The Role and Importance of Paralegals in Law Firms Paralegals hold a vital position within law firms and are indispensable to the smooth functioning of legal practices. Their contributions are invaluable, as they provide essential support and expertise to attorneys. Recognizing the importance of paralegals allows us to appreciate their role in enhancing the overall efficiency and success of law firms. (32 views)
Achieving Success as a Legal Staff Member: Habits of Highly Effective Legal Support Staff Members Legal support staff members play a crucial role in the success of law firms and legal departments. They provide essential support to attorneys and help ensure that cases run smoothly. To succeed in this role, legal support staff members need to develop certain habits and skills to help them perform their duties effectively. This article will discuss the habits of highly... (11 views)
The Main Reasons Staff Attorneys Are Valuable for Law Firms Staff attorneys are often considered "less than" in the legal industry. They may sometimes do the same amount of work for a law firm and even have titles like associate or counsel on the firm's documents. However, they earn significantly less than their full-time counterparts. They do not have the same advancement opportunities. Many major law firms do not consider... (478 views)
Think Outside the Law Firm: Alternative Working Environments for Paralegals Summary: If you are an experience paralegal or just starting out in this profession, you are not limited to jobs in law firms. Learn where paralegals may work. (324 views)
How Can Paralegals Work for Multiple Law Firms? Summary: Find out some resourceful ways to go about working at multiple law firms as a paralegal. (1689 views)
Legal Secretary Floating Summary: The rise of reserve staff in the post-recession economy makes secretarial floating a more attractive option to legal secretaries. (376 views)
Areas of Specialization for Paralegals Summary: Paralegals have a multitude of areas of specialization to choose from, including environmental law, domestic relations law, and copyright law, among others. (2078 views)
‘Paralegal’ or ‘Legal Assistant’ – What's in a Name? Summary: What is the difference between a legal assistant and a paralegal? Find out what the differences are in this article. (2860 views)
Why Choose to Be a Paralegal? With the persistent decline in the legal market these last few years, many JD's have considered changing their plans to become law firm partners and have gone on to successful careers as paralegals. In fact, while the demand for lawyers has shrunk these recently, the demand for paralegals has only grown, with a sizeable increase in wage each year. (241 views)
Alternative Careers in Law If you want a career in law and can't attend law school, you can investigate the options available to paralegal professionals. Paralegals perform skilled legal services (some of which traditionally had been performed only by attorneys) under the supervision of lawyers. They interview clients, analyze documents, investigate, do legal research, prepare letters and other... (128 views)
What It's Like To Be a Special Agent The federal government has a number of agencies that fight crime across the nation. These agencies include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Border Patrol; the Marshals Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF); the Customs Service; the Secret Service; and various other agencies. The individuals who... (2498 views)
Find Out More about Becoming a Special Agent Wendy has chased down fugitives and responded to bank robbery alarms during her career with the FBL Her work today centers on recruiting new agents. (15 views)
What It's Like To Be a Police Officer Every country in the world has a police system to protect the lives and property of its citizens. The colonists brought England's watch and ward system, in which men stood watch and served without pay, to America. The first paid police force consisted of six men who were paid to watch during the day in Boston. Shortly thereafter, an 800-man police force was established in... (4 views)
You and a Career as a Police Officer If you are seriously considering a career as a police officer, it's very important to avoid situations that may affect your chances for a career in law enforcement. Here is a list that will help you avoid saying, "If I had only known." (12 views)
Why Paralegals Prefer Non-Traditional Career Many paralegals working in a corporate legal department have numerous reasons for pursuing a non-traditional career. One of the most obvious is the opportunity to work for only one client (the corporation) rather than for the multiple clients of a law firm. "When you work in a law firm you have to divide your loyalty and time among your clients and projects. Whereas when... (1027 views)
Definition of a Traditional Paralegal To understand the difference between a traditional and a non-traditional paralegal, it is first necessary to define the terms. This is more difficult than it sounds. In an emerging profession without mandatory entrance requirements, there is no single definition of a paralegal. However, most definitions share some common components, although none currently acknowledge the... (928 views)
Alternative Careers in Law If You Can't Attend Law School If you want a career in law and can't attend law school, you can investigate the options available to paralegal professionals. Paralegals perform skilled legal services (some of which traditionally had been performed only by attorneys) under the supervision of lawyers. They interview clients, analyze documents, investigate, do legal research, prepare letters and other... (1156 views)
Plan Your Career as a Freelance Paralegal There are certain important issues to consider when planning your career as a freelance paralegal. (338 views)
Points To Consider For Opting as Paralegal Freelancer Remember that your first clients are the ones who will help you to establish your reputation. You cannot afford to be anything less than punctual and completely accurate in the work you do. While these traits are important in any job, as an independent paralegal, you will never hold clients or gain new ones if your reputation is not built on these factors. (39 views)
Beyond Beginner: Freelancing as a Paralegal Many paralegals, once they gain experience and establish a reputation for reliability and professional work, consider freelancing, which involves working as an independent contractor or with other paralegals as part of a group. Before examining ways in which you can follow this path, it is extremely important to understand what a paralegal can and cannot do. For that... (254 views)
Future as a Paralegal There are many careers involving money and banking, which include importing, exporting, and stock brokerage. These fields may require credentials or particular qualifications. (74 views)
Paralegal: Stepping Stone to Other Careers As you begin your career as a paralegal, you will probably not be interested in seeing how your training can prepare you for jobs and careers outside the legal field. Sometime later, however, you might find such information useful. It is very helpful therefore, to consider these options as your career progresses, even from the beginning. For you will realize that your... (3529 views)
Career Alternatives for Paralegals No matter where you are in your career or what field you're in, there are ways you can improve your career. There are many career alternatives available in almost every field. Look at your skills: languages, research ability, supervisory experience, knowledge of various industries. Where are they used? As a paralegal you might easily transfer to a company doing business... (1909 views)
Various Roles of Business or Corporation Paralegals Due to the rising cost of hiring outside counsel, corporations are performing more of their legal work themselves. According to one of the former presidents of the American Corporate Counsel Association, "You are going to see more and more companies handling litigation in house-not just managing litigation, but actually handling it.” Consequently, corporate legal... (27 views)
How Legal Professions Must Select Their Areas of Specialization What follows are descriptions of the many paralegal and law-related options that are available in many areas of the country. Information is provided under major categories. (125 views)
The Paralegal Profession: Defined by What It Is Not Of the jobs that have been created in the last part of the 20th century, most have highly defined parameters. Many are technical, and most have arisen from new technologies. The paralegal profession, however, is fundamentally different. It has arisen from an older profession, and its boundaries are defined more generally. What a paralegal does is often defined by what a... (17 views)
How the Way the Paralegal Profession Was Born Defines Paralegal Job Realities There are no job openings in this profession, like there are openings / for a spot on a production line. Paralegal employment situations are probably better described as opportunities, or better yet, windows of opportunity. This is a prime concept in your overall professional development. Networking is a word that you will continue to hear repeatedly as years go on. It is... (23 views)
Why the Demand for Corporate Paralegals Is Growing A new association is rising up to represent a growing number of paralegals who populate the halls of Corporate America. Corporations must have counsel, and small companies may have an attorney on retainer. In this situation, the paralegal deals with the company as a client and bills time. As companies grow, they continue this relationship with an attorney or switch to a... (379 views)
Litigation Paralegal: The Paralegal of All Trades One student recently asked me, "When people say 'litigation,' they're not talking about practice areas are they? .They're talking about the process of settling the dispute, whatever that dispute is. . . . Right?" (148 views)