Paralegal Career Highlights

Nature of the Work

While lawyers are ultimately responsible for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals—also called legal assistants— continue to assume a growing range of tasks in U.S. legal offices and perform many of the same tasks as lawyers. However, they are prohibited from carrying out duties that are considered to be the practice of law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, and presenting cases in court.

One of a paralegal’s important tasks is helping lawyers prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. Paralegals research the facts of cases and make sure that all relevant information is considered. They also help to identify appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials that are relevant to assigned cases. Once they analyze and organize the information, paralegals may prepare written reports that attorneys use to determine how cases should be handled. If the attorney decides to file lawsuits on behalf of clients, paralegals may help prepare the legal arguments, draft pleadings and motions to be filed with the court, obtain affidavits, and assist attorneys during trials. Paralegals also organize and track files of all documents and make them available and easily accessible to attorneys.

Paralegals perform a number of other vital functions, in addition to this preparatory work. They may help draft contracts, mortgages, separation agreements, and instruments of trust, for example. They also may assist in preparing tax returns and in estate planning. Some paralegals function as office manager, and coordinate the activities of other law office employees and maintain financial office records.

Working Conditions

Paralegals are found in many types of organizations, but most are employed by law firms, corporate legal departments, and various government offices. They can work in many different areas of the law, including litigation, personal injury, corporate law, criminal law, employee benefits, intellectual property, labor law, bankruptcy, immigration, family law, and real estate. As the law becomes more complex, paralegals have responded by becoming more specialized. For example, paralegals specializing in labor law may concentrate only on employee benefits.

A paralegal's duties also differ widely with the type of organization in which they are employed. Paralegals working for corporations often assist attorneys with employee contracts, shareholder agreements, stock-option plans, and employee benefit plans. They may help prepare and file annual financial reports, maintain corporate minutes’ record resolutions, and prepare forms to secure loans for the corporation. Paralegals may monitor and review government regulations to ensure that the corporation is aware of any new requirements and is operating within the law. Experienced paralegals are increasingly assuming additional supervisory responsibilities such as overseeing team projects and serving as a communications link between the legal team and the corporation.

The duties of paralegals who work in the public sector usually vary within each agency. Generally, paralegals analyze legal material for internal use, maintain reference files, conduct research for attorneys, and collect and analyze evidence for agency hearings. They will draft informative or explanatory material on laws, agency regulations, and agency policy for general use by the agency and the public. Paralegals employed in community legal-service agencies help the poor, the aged, and others who are in need of legal assistance. They file forms, conduct research, prepare documents, and, when authorized by law, may represent the community clients at administrative hearings.

Paralegals in small and medium-size law firms usually carry out a variety of duties that require a general knowledge of the law. They may research judicial decisions on improper police arrests or help prepare a mortgage contract, for example. Paralegals working in large law firms, government agencies, and corporations, however, are more likely to specialize in one aspect of the law.

Training and Other Qualifications

Familiarity with computers use and technical knowledge are essential to paralegal work. Specialized computer software the Internet are used to search legal literature stored in computer databases and on CD-ROM. When litigation involvies many supporting documents, paralegals will use computer databases to retrieve, organize, and index various materials. Imaging software allows paralegals to scan documents directly into a database, while billing programs allow them to track hours billed to clients. Computer software packages are often used to perform tax computations and explore the consequences of various tax strategies for clients.

Paralegal programs  include 2-year associate degree’s programs, 4-year bachelor’s degree programs, and certificate programs that can take only a few months to complete. Although most employers do not require certification, earning a voluntary certificate from an accredited school offers advantages in the labor market.

Employment

According to the U.S. Labor Department, paralegals and legal assistants held about 224,000 jobs in 2004. Private law firms employed 7 out of 10 paralegals and legal assistants; while the remainder worked for corporate legal departments and various levels of government. Within the Federal Government, the U.S. Department of Justice is the largest employer of paralegals, followed by the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. A few paralegals own their own businesses, working as freelance legal assistants, and contracting their services to attorneys or corporate legal departments.

Employment for paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow in all sectors much faster than average for all occupations through 2014. Businesses are trying to reduce costs and increase the availability and efficiency of legal services by hiring paralegals to carry out tasks formerly performed out by lawyers. In addition to new jobs created by employment growth, more job openings will arise as people leave the occupation.

Earnings

Earnings of paralegals and legal assistants vary widely. Generally, salaries depend on education, training, experience, the type and size of employer, and the geographic location of the job. Usually paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions. In addition to a salary, many paralegals earn bonuses. In May 2004, full-time paralegals and legal assistants had median annual earnings, including bonuses, of $39,130. The middle 50 percent of full-time paralegals earned between $31,040 and $49,950, while the top 10 percent earned more than $61,390, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $25,360.

Related Occupations

Other occupations that need a specialized understanding of the law and the legal system, but do not require the extensive training of a lawyer, are law clerks; title examiners, abstractors, and searchers; claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators; and occupational health and safety specialists and technicians.

For a directory of paralegal training, degrees and certification, go to:

*Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor