Criminal Justice Career Guide: Paralegal Resources

"Paralegal" is a word which is used to describe a person who assists lawyers in their work. An individual with a paralegal degree is trained to assist professionals and they don’t have full license at a professional level. There are many types of paralegals like bankruptcy paralegals that specialize in bankruptcy cases, corporate paralegals which specialize in corporate law, government paralegals who work for the federal government, nurse paralegals for the medical field and real estate paralegals who help in residential issues.

What is a paralegal?

A paralegal is an individual licensed to provide services to lawyers. A paralegal is trained to perform legal tasks but is not entitled to practice at the professional level. A paralegal is a person who is employed either by a lawyer or a government agency who performs the works given by the lawyer or any concerned higher authority. The major difference between a paralegal and a lawyer is that a lawyer gives legal advice, appears in court and signs court documents, while a paralegal remains an assistant to the lawyer.

• Meaning of paralegal: Definition of paralegal in the contemporary world, as adopted by state agencies.
• Paralegal: Describes the nature of work and job opportunities for a paralegal.
• 10 reasons to become a paralegal: Top ten reasons to choose this profession and the benefits one gets after becoming a paralegal.
• Paralegal overview: Details regarding the meaning of paralegal, program types, coursework and training.
• Paralegal vs. lawyer: The differences between a paralegal and a lawyer.

What are the duties of a paralegal?

Paralegals have to accomplish many tasks like conducting client interviews, executing case investigations, performing legal research, etc. He or she performs tasks which require analytical skills like “The Socratic Method” which means evaluation based on questioning and discussion and a legal memorandum. This is like a summary of the law related to the concerned issues. There are some skills required for a paralegal like communiaction skills, writing skills basically to draft correspondence, legal memorandum and other documents, research and investigative skills, technology skills, organizing, multi tasking, teamwork, etc.

• Attributes of a paralegal: Describes the duties and attributes of a paralegal. Paralegal career aptitudes and interests are also mentioned.
• Paralegal duties and skills: The required skills for becoming a successful paralegal.
• Paralegal Job Responsibilities: The responsibilities and role of a paralegal.
• Job of a paralegal: Encircles the work of a paralegal i.e. what tasks are accomplished.
• Paralegal job description: Job of a paralegal and the nature of job, with details.

Do I need a license or certification to become a paralegal?

A paralegal license allows the paralegal to offer legal services to the public. A paralegal can also appear in various lower level courts. Paralegal licensing differs from state to state and country to country. For instance, in California, the California Alliance of Paralegal Associations has been set up in which the paralegals need to register themselves. In Texas and North Carolina, voluntary certification programs have been approved by the court to raise the profile of this profession. Florida and Louisiana also have voluntary paralegal certification programs in order to register as paralegals. In the United Kingdom, The National Association of Licensed Paralegals for Licensing of Paralegals operates as a licensing body. The certification process undergoes certain steps. One needs to acquire a paralegal degree or paralegal certificate course from a recognized educational institution which is approved by the American Bar Association. The duration for a degree course is four years and for a certificate course is two years. There is no common fee structure for these courses and vary from institution to institution.

• How to get legal with paralegals: Guides about the licensing of various states and countries.
• The need of certification: The importance of certification and the reasons for one.
• Why certification counts: The advantages of certification and the benefits from it.
• certification An Overview: The process of certification along with all the whereabouts of eligibility and requirements.
• Where do paralegals work?: The workplace of the paralegals and their field of work.

What does a paralegal earn?

There are no set standards for a paralegal’s pay. It differs from company to company. In the USA, the average salary ranges from $25,000 to $100,000 per year. In the United Kingdom, the average salary ranges from £14,000 to £80,000 per year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were approximately 238,000 jobs in 2006 and a 22 percent job growth rate is predicted from 2006 to 2016. The major scope of job opportunities will be likely in consumer organizations, state, federal and local government agencies, and courts and community legal service programs.

• Paralegal salaries: Description about the basic salary of a paralegal.
• Average salary: The average salary of a paralegal.
• Paralegal average salary: Instructs about the average salary one receives after becoming a paralegal.
• Paralegal job statistics: The job and employment statistics of a paralegal.
• Job opportunities: The job opportunities for a paralegal in various fields.

Where can I get paralegal training?

In the United States, there are two major national institutions, the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA). In the United Kingdom, the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) and ILEX are the major institutes. The top schools according to World report offering paralegal courses are Georgetown University in Washington D.C, New York University in New York City, Berkeley College in California, Tulane University in Louisiana, United States, Day Mar College in Kentucky, USA, Fremont College in Cerritos, California, Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale, Everest College, Kaplan University and Ashworth College in Georgia.

• Law school directory: All the top schools in the world and various online schools.
• Top ten online colleges: Top ten online institutes where one can study the course of paralegal.
• Paralegal programs in the U.S: Different Paralegal courses running in the colleges of the U.S.A.
• Paralegal Correspondence Schools: Schools that offer correspondence courses for paralegals.
• ABA Approved Programs: Programs in paralegal studies that are approved by the American Bar Association.
• Paralegal Schools by State: Paralegal schools, salary outlook and coursework by State. The most visited paralegal state pages on this site are currently New York, Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Georgia, and New Jersey.

What else do I need to know?

October 23^rd, 2005 was decided as Paralegal Day by the Texas House of Representatives. There are some famous paralegal characters in pop culture as well, like Erin Brockovich, who is the most well-known. A movie was made about her life in 2000.

• Paralegal Day: Gives information about the Paralegal Day.
• Paralegal Field: Lists all the fields related to paralegal course.
• Fast Facts: All the facts that one needs to know regarding paralegal courses.
• paralegals All Information: Covers all the information regarding paralegals.
• Scholarships for Paralegals: Informs about the various sources of scholarships for doing paralegal course.

Paralegals are not lawyers but assistants to lawyers. They do the legal work provided by the lawyer. The work includes research work, administrative duties and more. A paralegal must be able to work in a high pressure environment. The licensing procedure may differ from state to state. Good communication and writing skills are a must for any paralegal. The growth of paralegal jobs is increasing tremendously and it has a rewarding future.