Paralegals are in Strong Demand
The paralegal profession has undergone major changes during the last few years. Some states have even seen court proceedings to change the job title, duties, the skills, and educational requirements. This has been largely due to unhappy attorneys who have found paralegals taking some of their workload as well as their net income. This is particularly true in the areas of family law, bankruptcy filings, and divorce filings.
Different Ways to Enter the Career
If you are looking at a career in the paralegal field you have several avenues to explore. For example, some people are fortunate enough to be hired by an attorney to answer phones and greet customers. For some this can lead to a promotion, since many duties and skills have been learned in the initial position. You can also study to become a paralegal. This introduces you to the many responsibilities the profession offers. There are many vocational schools offering a certificate in the field.
Today many of the community colleges offer a diploma or an associate of arts degree in the career while some four-year colleges and universities are offering degrees. The best place to begin is to study the job description and responsibilities this profession requires. While you are expected to have a number of skills to be successful in this career the rewards can be plentiful.
What the Career Involves
Your main job is to assist an attorney. However, many people entering this field open their own business and file bankruptcies, divorce papers, and so forth. An independent paralegal faces many responsibilities and decisions. If you are working for an attorney one of your duties will be to make certain that your attorney has all of the important facts regarding a specific case.
You will also spend time in the law library doing legal research the attorney requests. This might involve researching past cases that will assist the attorney. You will find that you will be tackling a number of other tasks that were not included in the employment description. Even so, this offers you the opportunity to learn many new skills. One of your main duties will be to keep track of all the documents. This might sound trivial; however, when your big case involves thousands of pages this does not result in being an easy task.
The field is so varied that you will have the opportunity to specialize in an area of your choice. This might be to write contracts and mortgages. You might decide you want to help prepare income tax returns or different types of documents. What your job entails depends on your interests or what your attorney assigns you to do. This is why it is so important to have a job description before you apply for a position. If your skills match then it might be a good entry level position.
What the Paralegal Cannot Do
If you are employed by an attorney then you basically have his/her protection from violating any legal statues. In this situation a paralegals work is directly the responsibility of the attorney. To avoid any unauthorized practice of law you need to stay away from offering a set fee (except in a private business where such fees for bankruptcy, and so forth, are already set), give legal advice, appear in a court proceeding as a counsel of record, or sign pleadings and other court documents. These responsibilities are entirely those of an attorney. If you choose to provide any of these responsibilities, without the assistance of an attorney, than you might find yourself facing major legal difficulties.
Salaries You Can Expect to Earn
If you are applying for a position you will most likely be given a description of the duties as well as the salary. Salaries in this field vary widely. In the United States the median annual salary, working in the private sector, is approximately $70,000. Paralegals working in the federal government earn an average of $75,000 while state and local government paralegals receive a salary of approximately $55,000. If you receive the description for jobs in a large law firm you might be surprised to learn that they may pay an average of more than $100,000 per year with an entry level salary of more than $50,000. If you live in a smaller community then your starting salary will most likely be around $45,000. The field is rapidly growing and each day will offer you new challenges.