The Paralegal Profession

One of the beauties of the paralegal profession is that it's in its infancy. Although many paralegals are doing high-level, fascinating work—in big, important cases—the field still has enormous entrance flexibility. The paralegal field is expanding so rapidly that there are as yet no "etched in stone" standards for entering it. While most paralegals have trained at one of the nation's 600+ paralegal schools and programs, others enter fresh out of college with no paralegal training whatsoever. Others get their start in the profession from different fields, and still others jump into the field from their positions inside law firms particularly legal secretaries whose jobs are being outdated by computerized word processing.
 

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Even though the economic downturn of has caused widespread economic turmoil in the legal industry, there is widespread consensus that the field and role of paralegals will only continue to expand in the next decade. If the legal industry as a whole is going to be forced to become more efficient and businesslike, the reasoning goes, paralegals will become more important because they are extremely cost effective and billable to clients.

How to Land Your First Paralegal Job

Moreover, the paralegal field offers the unique opportunity to do important work on interesting matters without the commitment to years of additional education for a law degree. Many new college graduates are becoming paralegals so they can taste a career in the law before committing themselves to three difficult years of law school. Many other professionals teachers, for instance are becoming paralegals because the work seems more interesting and the compensation is comparable or better.

If you are presently a paralegal student, you are learning about the tasks of your chosen profession. But knowing how to do a job and knowing how to land one are two very different skills.

Who are these people? The paralegal defined

Paralegals perform a wide assortment of tasks in a broad range of legal matters. Some are engaged in high-level work that was once the province of associate level lawyers; others are doing work of less sophistication. They are all paralegals, however. Because the concept of the paralegal is new, it is still in the process of being defined. That gives enormous flexibility in the profession you can start out doing rudimentary work and then quickly migrate into sophisticated, fascinating endeavors. Because of the flexibility of activity and entrance requirements and the speed with which the profession is growing there are great opportunities available for people with a wide assortment of backgrounds. In short, the field is wide open; you can make of it almost what you want.

The National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA), an umbrella group of local paralegal associations, defines the position as follows:

A paralegal/legal assistant is a person qualified through education, training or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory or court authority to perform this work.

The terms "paralegal" and "legal assistant" are fairly synonymous. The two terms have essentially the same meaning; they refer to people who assist attorneys with all forms of substantive legal work except those tasks that, by law, require a lawyer. This means that paralegals cannot give legal advice, appear in court, or independently represent a client. Virtually all other forms of legal work are open to paralegals, and some state legislatures are currently revising statutory restrictions on the profession.

BIRTH OF THE PROFESSION

Paralegals first appeared in the mid-1960s as part of President Lyndon Johnson's "War on Poverty." Federally funded lawyers in poverty law programs used the first paralegals to reduce the cost of helping low-income clients. After that, innovative private attorneys, realizing that legal assistants could help them offer more efficient legal service at a lower cost, began hiring them. In the early 1970s, the use of paralegals spread as more conservative firms realized that they would have to use paralegals to remain competitive.

Many of the early paralegals were trained on the job by attorneys. These attorneys acted as mentors to their legal assistants, who learned only the procedures of that particular office. These newly minted paraprofessionals were taught the "hows" (legal procedures) of law, but not the "whys" (substantive law). From among this early group, forward-thinking paralegals established the first schools to provide formal legal assistant training. The classes were designed to provide a comprehensive legal foundation and to make the students more proficient in their tasks. In-house training, combined with a thorough educational program, gives the best legal assistant training possible. Some schools, recognizing the value of practical experience, have instituted internship programs.

The paralegal educational system is developing rapidly. Although some law firms hire new paralegals directly out of college and train them in-house, most legal assistants now attend paralegal programs that range in length from several months to several years. A number of colleges and universities throughout the nation now offer four-year legal studies bachelor's degrees. Many institutions offer students training in legal procedures and the substantive foundation of law.
In the early 1970s, the American Bar Association (ABA) began an approval process for paralegal programs to help standardize the training. Institutions desiring ABA approval must initiate contact and pass ABA scrutiny. Some schools have not sought ABA approval, but still offer quality programs. It is up to each person to decide which program is appropriate. Considerations include cost, location, length of the program, and requirements for acceptance.

HOT TIP: Many employers confuse certified with certificated. When you see an advertisement requiring a "certified" candidate, the firm may mean, "must have a certificate/' or vice versa. In either case, send your resume! The law firm may never understand the difference, enabling you to land a good job.

Upon completion of a program, a student has earned a certificate or diploma. The student is certificated. The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) offers a two and one half day examination program through which a paralegal can become a certified legal assistant (CLA). This is the only nationwide test available (at this writing) that enables successful participants to describe themselves as "certified." However, the CLA designation may not be for everyone. Many people, with legal experience but no paralegal training, seek to become "certified" to give themselves an advantage in securing a paralegal job.

The importance of CLA certification varies from state to state. Each paralegal should check with the local legal assistant association where she or he will be working.

To keep pace with this boom, the number of paralegal schools is increasing rapidly, graduating paralegals by the thousands. In California alone, there are over sixty institutions on the current list of schools compiled by the Los Angeles Paralegal Association. Even though paralegal jobs are plentiful, the number of candidates vying for these positions has made entry-level competition challenging.

There are millions of paralegals in the United States. Most work for law firms or corporations. Some are independent contractors hired by lawyers on a temporary basis for specific projects; some work directly with the public. In a few states these independent contractors are called legal technicians or independent paralegals. These independent contractors are allowed to represent clients in areas of the law that are relatively procedural and uncomplicated, such as bankruptcy, family law, landlord/tenant disputes, and immigration.

Independent paralegals are highly controversial in the legal community. In those states where independent paralegal is still highly restricted, many legislators are sponsoring bills which would allow paralegals to provide certain low-cost legal services directly to the public. Texas has passed such a law.

Several states already allow paralegals to represent clients in municipal court. The paralegal field is exciting because it is always changing. Paralegals were first hired to do the tedious busy work of attorneys. Now, experienced paralegals perform associate level work. The profession attracts all types of people, from recent college graduates to retirees who are too young at heart to retire. Many people enter the field from other careers because they are interested in law but do not want to go through the rigors of law school. Others, like teachers, are attracted by the higher pay.

HOT TIP: Age should not be a factor in the decision to become a legal assistant. According to the most recent Los Angeles Paralegal Association salary survey, the average age of paralegals is 37.

Entry-level salaries are in the low to mid twenties, varying by region. The Northeast and Pacific Coast have the highest pay scales, while the Midwest and Southeast are at the bottom. Larger cities tend to pay more, because the cost of living is higher. Experienced senior paralegals in specialty areas can earn between $60,000 and $80,000 in some areas. Your local paralegal association will have access to all local, regional and national compensation studies that you can consult.
The issue of "exempt" versus "nonexempt" compensation policies has been a hot topic. Although many firms pay their paralegals salaries that are exempt from overtime (for "exempt" employees), an increasing number of firms are paying hourly/overtime rates (for "nonexempt" employees). This method of compensation can be quite lucrative, because paralegals are often required to work overtime, especially before and during trial, or at corporate and real estate closings. However, some people like Dana L. Graves, former Legal Assistant Manager at a prestigious firm in Los Angeles—view overtime pay as a diminishment of the professional status of legal assistants.

This controversy is generally revisited each year at raise and bonus time, because there are many arguments for and against paid overtime. A few of the major firms in the country have developed a two-tier track system to address the arguments on both sides of the issue. In such systems, senior legal assistants are not paid overtime. However, their bonuses are significantly higher than those who are paid overtime.

Generally, however, paralegals are paid for the time they work in either overtime pay of compensatory time off, or in a year-end bonus.

So Many Interesting Options What Paralegals Do

The Beginning Paralegal

There are four general specialties paralegals can train for: litigation, real estate, corporate, and probate. Within these areas there are many highly specialized subcategories. For example, litigation can be broken down to bankruptcy, business law, environmental law, family law, personal injury and products liability, to name a few. A corporate paralegal may specialize in mergers and acquisitions, securities or corporate financing.

Another way to enter the paralegal field is by starting out as a litigation case clerk or paralegal assistant. This position is very popular with mid-size and larger firms. Generally, you do not need a paralegal certificate. Your assignments will include assisting a paralegal in large scale litigation with such duties as organizing and indexing documents, summarizing simple depositions and performing assignments which enhance the overall organization of the case. Many firms promote from within and after a certain length of time, can promote you from paralegal assistant to paralegal.
Listed below are some of the duties an entry-level paralegal may be expected to perform:

Litigation Paralegal

• Assist attorneys at trial
• Prepare for trial
• Digest or summarize depositions
• Index or organize documents
• Prepare simple pleadings and discovery such as interrogatories

Real Estate Paralegal

• Prepare loan documents
• Oversee transactions from beginning to end
• Draft and review leases
• Work closely with escrow and title companies
• Review surveys
• Prepare closing binders

Corporate Paralegal

• Draft minutes
• Form and dissolve corporations
• Work with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Review Blue Sky laws
• Oversee mergers and acquisitions
• Assist with leveraged buy outs

Probate Paralegal

• Oversee probate proceedings from beginning to end
• Prepare federal tax forms
• Assist at the sales of assets
• Draft wills and trusts

Computing Your Future

Though computers have been used in business for years, law firms have just recently started using them extensively for practice support. If you know a variety of computer applications, you will have an appreciable advantage in competing for paralegal positions. A savvy legal assistant will seize the opportunity to acquire computer skills and become more valuable in the job market.

All areas of law are supported by word processing for secretarial help in drafting documents. If you have been a student, you probably are already very familiar with a few word processing programs sweating out term papers over WordPerfect or Microsoft Word. In order to organize and draft documents, word processing is becoming a standard requirement for many paralegals. If you prefer word processing to dictation, you can give your secretary letters and documents on disk rather than on tape.

Database technology plays an important role in document-intensive litigation. Documents are indexed for search and retrieval on computer. Full-text databases are also used for storing deposition and trial transcripts. The software indexes every word, so the legal assistant can quickly find relevant testimony.

Document assembly software is used extensively in real estate and probate law where many standard forms are used. The legal assistant drafts documents by pulling up the master form and "marking it up" for the specific work at hand.
This form then goes to the attorney, who makes the final edit. Spreadsheet programs are used in any legal work that must compute numbers. This is particularly important in tax law. Knowledge of a good spreadsheet program is invaluable to the probate paralegal who must track estate taxes.

Finally, database systems are used to create commercial legal research banks. Lexis and Westlaw are large research databases created by Mead Data Central and West Publishing Company, The law firm or corporate legal department's unique research needs rely on these major data banks.

HOT TIP: If you know computers but don't know their applications in the legal profession, a single paralegal course about using computers in litigation, for instance, can make you a valuable potential employee. With one course, you may become instantly more employable even landing jobs over more experienced paralegals who don't have your computer knowledge!

Legal Specialties and Subspecialties

Each major discipline of the law has subspecialties. For example, you may litigate a case in the areas of bankruptcy, family law or products liability. Listed below are some of the subspecialties for legal assistants working in each major discipline.

Litigation

• bankruptcy
• environment
• workers' compensation
• personal injury
• collections
• commercial litigation
• computerized litigation support
• administrative law
• criminal law
• family law
• government law
• health care
• immigration and naturalization
• insurance law
• labor/employment discrimination
• medical malpractice
• products liability
• social security

Corporate

• banking
• business/finance
• taxation
• copyright
• trademark
• patent
• entertainment
• ERISA
• Pension plans
• government contracts
• international
• mutual funds
• securities
• Blue Sky

Real Estate

• eminent domain
• environment
• landlord/tenant
• land use
• development

Paralegal Job Descriptions

Litigation Paralegal

Some of the typical assignments that litigation paralegals may perform are:

Processing the Case and Commencement of Action

• initial client interview
• organization of client file
• ascertaining and analyzing the facts
• investigation
• interviewing witnesses
• subsequent client interviews
• investigating court records, corporate records, titles and deeds
• investigating medical reports, wage analysis, loss of income, etc.
• visiting the scene; taking photographs, measurements
• determining legal issues
• formulating a plan of research
• researching the law; briefing cases
• drafting a memorandum of law
• correspondence
• drafting complaints or answers
• service of process

Discovery

• drafting requests for admissions and responses
• drafting interrogatories and responses
• depositions
• setting up depositions; notice; subpoena; reporter
• preparing questions
• taking notes on testimony
• preparing digest of testimony
• document organization and analysis

Pretrial Duties

• locating and selecting expert witnesses
• preparing witnesses
• drafting trial brief
• preparing questions for jury selection
• preparing evidence
• drafting pretrial motions
• drafting opening statements
• settlements
• drafting releases
• drafting and filing motions for dismissal
• maintaining the client case docket and tickler system
• preparing trial notebooks

Trial

• organizing trial exhibits and handling exhibits at trial coordinating witnesses' appearances
• coordinating and organizing trial settings
• taking notes at trials

Post-Trial Duties

• summarizing trial testimony and drafting motions
• maintaining appellate timetables
• satisfying judgments and collection work, i.e., garnishment, levies

Probate Administration Paralegal

Some of the typical assignments handled by probate paralegals are:

General

• prepare composites of wills
• petitions for probate
• proofs of subscribing witness to will
• order admitting will to probate
• letters testamentary
• estate inventories
• creditors' claims for family members
• petitions and orders for family allowance consents to transfer
• stock powers
• affidavits of domicile
• inheritance tax declarations
• estate tax returns
• petitions for final account
• distributee's receipts
• petitions for appointments of conservator
• letters to and interviews with beneficiaries
• opening, maintaining and reconciling of estate checking and savings accounts
• obtaining inheritance tax referees
• opening safe deposit boxes
• obtaining appraisals
• documentation for sales and transfers of assets
• assistance to beneficiaries in filing of life insurance claims
• obtaining employer ID numbers for estates

Estate Planning

• drafting wills and trusts
• application to IRS for taxpayer ID number for trusts
• checking on asset transfers for trusts
• maintaining savings account records
• letters to client explaining will or trust
• drafting agreements regarding ownership of property
• changes in beneficiary designations and titles to property
• maintaining records of wills
• updating will and trust form books

Corporate Paralegal

Typical assignments given to corporate legal assistants include the following:

Organization of a Corporation

• initial client interview
• opening the client file
• preparing and filing documents relative to incorporation
• pre-incorporation subscriptions
• reserving corporate name
• pre-incorporation agreements
• articles of incorporation
• drafting bylaws
• notices for incorporating a going business
• organizational meetings

Routine Operation of a Corporation

• issuance of shares
• drafting buy-sell agreements
• drafting resolutions
• drafting documents required for registration of securities
• drafting notices of securities exemptions
• notice of director's meeting; waivers; minutes
• drafting amendments to the bylaws
• drafting amendments and restatements of articles
• drafting changes in capital structure
• drafting dividend resolution; declaration

Basic Organizational Changes

• mergers and acquisitions
• consolidation
• reorganizations
• request for tax rulings

Dissolution of Corporations

• drafting dissolutions
• sales of assets
• preparation of corporate tax returns
• formation of close corporations

Real Estate and Property Law Paralegal

Some typical duties for legal assistants in this legal specialty area include:

Drafting and Reviewing Documents Relative to Real Estate

• brokers and agents contracts (listing agreements)
• options to purchase
• sales contracts
• exchanges
• real property security transactions
• drafting deeds
• general warranty
• special warranty
• quit claim
• deeds of trust
• promissory notes
• installment
• all-inclusive (wrap-around)
• interim construction loans
• closing sales of real property
• restrictions on land use
• permanent loans
• dedication of homestead
• real property leases
• subdivision contracts
• construction agreements
• property management contracts
• real estate syndication

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