PARALEGAL 101

A beginner's guide to the paralegal

profession
By Julian & Samantha S
1
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
SECTION ONE THE BASICS
Overview 4
Defining Paralegal hat is a paralegal! 5-6
Duties and "esponsabilities hat does a paralegal do! 7
#ypes of Paralegal hat are your options! 8-9
SECTION TWO PARALEGAL TRAINING
Overview 10
Paralegal $ertifi%ation hat your need to &now 11
Paralegal $ertifi%ation ho to %onta%t for your %ertifi%ation 12
Paralegal Programs $hoosing the right s%hool 13-14
Paralegal Salaries 'ow mu%h will ( earn! 15-17
Paralegal Job Outloo& ill ( be able to find wor&! 18
SECTION THREE - RESOURCES
Overview and )inal #houghts 19
*eneral Paralegal "esour%es 20
Paralegal Blogs to )ollow 21-23
2
INTRODUCTION
+y name is Julian, and with my wife Samantha we have de%ided to publish
this free eBoo& as a guide for those who may be %onsidering wor& as a
paralegal- #ogether we run a paralegal information site %alled
http.//paralegal0obdes%riptions-org whi%h we started in September 1233-
Samantha has been wor&ing as a paralegal for about 4 years now, and (
wor& as a tea%her and %areer %ounsellor- e noti%ed a la%& of
downloadable resour%es for young paralegals, so we've put this short
guide together to help you along your way-
#his guide is intended for those %onsidering wor& as a paralegal or legal
assistant- #hroughout the guide we'll aim to %over the basi%s of the
profession while also providing &ey information regarding training and the
ne5t steps you may want to ta&e in order to pro%eed in the industry-
6very effort has been made to ensure that all information in%luded in this
guide is a%%urate at the time of writing- )or your %onvenian%e, a paralegal
resour%e se%tion has been in%luded, with edu%ational lin&s, as well as a
wide variety of paralegal blogs to &eep yourself up to date on the latest
trends in the industry-
#he guide is provided free of %harge, please feel free to re7use, distribute,
print, and share this guide to all who may be interested-
3
SECTION 1 - THE BASICS
Ov!v"#
(n this first se%tion of the guide, we'll %over the basi% 8uestions surrounding
paralegal wor& for those who may not &now what a paralegal or legal
assistant does- e'll begin by e5plaining e5a%tly this, what a paralegal
does and how they do it- )ollowing this up, we'll e5plain what tas&s a
young paralegal might e5pe%t to underta&e on a day to day basis-
"ounding everything up, we'll run through some different types of paralegal
areas of interest-
4
D$"%"%& ' ('!')&') W*'+ ", ' ('!')&')-
So, what e5a%tly is a paralegal! #here are many definitions whi%h vary
slightly depending on the organi9ation- Below are three definitions from
leading legal entities within the :nited States-
A.!"/'% B'! A,,0/"'+"0%
"A legal assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training
or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office,
corporation, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically
delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible"
N'+"0%') A,,0/"'+"0% 0$ L&') A,,",+'%+,
"Legal assistants, also known as paralegals, are a distinguishable group of
persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal services. Through
formal education, training and experience, legal assistants have
knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and
procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the
supervision of an attorney"
A.!"/'% A,,0/"'+"0% 0$ P'!')&') E12/'+"0%
"aralegals perform substantive and procedural legal work as authori!ed
by law, which work, in the absence of the paralegal, would be performed
by an attorney. aralegals have knowledge of the law gained through
education, or education and work experience, which qualifies them to
perform legal work. aralegals adhere to recogni!ed ethical standards and
rules of professional responsibility"
5
D$"%"%& ' ('!')&') 3/0%+"%214
(n plain 6nglish, a paralegal ;or legal assistant< helps a lawyer perform his
or her duties by handling a variety of tas&s that the lawyer may not have
time to do- A paralegal may not provide legal advi%e but is trained in
aspe%ts of the law, and is permitted to %ondu%t legal resear%h, draft
do%uments among other tas&s relating to aiding a lawyer or legal firm- #he
terms paralegal and legal assistant are used inter%hangeably and for all
intents and purposes, refer to the same role-
Outside of the :nited States, terms su%h as legal aid or legal se%retary
may be used, with slight variations in the nature of the wor& from %ountry to
%ountry-
6
D2+", '%1 R,(0%,'5")"+", W*'+ 10, ' ('!')&') 10-
As some may have guessed, the duties and responsabilities of a paralegal
involve primarily aiding an attorney in his or her wor&- #his %an be done in
a variety of ways, and in a lot of %ases, %an vary from field to field- #hose
who wor& in environmental law may not have the same responsabilities
than those wor&ing in litigation or %riminal law- $ompli%ating things further,
%ertain firms may re8uire a paralegal to underta&e additional training in
differing aspe%ts of law, and as a result the duties may %hange over time-
#his is one reason why paralegal wor& presents an ever %hanging set of
%hallenges to be over%ome, and why every year thousands of men and
women de%ide to enter this e5%iting field- #he best way to see& out pre%ise
information regarding paralegal duties in a given field, is to underta&e
paralegal training at one of the many institutions available both online, or
around the :nited States-
)or your %onvenien%e, below is a sample list of duties that a paralegal
wor&ing in )"+"&'+"0% may e5pe%t.
Prepare subpoenas
Prepare %ourt e5hibits
$olle%t information on 0urors
Draft settlement do%uments for lawyer's approval
Prepare noti%e of appeal
#here are many different areas of law a paralegal %an wor& in, below we'll
dis%uss some of these, hopefully giving you a bit of an idea of where you
might want to spe%iali9e- Some of these may also be higher paying than
others, whi%h we'll dis%uss in Se%tion 1-
7
T6(, 0$ ('!')&') W*'+ '! 602! 0(+"0%,-
(t would probably be more a%%urate to refer to this se%tion as different
areas of law studies, as the =type= of paralegal generally refers to the
parti%ular area of law you de%ide to pursue- 'aving said that, there are
many different types of law, with a wide variety of lawyers and paralegals
wor&ing in ea%h field- #o help you along in getting an idea of what field you
may want to pursue, find below some %ommon types of paralegal and a
brief des%ription outlining what e5a%tly these fields involve-
C0(0!'+ L'# 7 +ay refer to dealing with disputes within a %ompany,
handling litigation, as well as aiding %ompany lawyers in filing for
ban&rup%y, among other related tas&s-
C!"."%') L'# 7 Primarily refers to %riminal %ases, where a paralegal in this
field may e5pe%t to handle 0ury resear%h, witness statements, appeal
noti%es, and %ase studies-
E%v"!0%.%+') L'# 7 Dealing primarily with issues of the environment, in
many %ases, enfor%ing international treaties against individuals or
%orporations who may be harming the environment-
I%+!%'+"0%') L'#7 #his %ould involve enfor%ing international agreements
on a %riminal or %orporate level- Paralegal wor& related to this %ould involve
tas&s su%h as reviewing and summari9ing do%uments, finding pre%edent
%ases, and a host of other tas&s-
8
T6(, 0$ P'!')&') 3/0%+"%214
+ore ni%he related studies in%lude.
'ealth >aw
*aming >aw
(ntelle%tual Property >aw
+usi% >aw
Patent >aw
Priva%y >aw
and many more
)or a good idea of different areas of law and how it all fits together, please
refer to the list in%luded here
http.//en-wi&ipedia-org/wi&i/>ist?of?areas?of?law
(t's important to note however that in most %ases, firms will offer many
different options for studies with many firms offering in7house training if
needed- Another point to mention is in may %ases, paralegals might find
themselves helping around the firm with %ommon tas&s su%h as filing or
legal resear%h, whi%h may not be spe%ifi% to a parti%ular field-
9
SECTION 2 - PARALEGAL TRAINING
Ov!v"#
)or most who are see&ing out wor& as a paralegal, the first step is to
%onsider where, and how to pursue training- Although it is was possible in
the past to =wal& in= to a paralegal 0ob without any formal training, this %an
be 8uite rare as the profession see&s trained professionals to handle the
in%reasing demand in paralegal wor&- (n this se%tion, we'll begin by
%overing some basi%s of paralegal training, involving the prin%ipal bodies of
paralegal %ertifi%ation as well as some %ommon options of degrees and
%ertifi%ates-
)ollowing this up, we'll %over different ways you %an a%8uire %ertifi%ation,
briefly tou%hing on online training programs, running through some
advantages and disadvantages of both in7person and online training-
)inishing off this se%tion, we'll dis%uss some average salaries of paralegals
around the %ountry as well as the %urrent 0ob outloo& for the paralegal
profession-
10
P'!')&') /!+"$"/'+"0% W*'+ 602 %1 +0 7%0#
Probably the most important thing to note, is that at the time of writing
;June 123@< there is presently only one state that regulates paralegal
training in the :nited States ;that state being $alifornia<- As su%h, there no
governing body re8uiring any person to a%8uire %ertifi%ation in order to
be%ome a paralegal- Although as mentioned, it is highly re%ommended to
pursue some form of paralegal training to in%rease your %han%es of finding
wor&-
An important distin%tion to ma&e is the differen%e between a certificated
paralegal and a certified paralegal-
A %ertifi%ated paralegal is one whi%h has %ompleted a %ourse or training
%ertifi%ate in paralegal studies, provided by an a%%redited training
institution- +ost people be%ome certificated before be%oming certified, as
for most instututions it is a re8uirment to have su%%essfully underta&en
paralegal training before sitting the e5am to be%ome %ertified- 'aving said
that, it is less important to be a %ertified paralegal than a %ertifi%ated
paralegal, however it is also re%ommended for those wishing to find wor&
as a paralegal or legal assistant to pursue some form of paralegal
%ertifi%ation-
)or more information on the differen%e between a %ertified and %ertifi%ated
paralegal, please visit the offi%ial statement by the Ameri%an bar
asso%iation here
;http.//www-ameri%anbar-org/%ontent/dam/aba/administrative/paralegals/ls?
prlgs?diff?bet?paralegal?%ertifi%ate?%ertifi%ation-auth%he%&dam-pdf<
11
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/!+"$"/'+"0%
Please find below a list of organi9ations whi%h provide paralegal
%ertifi%ation, there are four main bodies whi%h %ertify paralegals in the
:nited States, these are ;in no parti%ular order<.
#he Aational Asso%iation of >egal Assistants ;AA>A, website
http.//www-nala-org/<
#he Aational Asso%iation of >egal Se%retaries ;AA>S, website
http.//www-nals-org/<
#he Ameri%an Allian%e of Paralegals (n% ;AAP(, website
http.//www-aapipara-org/<
#he Aational )ederation of Paralegal Asso%iations ;A)PA, website
http.//www-paralegals-org/<
#he three bodies AA>A, AA>S and A)PA re8uire an individual to pass a
written e5am before being %ertified- AAP( offers paralegal degree
%ertifi%ation based on an individualBs e5perien%e and edu%ation-
12
P'!')&') P!0&!'., C*00,"%& +* !"&*+ ,/*00)
:nderta&ing a paralegal program is the best way to ma5imi9e your
%han%es to find wor& as a paralegal or legal assistant- A%%ording to the
Ameri%an Bar Asso%iation, there are over 3,222 %olleges, universities and
training institutions whi%h %an provided a%%redited training for paralegals-
#he first thing to de%ide however, is the type of training you wish to pursue-
hen it %omes to edu%ation, one si9e does definitely not fit all, and some
people might find %ertain types of training more suited to their needs-
Below are different types of paralegal programs, with a short des%ription on
the type of person they may be suited for-
H0. ,+216 '%1 0%)"% ('!')&') (!0&!'.,8 #his is be%oming an
in%reasingly popular option as more and more institutions move their
efforts online to %ater for an evolving world- #he advantage of this sort of
study is obviously the fle5ibility, students are often able to set their own
hours and study at their own pa%e- :nfortunately the reality is that even
though some of these institutions are fully a%%redited by the Ameri%an Bar
Asso%iation, some firms may not ta&e online programs as seriously, and
may opt for %andidates who have studied in person over online %andidates-
#hose wishing to study online may want to pursue paralegal %ertifi%ation
through the previously mentioned organi9ations in order to ma5im9e their
%han%es of finding paralegal wor&-
13
P'!')&') P!0&!'., 3/0%+"%214
A,,0/"'+, 1&!, 0$$!1 56 +#0-6'! /0..2%"+6 '%1 92%"0!
/0))&,8 #wo year degrees are the most popular option for training in the
paralegal field- )rom an a%%redited institution, it provides all the training
re8uirements employers are loo&ing for while also being a shorter and
more eff%ient study option for students- (t may not be as fle5ible as home
study or online programs, although it provides a great oppertunity to
networ& with fellow students and tea%hers, in%reasing your %han%es of
finding paralegal wor&-
A similar option to the asso%iate degree %an be a %ertifi%ate program
offered 56 52,"%,, '%1 (!0(!"+'!6 ,/*00),: these generally range
from a few months to a year in length and %an %over everything you need
to &now in order to su%%eed as a paralegal-
;02!-6'! /0))& '%1 2%"v!,"+6 (!0&!'., 0$$!"%& 1&!, "%
('!')&') ,+21",8 #he four7year program is somewhat less %ommon for
paralegals, however those who de%ide to re%eive a ba%helor's degree from
a %ollege or university %an generally e5pe%t both a higher salary and
greater employement prospe%ts- )rom here it is also possible to pursue
ever further edu%ation, resulting in a <',+!=, 1&! "% ('!')&')
,+21",, legal administration, or legal studies- #he latter option is 8uite rare
in the industry and most employers are happy enough to hire those with a
ba%helors degree-
'aving said that, as a general rule when it %omes to edu%ationC the more
you study and the harder you wor&, the higher %han%e you have in
su%%eeding- #his is not to say that people have not begun wor& with no
formal training or with 0ust an online degree, but as with anything in life,
you in%rease your %han%es of su%%ess with higher levels of edu%ation-
14
P'!')&') S')'!", H0# .2/* #")) I '!%-
A hot7topi% for most is obviously the salary that a paralegal or legal
assistant may re%eive- At the end of the day, this is what you're being paid
and it is only normal to want some information about this before you start
your %areer- A%%ording to the Beureau of >abor Statisti%s
;http.//www-bls-gov< the average salary in 1231 for a paralegal in the
:nited States was D@E,FF2 a year or D11-F2 an hour-
(t's important to note however that this is an average salary, and depending
on your training, e5perien%e, lo%ation, firm and field of study this may vary-
E>(!"%/
#his may be the greatest fa%tor in determining your wage, as is the %ase
with any profession- ith more e5perien%e %omes more pay, however most
of those reading this guide will li&ely be beginning to little to no e5perien%e
and %oming dire%tly out of a respe%tive training program- #he online salary
information site http.//pays%ale-%om states the average salary of a paralegal
with under one year's e5perien%e being between D1G,HEI and D@G,1@F a
year respe%tively, the main fa%tor de%iding the differen%e li&ely being the
lo%ation of the paralegal as well as the type of training underta&en-
On the other end of the spe%trum, senior paralegals %an earn a very
%omfortable living, Pays%ale as well as the Bureau of >abor Statisti%s both
state top7earning paralegals %an earn in the area of DF2,222 a year-
15
P'!')&') S')'!", 3/0%+"%214
L0/'+"0%
>o%ation plays a very important role in de%iding a paralegals salary- #here
are several further fa%tors in de%iding why a parti%ular lo%ation would
%ommand a higher salary, generally spea&ing though, larger metropolitan
areas result in higher salaries for paralegals- A%%ording to the Bureau of
>abor Statisti%s the top G states by mean salary are as follows.
3- Distri%t of $olumbia ;DIH,2G2<
1- $alifornia ;DE2,2E2<
H- Alas&a ;DE2,212<
@- Aew Jersey ;DG4,4H2<
G- Oregon ;DGE,IE2<
As you might e5pe%t from this list, areas whi%h have a higher %ost of living
often result in a higher salary- Other fa%tors might in%lude the amount of
lawyers or law firms in a %ertain area or the total population of a given
area-
;")1 0$ S+216 '%1 E.()06!
#he Bureau of >abor Statisti%s has also dis%overed that the spe%iali9ed
area of study as well as the type of employer is also a de%iding fa%tor in
getting an estimate of a paralegal salary- >arger firms tend to pay out
greater salaries than smaller pra%ti%es, with te%hnology industries being
the highest in terms of average paralegal pay- Below is the B>S list of the
top G average paralegal salaries by industry- (t is important to note that
some of these industries are %onsiderably smaller in si9e than the ma0or
paralegal industries- Also in%luded is the top G industries by levels of
employment ;how many 0obs are available<-
16
P'!')&') S')'!6 3/0%+"%214
T0( 5 'v!'& ,')'!", 56 "%12,+!6
3- Software Publishers ;DII,3@2<
1- Professional and $ommer%ial 68uipment and Supplies +er%hant
holesalers ;DI@,FI2<
H- Semi%ondu%tor and Other 6le%troni% $omponent +anufa%turing
;DI@,EH2<
@- *rantma&ing and *iving Servi%es ;DIH,2F2<
G- Aewspaper, Periodi%al, Boo&, and Dire%tory Publishers ;DI1,I42<
T0( 5 "%12,+!", 56 .()06.%+
3- >egal Servi%es ;121,FH2<
1- >o%al *overnment ;O6S Designation< J3G,IF2K
H- )ederal 65e%utive Bran%h ;O6S Designation< J3H,H32K
@- State *overnment ;O6S Designation< JF,IG2K
G- +anagement of $ompanies and 6nterprises JE,HF2K
All these things %onsidered, it is never a good idea to base your %areer
%hoi%es purely on salary- Being a paralegal is rewarding wor&, and you
should always %hoose a field whi%h interests you- (n the long7run, you'll
have a more rewarding %areer and if you wor& hard, a ni%e salary as wellL
17
P'!')&') ?05 O2+)007 W")) I 5 '5) +0 $"%1 #0!7-
Assuming proper training and the right mentality, the paralegal profession
remains a stable sour%e of employment for thousands of young people
every year- #he Bureau of >abor Statisti%s pro0e%ts a growth rate of 3IM
from the period of 1231 to 1211, whi%h is higher than the average a%ross
all professions-
One reason for this is the global growth of the legal industry as a whole,
whi%h as a result, spar&s a dire%t growth in the support me%hanism whi%h
allows the industry to %ontinue to operate effi%iently- $urrently, there are
appro5imately 1II,222 paralegal and legal assistants employed in the
:nited States and this is pro0e%ted to rise to H1H,H22 by 1211-
:nli&e some industries, there doesn't appear to be a need to worry about
stability in the legal industry, with every year there %omes a need for more
and more well trained legal assistants to help along the pro%ess in a
variety of se%tors- +any %ompanies are beginning to handle their own legal
wor&, with an ever growing %han%e of finding wor& outside of a law firm and
within a private %ompany unrelated to law-
As always, there will be %ompetition when finding wor&, but 0ust be sure to
ma5imi9e your %han%es by wor&ing hard and ta&ing the right steps to
ensure you will be su%%essful in your paralegal %areer-
18
SECTION 3 RESOURCES
Ov!v"# '%1 ;"%') T*02&*+,
#he best strategy when ma&ing a de%ision on your future %areer is to do
your proper resear%h and to never rely on any single pei%e of information-
#o help you along in %hoosing whether being a paralegal is something you
might want to pursue, we have %ompiled a list of useful resour%es relating
to the paralegal industry as well as a list of hand7pi%&ed blogs by
paralegals whi%h will give you a good idea of what life is li&e Nin the
tren%hesO-
#his will be the last se%tion of this eBoo& so we would li&e to than& you all
for reading through it and sin%erely hope you have managed to ta&e
something useful out of it- Paralegal wor& %an be e5temely rewarding and
lead to a long and fulfulling %areer- $ertain %ases %an really ma&e a
differen%e in people's lives, and with the wide range of fields to wor& in, the
options are always open to e5pand in to new and e5%iting areas of law-
Please feel free to %he%& out our site ;http.//paralegal0obdes%riptions-org<
as we intend to be updating it shortly with more arti%les to help people find
wor& as a paralegal as well as some tips and tri%&s to get the most out of
your %areer- Also have a loo& at some of the blogs in the se%tion below,
there are some very talented bloggers and a wealth of information to be
gained by having a read through their posts-
#han&s for reading and best of lu%& with your future %areerL
Julian & Sam
19
R,02!/, I%$0!.'+"0%
G%!')
http.//en-wi&ipedia-org/wi&i/Paralegal ;i&ipedia<
http.//www-bls-gov/ooh/legal/paralegals7and7legal7assistants-htm ;Bureau
of >abor Statisti%s
http.//legal%areers-about-%om/od/%areerprofiles/p/Paralegals-htm
;About-%om<
A!', 0$ )&') ,+216
http.//en-wi&ipedia-org/wi&i/>ist?of?areas?of?law ;i&pedia<
http.//brown-edu/a%ademi%s/%ollege/advising/law7s%hool/fields7law/fields7
law ;Brown :niversity<
S')'!6 I%$0!.'+"0%
http.//www-bls-gov/ooh/legal/paralegals7and7legal7assistants-htmPtab7G
;Bureau of >abor Statisti%s
http.//www-pays%ale-%om/resear%h/:S/JobQParalegal/Salary
;Pays%ale-%om<
20
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T* E,+!"% R(0!+
http.//estrinlegaled-typepad-%om/
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http.//theparalegal-wordpress-%om/
T* P'!')&') S0/"+6
http.//theparalegalso%iety-wordpress-%om/
T* C')"$0!%"' L"+"&'+0!
http.//www-the%alifornialitigator-%om/%alifornia7litigator/
T* P'!')&') <%+0!
http.//www-paralegalmentorblog-%om/
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http.//samihartsfield-wordpress-%om/
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http.//verbalinsanity-%om/
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http.//pamelatheparalegal-%om/
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P'!')&') B)'# B)'# B)'#
http.//lori0paul-%om/
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P'!')&),
http.//para7mel-blogspot-nl/
D"&"+') P'!')&') S!v"/,
http.//www-digitalparalegalservi%es-%om/blog/
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http.//theempoweredparalegal-%om/
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http.//aparalegalslife-blogspot-nl/
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http.//www-paralegal&nowledge-%om/
P'!',/
http.//parase%-wordpress-%om/
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P'!')&') 411
http.//www-paralegal@33-org/
S0%0.' ;!)'%/
http.//sonomafreelan%e-blogspot-nl/
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http.//paralegaltoday-%om/
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http.//www-newyor&paralegalblog-%om/
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P!'/+"/') P'!')&')",.
http.//www-pra%ti%alparalegalism-%om/
C!"."%') ?2,+"/ D&! S/*00),
http.//www-%riminal0usti%edegrees%hools-%om/
23