If you have ever thought about becoming paralegal, then this article is for you. You'll learn everything you ever wanted to know about becoming paralegal, where paralegals work, how much they get paid, what kind of additional knowledge they need, how you can become paralegal, some of the drawbacks of the job, when you can expect to retire and what abilities you need to acquire to become a paralegal.
It's a lot of reading and research.
Paralegals serve as assistants to Lawyers to help ensure their Attorney duties are carried out efficiently and effectively. Paralegals are part of the support structure that helps manage the mountain of work that goes into most legal cases. This support comes in all kinds of forms, as a Paralegal may be asked to do research into legal precedents for a case or draft legal documents like depositions for others. Put simply, Paralegals do anything in their power to help Lawyers win their cases within the confines of the law without needing to be a licensed Attorney.
Often times, no paralegal’s one day can match the next. The range of their role varies daily between assisting attorneys during trials, performing legal research, organizing case files, preparing legal briefs, preparing trial notes and sometimes conducting client and witness interviews. The paralegal is also often asked to help with administrative tasks such as filing papers, answering phone calls, and managing client files. They help manage the schedule of an attorney and handle any needed travel arrangements for the attorney.
Paralegals do most of their work in offices. Occasionally, they may travel to gather information, collect and review documents, accompany attorneys to depositions or trials, and do other tasks.
Most Paralegals have at least an associate’s degree or a certificate in paralegal studies. In some cases, employers may hire college graduates with a bachelor’s degree with no legal experience or specialized education and train them on the job.
A typical full-time annual salary for this occupation in Canada is in the region of $50,000 – $75,000.
Paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research, have good communication skills and interpersonal skills. They also must adapt quickly to changing deadlines.
Some of the biggest challenges faced by paralegals are non regulation, and the impact of individuals who call themselves paralegals, but who don’t have the proper training or experience to do the job, resulting in damage to the reputation of the profession.
It's unlikely because a Paralegal is involved in a lot of human contacts and the research level needed for the attorneys cases could difficultly be done and analyzed by a robot.
Most Paralegals will retire between 60-70 years old.
In conclusion, being a Paralegal consists of many tasks and challenges. So, if you're familiar with using computers for legal research, have good communication skills and interpersonal skills and adapt quickly to changing deadlines this is the perfect job for you!
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