Alternatives to Law Firms for Paralegal Jobs When you work in the in-house legal department of a corporation, you will probably deal with some of the corporate law topics I talked about earlier and also with the law of the specific industry you are in. On the corporate side, you may assist the corporate attorneys with employee contracts and benefit plans, shareholder agreements, and stock option plans. You may send... (949 views)
Marketing Yourself as a Freelance Paralegal You know you're a talented paralegal, that you're resourceful, reliable and experienced. To be a success as a freelancer, you'll have to find ways to let your future clients know this too. And that means you'll have to sell your paralegal skills. In fact, your talents as a self-marketer are as important to your success as your expertise as a paralegal. (4965 views)
How much can you Earn as a Freelance Paralegal Basically there are two types of freelance paralegals, those who work on their own or in a loose association with a few other freelance paralegals, and those who run full-fledged paralegal services, with business addresses, advertising and a staff of employees. The first type of freelance paralegal, truly freelancers, are sometimes called independent contractors, a name... (7051 views)
Get the Legal Job That You Desire Cover letters and resumes are sales techniques designed to pro mote applicants to employers through their knowledge of the industry, company, or organization, and job responsibilities. Interviews are the candidates' in-person sales opportunity. What are candidates' selling? Themselves. When you seek employment, you must sell yourself to the employer. As an entry-level... (6 views)
Who Are Known As Legal Support Providers? Legal support providers include careers as bailiffs, insurance claims clerks and adjusters, bail bondsmen, process servers, law librarians, receptionists, runners, file clerks, translators and interpreters, and title researchers, abstractors, and examiners. Most of these professions are quite similar to other professions discussed in this article and require similar job... (1012 views)
Role of a Legal Marketing Professional Each state currently has different statutory and professional rules of conduct regarding advertising restrictions applied to attorneys and firms. Legal marketing professionals should know these restrictions to be sure their firm does not violate any laws or their professional responsibilities when advertising. (3656 views)
What the Role of A Deputy Court Clerk Is Like Deputy court clerks are experts on pleadings and filing procedures. Many times an attorney will call a court clerk for advice on how to file a document because of the clerk's expertise. Deputy court clerks are not supposed to give such advice to the general public because to do so could constitute the unauthorized practice of law. They gain invaluable expertise regarding... (2757 views)
What Essentially a Legal Assistant Does Legal assistants usually work long hours as do attorneys, meticulously research and draft pleadings and other documents, handle client inquiries, and are intimately familiar with all aspects of an attorney's caseload. Legal assistants may be referred to as paralegals or legal assistants, depending on their geographical location or employer's preference. Legal assistants... (3693 views)
How Prior Employment Can Help You in Your Legal Employment Prior employment, even in a non-law-related career, provides legal professionals with greater maturity to handle the rigors of legal employment. By having experience or training in a trade, you can claim that you are particularly suited for any related legal field. Here is a sample of not necessarily law-related trades that, for the most part, can be learned at a... (61 views)
Experiencing Legal Profession before Taking It Up There are many ways you can become introduced to the rigors of the legal profession without necessarily making a career commitment. The best way to develop your own expectations is to take the advice in this article and temper it with actual experience, if you do not already have any. You can develop your own realistic expectations by gaining experience in the law or... (3 views)
Skills Required for Becoming a Private Investigator Private investigators learn the skills they need through experience and generally not in any academic institution, so degrees are relatively unimportant to success as a private investigator. An investigator should be mature, able to work alone, think logically, react quickly, exercise sound judgment, and keep a professional distance from work. A solo private investigator... (1690 views)
What the Job of a Private Investigator Is Really Like Some say the life of a private investigator is mostly confined to back ground checks and finding lost people. Others say they mostly do surveillance work with long, monotonous, and tedious hours of sitting and waiting. Overall, 40 percent of a general private investigator's work involves divorce and custody battles, but as a private investigator you may have other clients.... (1130 views)
All about Legal Secretaries Legal secretaries are somewhat like mini-managers of the attorneys they work for, yet they are also subject to their control, supervision, and direction. On one hand, legal secretaries are eventually given broad responsibilities and control to handle all administrative aspects of their attorney's practice and expected to anticipate their needs; on the other hand, legal... (1072 views)
What the Job of a Political Consultant Is Really Like The life of political consultants during campaign season is hectic. Consultants will assist and encourage candidates on a daily basis through their ups and downs. Also, political consultants constantly supervise the designers, printers, photographers, and mail houses to ensure the timely completion of assignments consistent with the campaign schedule. (8098 views)
What the Job of a Legal Assistant Is Really Like A typical day for a legal assistant begins with a review of the docket. The docket is usually a bound calendar in which legal assistants, secretaries, and attorneys enter deadlines for the completion of projects, court appearances, and meetings. As a legal assistant you should ensure that your projects are completed on time and that docket entries are correct. It is of... (2436 views)
Why Choose the Role of a Legal Administrator Legal administrators address the same issues as managers in other industries, but should have training or experience in professional legal careers. As in other legal professions, the scope of responsibilities among legal administrators may differ. In this career, you will see that the highest degree of experience is required, but a college degree is not necessary. Most... (2504 views)
How to Carry Your Law Job Interview Effectively You should develop your interview skills by going on as many interviews as possible. This will provide valuable interview experience through exposure to a variety of interview styles and techniques. Many employers first and fore most conduct a brief telephone interview to determine whether you possess the necessary qualifications and attitude to warrant an interview During... (15 views)
Political Consulting As a Career Political consulting is a career that has recently come of age, alongside web-based businesses and mediation. They comprise an extremely specialized niche of marketing and advertising professionals in the limited field of government and politics. One of the most rewarding aspects of political consulting is to get deserving candidates elected, and having an influence on... (416 views)
The Role of A Court Reporter After vocational school, and typing speed using machine shorthand, anyone can acquire a state certification in court reporting. With this certification, you can have a rewarding career in freelance or official reporting, making more money than many college graduates. Although court reporting requires hard work, concentration, familiarity with new technology, and attention... (838 views)
Role of a Mediator in Legal Profession Mediators should assimilate and demonstrate the skills necessary to facilitate effective communication between disputing parties so that they can help others develop a mutually acceptable solution. Effective mediators will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills. This includes the ability to be objective and not prejudge others. Mediators should exhibit... (61 views)
Choose the Law Job That Is Fit For You Each profession will likely require an initial time investment of low pay and a willingness to increase qualifications through education, training, and certifications. If you are an aspiring legal professional, you should consider whether your personal traits, habits, and characteristics lend themselves to a successful career. By the creation of a list of personal traits... (10 views)
Finding the Paralegal Role that Fits You Defining your role as a paralegal: Paralegals handle paperwork, organize the office, maintain and update client files, monitor the calendar, and research, write, and read. They serve as a liaison with clients, witnesses, other case participants, and outside professionals by gathering and imparting information. They meet, inform, interview, and prod to action. In addition... (22 views)
Three Most Authentic Places a Paralegal Can Find Help to Locate a Missing Person If your firm or your investigators have access to one of the "Big Three" credit record services-Trans-Union, CBI/Equifax, or TRW-you may be able to locate a missing person by entering his or her Social Security number into these credit history databases. The credit report should list the most recent address. While the state DMV may be a bit behind with good address... (61 views)
Some Career Development Tracks for Paralegals The paralegal profession is evolving rapidly. The way attorneys perceive paralegals has changed for the better. And the way attorneys use paralegals has changed for the better as well. Gone are the days when a paralegal was hired to be a glorified secretary with some legal research skills. Today's paralegals are actively involved in many facets of the law office operation,... (63 views)
A Paralegal’s Primer for Research and Paperwork The nature of the practice determines the nature of the research. In general, paralegals do factual research and write up factual memoranda, then turn over the fruits of their labor to attorneys for interpretation. (132 views)
Getting into Legal Research for Paralegals The ability to do effective legal research is like any other learned skill; it takes effort and hands-on practice to get good at it. Whether you do your research in the local law library, at an on-campus law school library, or inside your own firm, you need to have a plan before you begin. Without a clear idea of where to start, what to look for, where to look for it, and... (447 views)
Most Commonly Asked Questions by Legal Professionals Question: I have been asked what my salary requirements are. How can I answer the question without blowing my chances? (17 views)
The First Three Resources for a Paralegal Trying to Locate a Missing Person Hearing the recorded voice of a phone company employee tell you an important phone number is no longer in service can chill your bones. But although it may appear that the person has moved, don't jump to any immediate conclusions. Consider first that there may be troubles with the phone line. Try your calls at different times later in the day, and maybe the phone lines... (43 views)
Advice for Paralegal’s on Using Private Investigators to Locate Missing People The decision to use investigators to locate missing persons depends on a few important factors: the cost considerations, the overall strength and importance of the case, and time deadlines. If the case is relatively minor in terms of dollar values, or the participation of a missing witness is less consequential to the outcome, it probably makes better sense to save the... (157 views)
A Paralegal’s Guide to Editing and Proofreading Paralegals probably do not do as much writing as research, but writing still is a good part of the workload. The organization in each office is different, but paralegals may be called upon to analyze and summarize documents in discovery, to digest depositions, to write factual memoranda, and to do some preliminary drafting of documents or briefs. Good command of the rules... (4309 views)