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Posts Tagged ‘Paralegals’

What Does a Paralegal Do?

January 7th, 2010 No comments

By Melissa Steele

Paralegals are assistants specially trained to handle the day-to-day needs of the lawyers they work for. Whether you are the sole assistant to a top lawyer or part of a team of paralegals in a legal department, your job will include the following tasks:

Draft and file documents, Interview clients, Research cases and precedents, Non-legal research

As a paralegals, you will be able to find work anywhere including private law forms, the district attorney’s office, government agencies, major corporations, banks, hospitals, or insurance companies.

What training do I need to become a paralegal?

Community colleges, online institutions, and vocational schools all offer certificates, associate’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees. No matter which program you choose, you will be trained specifically for the position of paralegal.

Your training as a paralegal will give you the tools to make a lawyers job go more smoothly without the ultimate responsibility of the cases. The list of tasks delegated to paralegals grows daily but their scope of practice is very specifically defined especially regarding presenting cases in court, offering legal advice, and setting legal fees.

What will I earn as a paralegal?

Education and experience greatly impact your earning potential as a paralegal. Where you live and who employs you also affects your rate of income.

Large firms and companies in large cities generally pay more than their smaller, more rural counterparts. Many paralegals, however, are often given bonuses in addition to a salary that could land anywhere between $28,000 and $50,000+. Legal secretaries make a bit more with salaries that range from $32,000 to $53,000+. Senior paralegals command salaries of $35,000 to $60,000+.

Do I need to be licensed or certified to be a paralegal?

No. There are some national exams for paralegals but none are required. It is recommended that you enroll in an American Bar Association approved program.

What is the future of the field?

The position of paralegal is expected to grow faster than most professions in the next decade, by more than 30 percent

About The Author

Melissa Steele is a featured writer for http://www.EducationGuys.com. She has been writing about technical vocational schools since 2004. To learn about legal degrees and law schools online, please visit us today.

Paralegal Job Interview Tips

December 11th, 2009 No comments
Paralegal is a term used in many countries to describe non-lawyers who assist lawyers in their legal work. Paralegals are not lawyers. They are not authorized by the government to offer legal services nor are they officers of the court, or even usually subject to government or court-sanctioned rules of conduct.There is hardly any difference in job interview tips for paralegals than those, which are available in general. However, there is a stark difference between the dealings of Paralegals and Lawyers. The former cannot charge fees, offer legal advice, pursue legal careers, or law jobs, whereas the latter can do what the former cannot. As A. Harrison Barnes puts it plainly, Paralegals are mere assistants who are to carry out tasks arising out of a lawyer’s analysis, strategy, and consideration.

The person appearing for an interview for a paralegal has to have a very clear understanding about the work that is going to be provided and the limitations of a paralegal job. The interpretation of the word “Paralegal” and of a paralegal job interview is the point is where the similarities end as mentioned by A. Harrison Barnes.

A candidate appearing for a paralegal career interview needs to have certain qualities. He needs to be methodical, analytical, interactive, and spontaneous to help him or her succeed in the interview.

Methodical: Since the job is that of an assistant, a candidate has to be methodical to be more effective to his or her lawyer with whom they are working. They should be aware about the legal procedures and the law in general.

Interactive: A candidate is frequently asked this question in interviews pertaining to legal careers and paralegal jobs says A. Harrison Barnes. Since on quite a number of occasions it has so happened that the core law team is busy with other cases and hence you have to interact with clients and provide solutions. Here is where your interaction experience counts as it gives a smooth passage to build a better relationship with the clients.

Analytical Skills: Working as a legal assistant or as a paralegal, one has to deal with a huge amount of data. A good analytical mind always helps not only in legal jobs but also helps in the research of the cases the lawyers are dealing in. Since you have to do most of the research work it makes sense to be a good analyzer. Any company will hire a candidate whom they feel is a good analyst.

Education: As per A. Harrison Barnes, a candidate’s preparedness towards legal assistant jobs will be revealed significantly once they are inquired about their training. If a freshman has applied for the position, he or she will provide the details of the trainings they have gone through. However yes, there have been candidates who have no formal training but have on the job exposure towards the work. Quite a number of these paralegals have completed their education while working their way up from the mailroom in a law firm. A. Harrison Barnes informs us that there are Paralegal and Legal Assistant courses of study available at community colleges and private universities as well.

Spontaneous: A candidate has to be spontaneous or must have a presence of mind to bail out of tricky situations, which might hamper the relations with the clients. Spontaneity is also required while conducting research or during interviews. If a candidate has a prior work experience in any particular field or domain, they are asked question relating to their experience, which has to be answered in the smartest way to enable the law firm to make a correct decision of whether to take the particular candidate for the legal assistant job. The personality aspect is also looked at for the profile of paralegal job since working for a law firm demands the candidate to have a good personality. As the legal secretary jobs become monotonous at times, a candidate should be inquired about his motivation towards the work, which would help in determining the right candidate for the legal assistant job.

The average salaries of paralegals and those having legal assistant jobs are US$47,600 in the private sector. However, the salary can range anything from $24,000 annually to over $100,000 annually along with benefits depending on the place you are asked to work. As A. Harrison Barnes mentions in LawCrossing.com, that these are just basic indications however one needs to be formally dressed and be punctual for any interview.

About The Author

A. Harrison Barnes is the founder and CEO of CareerMission, the parent company of more than 90 job-search websites, employment services, recruiting firms and student loan companies. CareerMission (originally Juriscape) employs several hundred employees in 14 offices throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. These companies were literally started from Harrison’s garage several years ago after Harrison quit his job.

LawCrossing Lists Legal Jobs for Everyone

December 10th, 2009 No comments

2009-12-04 12:13:28 -

This press release aims to inform that Lawcrossing.com is one of the leading job sites offering legal job options. It is one site where you get to know about the latest job openings in the legal market.

Lawcrossing.com is one of the leading job sites offering legal job options. It is one site where you get to know about the latest job openings in the legal market. There are a countless number of all types of legal jobs listed here. You can choose from the wide range of legal jobs.

A Division Legal Counsel is required to carry out general legal affairs. The professionals are required to work with a team of specialists including litigation, patent, management of lawyers, and trademark. If you are aspiring to become a Division Legal Counsel, you need to support the licensing, compliance systems support, general business counseling, customer contracting, regulatory support and advertising systems. You will be responsible for globally managing and coordinating the local council system. Lawcrossing.com can help you prepare for these jobs. Ideally a candidate must be experienced in the related field for about 10 to 15 years.

Lawcrossing.com can provide you with valid information, if you aspire to become a paralegal. The paralegals these days are widely hired by the legal professionals to assist them in the court trials and proceedings. As a paralegal, they are responsible for reviewing, researching and interpreting the legal system. A paralegal must be accredited by the ABA institution, in order to secure admission in an elite law firm. You can log on to lawcrossing.com, to receive the latest updates about paralegal job openings.

Those who are looking to find legal secretary jobs can also find them at Lawcrossing.com. The legal secretary is required to perform a wide of functions. There responsibility includes preparation and doling out of legal credentials, like that of motions and appeals, complete forms like that of accident reports for the clients. It is very important that they are well versed with the legal procedures for they are required to perform several clerical jobs in the law firms.

You can also find legal clerk job openings at Lawcrossing.com. A Legal File Clerk is required to create and maintain legal case files by filing daily correspondence, attorney notes, legal research, and index pleadings. They organize office paperwork and other important aspects thus allowing lawyers to focus on their clients and legal practices.

More law jobs you can find on this leading legal job search website include Compliance Law Jobs, Contract Attorney Jobs, Corporate Attorney Jobs, Employment Law Jobs, General Counsel Jobs, Intellectual Property Law Jobs, Labor Law Jobs, Legal Analyst Jobs, Legal Assistant Jobs, Legal Consultant Jobs , Legal File Clerk Jobs, Legal Secretary Jobs, Litigation Attorney Jobs, Litigation Paralegal Jobs, Patent Attorney Jobs, Patent Law Jobs, Real Estate Attorney Jobs, Regulatory Law jobs, Tax Law jobs and more. In case you want to gain further knowledge about different kinds of law jobs available, you need to log on to www.lawcrossing.com.

Source: PR Inside.Com