generally assisting.

So What Is A Paralegal?

A paralegal is basically a lawyer’s assistant. The paralegal will carry out duties that a lawyer would normally carry out.

By carrying out these duties, the lawyer’s time is freed up to concentrate on other duties.

The tasks a paralegal undertakes in assisting a lawyer will be wide ranging.

The only tasks a paralegal cannot aid a lawyer in is the practice of law which includes setting legal fees, legally representing someone in a court of law, giving legal advice and appending a signature to legal documents.

A paralegal’s duties will vary depending on the work setting and the size of the firm.

Majority of paralegals work in private law firms but there are employment opportunities for paralegals in other sectors such as government, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and in corporate bodies.

Government bodies that hire paralegals include the Department of Justice, the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and the Social Security Administration.

The biggest government employer is the Department of Justice. Paralegals working for the Department of Justice will have very similar duties as those in private firms.

A paralegal working in a small private practice will typically have a wider list of duties and responsibilities than the one working at a large practice which possibly has many paralegals on staff.

The type of duties will largely be dependent on the firm or on the type of business the firm specializes in.

What Is A Paralegal – Typical Duties

A standard paralegal job description will include duties such as carrying out law research, investigating facts of a case, gathering material witnesses, drafting legal documents, filing court documents, interviewing witnesses, maintaining client files and documents, maintaining the law library, preparing court exhibits, completing tax returns, correspondence, answering telephones, writing reports and other clerical duties.

Newbie paralegals will quite often start doing the repetitive, routine and clerical work.

With more experience they will begin to work on more complex tasks with little or no supervision.

Some people work as paralegals with little or no paralegal training.

However statistics show that majority of paralegals have attended paralegal school and gotten some qualifications.

You can get a certificate, associate degree, a bachelor’s degree or even a master’s degree in paralegal studies.

Hopefully this answers the question: What is a paralegal?

Paralegals can do most of the work that lawyers do with a few exceptions such as appearing in court as a person’s legal representative, signing legal documents, providing legal advice and setting legal fees.

Any paralegal carrying out these duties that only a lawyer is supposed to carry out is deemed to be guilty of the unauthorized practice of law and can be fined or jailed.

It is quite possible for a person to become a paralegal without attending any paralegal training.

The person can learn on the job. However, with the excellent job prospects and increasing demand for paralegals, competition for paralegal jobs is becoming quite stiff.

Getting good paralegal training will go a long way in helping you beat the competition and landing you a dream paralegal job.

You can get a certificate, an associate degree or bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies.

It is however to go for an associate degree at a minimum if you only have a high school diploma. The higher your level of education, the better your employment prospects are.

There are several different ways to get paralegal training.

A New Way To Learn – Online Paralegal Programs

You can either enroll at a traditional campus (the brick and mortar variety) or enroll for a distance learning program or for one of the numerous online paralegal programs.

The last two options are good for working adults who do not have the time to attend traditional classes.

Online paralegal programs are also suitable for individuals who want to take paralegal training but are limited by location.

Other advantages of online programs are savings in cost (online programs are cheaper than campus based programs) and the convenience of studying form anywhere in the world and at your own pace.

While it is not mandatory for paralegal schools in general to be accredited it is crucial for online paralegal programs to have this accreditation.

This is because there are a huge number of phony programs being offered on the internet today.

Are Online Paralegal Programs Accredited?

Accreditation gives the program some validity and attests to its quality.

Online paralegal programs are accredited by the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC).

The American Bar Association (ABA) only gives accreditation to physical schools, however it has given approval to some online programs.

Some good online paralegal programs and schools are American Institute of Paralegal Studies, Virginia College Online, National Paralegal College and Ashworth College.

Others are found in the government non-governmental organizations and corporate bodies.

Major government employers include the US Department of State and the US Department of the Treasury. Corporate bodies are also increasingly hiring paralegals to work in their legal departments.

It is projected that paralegal jobs will have more than an average growth rate at over 20% per annum.

The main reason for this exponential growth rate arises for the need for law firms and other organizations to become more efficient and cost-effective.

Another reason for the growth rate is the increasing need to for lawyers to have assistants that has resulted from the increasing work complexity and technological advances. The population is also becoming more aware and has increased the demand for legal services.

Paralegal Jobs – What Exactly Does A Paralegal Do?

A paralegal will perform an array of tasks. The paralegal job description will depend on the specific firm, work setting, type of clients or their specialization.

However, the duties should not vary too greatly. A paralegal in a small firm is more likely to deal with a wider range of tasks than a paralegal in a large firm who will quite often work in a particular area.

There are a number of specializations which include litigation, real estate, labor law, environmental law, criminal law, entertainment, family law, probate, trusts, insurance, banking, elder law and personal injury.

The US Bureau of Statistics projects that the highest growth rate will be the sectors of criminal law, environmental law, international law and intellectual property.

The Starting Salary For Various Paralegal Jobs

Besides having excellent paralegal job prospects, salaries in this particular legal sector are not too shabby.

The average starting salary for a paralegal is at about $50,000 a year.

The salary will of course increase in direct proportion to the number of years of experience.

A paralegal manager should expect to earn over $100,000 a year.

The highest paying paralegal jobs are the ones in the private law firms which are the biggest employers and account for over 70% of the jobs.

The specific industries with the highest paralegal salaries are entertainment (specifically the movie industry), internet service providers, publishing and telecommunications.

The salaries for paralegal jobs will also depend on the location with some areas having higher salaries than others.

The highest paying state is Washington D.C with salaries averaging over $65,000 a year.

Other high paying states for paralegal jobs include California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.