Choosing Your Courses
The first step in selecting the course of study best for you is to decide where you want to work (both location and type of law office) and the field that best fits your background and career goals.
You can choose to be either a generalist or a you can choose a specialist program as a paralegal. Generally speaking, your choice will be between a generalist program, a litigation program, and one of the standard specialties, such as corporate, trusts and estates, or ERISA. The course of study you pursue will also affect or be affected by your choice of school. Use this discussion as a starting point for your own investigation. Talk to others in the specialty areas. Remember, the course of study you pursue may determine the area of specialty you pursue and the rest of your career in the field. The most important decision you need to make is whether you have an interest in a specific field. If you do, try to take a course in it.
GENERALIST PROGRAMS
If you want to be a generalist legal assistant you will find that generalist course covers a little bit in almost every field. This type of course can be a great way for you to learn more about the entire paralegal field if you're uncertain about which area you'd like to specialize in.
The primary purpose of many generalist programs is to prepare paralegals for work in "general practice" law offices. Attorneys who work as general practice lawyers handle all kinds of legal work- matrimonial, property, personal injury litigation, and sometimes corporate work. These lawyers need generalist legal assistants and often work in smaller law firms in large cities or in smaller towns, suburbs and rural areas. Lawyers working in law offices with more than five lawyers usually begin to specialize. These professionals often seek paralegals with specialty training.
There are a number of schools which only have generalist programs. Their graduates go on to work in every different specialty. Should you take a generalist course if you're planning to enter a narrow specialty?
All things being equal, you should take a specialized course rather than a generalist course if you know the area in which you want to work. But before you select the course, consider the school offering the generalist program. Evaluate its reputation against other schools. Study its placement record and talk to recent graduates. Find out how easy it will be to enter different specialties. You may find, given the school's reputation that a generalist course is good training for a job in almost any specialty area that employers are looking for paralegal graduates from that school without preference for narrower training.
SPECIALTY PROGRAMS:
If you choose litigation as your specialist program as a paralegal, you'll have a lot of company. As many as 70% of the paralegals today work in litigation. Most paralegals choose litigation for two reasons: it's the field where most of the jobs are, and it's the field that first comes to mind when one thinks about law. If you are considering litigation, conduct your own investigation and talk to paralegals in the field.
Many paralegals working in litigation start as paralegals after graduating from college, without taking a paralegal course first. If you're thinking about litigation, check to see whether it would be helpful for you to enter the field by taking a course.
Trusts and Estates
Many courses are offered in such narrow specialties as corporate, blue sky, real estate, trusts and estates, and ERISA. You may pick up any one of these as your specialist program as a paralegal. These courses tend to be practical and filled with specific activities you'll be performing on a day-to-day basis. The work environment for paralegals who've graduated from such courses and who go on to work in these specialties is generally less personal and more technical.
Opportunities and salaries are good for experienced paralegals in every specialty. For entry-level people, however, the opportunities fluctuate according to the marketplace and the political and economic situation. For example, paralegals who specialize in administrative law often find work in government agencies. Promotion can be rapid, and the work challenging.
EARNING POTENTIAL
It's hard to generalize about salaries for different specialties since they can vary so widely. As a rule, however, litigation paralegals tend to begin at a lower starting salary than tax, corporate or real estate people. But that's no reason to choose one of the latter specialties over others because with experience salaries level out.
If you intend to work for a large law firm in a major city, it may be best to pick a specialty rather than a generalist program. Which specialty you choose is a personal consideration, based upon your interests, the kind of work you want to do and the environments you prefer.
