The best magazine
When making a career decision, most people still don't know what a paralegal is and what is included in their job profile.
Here we shall clear the air about this profession.
Who Is a Paralegal? To put it quite simply, a paralegal is an assistant for a legal professional, such as a lawyer.
The paralegal is thus a legal assistant.
They cannot try cases, but their main job profile includes assisting lawyers and other legal professionals who they work for prepare for their cases and do other clerical and accounting jobs such as might be included in their tasks.
What Are the Jobs of a Paralegal? A paralegal might be responsible for the following jobs.
This is not an exhaustive list; there can be additions to their profile.
(i)They are responsible to prepare legal professionals for their trials.
(ii)Apart from the trials, they must also prepare their legal professionals for their hearings and business meetings.
(iii)They have to ensure that the research on the case has been thorough.
They are also expected to find out information from past records, such as previous cases, which might be important to a case at hand.
Hence, they manage the research tasks involved in legal cases.
(iv)They are also expected to properly document and record case proceedings for any further perusal.
(v)In most cases, they have to shoulder the responsibilities of fixing up appointments with people relevant to the case, such as fixing up interviews with suspects and witnesses, and then follow these up.
Sometimes, they are sent to take these interviews themselves.
They are supposed to keep proper records when they conduct such interviews.
(vi)They also prepare court filings.
(vii)They also help in simple legal tasks such as drafting contracts, wills, agreements and legal applications.
They assist in making divorce settlement agreements and property agreements.
(viii)Sometimes, real estate transactions and tax filings are also added to their task list.
Where Do Paralegals Work? Paralegals get employment wherever there is need for legal assistance.
They are found mostly in private law firms, but companies that need legal counsel may hire them as well.
Several private corporations retain paralegals.
Paralegal careers might also take you to employment in government agencies.
What Education Is Needed to Become a Paralegal? The paralegal associate's degree is of 2-year duration, which is followed by a bachelor's degree, which is of 4-year duration.
In addition, paralegal certification is also available.
This can be found online as well.
How Lucrative Are Paralegal Careers? Paralegal jobs are highly rewarding.
The salary range that these persons can receive is amazing.
The National Federation of Paralegal Associations puts forward the annual figure of paralegal education costs.
This figure is usually between $50,000 and $60,000.
However, these are just ballpark figures-if you actually get a decent paralegal job, you can stand to go above six figures which is what people coming into the profession are generally looking at.
Source: ...