Are you curious about a career as a Paralegal or Legal Assistant in the United States of America? Now you can learn what Paralegals and Legal Assistants do, the work environment, how to become one, salary, and job outlook.
What are Paralegals and Legal Assistants?
A Paralegal is a person who assists attorneys with the organization and preparation of their legal papers. The term Paralegal is often used interchangeably with Legal Assistant, which means that there is no difference between the two roles and responsibilities. Paralegals work for large law firms or they are self-employed. Paralegals are legal professionals who specialize in the practice of law and assist lawyers. They perform many tasks that fall under the practice of law such as document review, litigation support, and assisting in depositions.
Legal assistants perform paralegal tasks, such as preparing documents, and also assist lawyers with research and administrative tasks. Legal assistants and paralegals perform many tasks. For example, they may collect client records, file documents, prepare court documents, assist with litigation, and manage legal budgets.
As with most other legal professions, paralegals and legal assistants work in a team environment. Paralegals and legal assistants are usually employed by large law firms. In a large firm setting, paralegals and legal assistants may work alongside or with other paralegals, legal secretaries, administrative staff, and law clerks. Smaller law firms can employ either one or two paralegals. A paralegal or legal assistant does not have to be employed by a large law firm, however.
Legal Assistants perform many of the same duties as a Paralegal but may also assist attorneys with more administrative functions of the law firm. The types of law offices in which Legal Assistants typically work include real estate, family law, probate law, bankruptcy, collections, and personal injury. Legal Assistants typically perform tasks that are outside the legal practice of law. For example, they may review documents related to a real estate transaction, file motions in a probate case, or collect overdue bills for a personal injury claim.
Paralegals perform some of the same tasks as a Legal Assistant. They may prepare court filings, such as pleadings, deposition exhibits, and motions. However, Paralegals are trained to perform more specific tasks than Legal Assistants. Paralegals must complete special training courses and pass a certification exam before they can become paralegals. Paralegals must pass an examination and take additional courses to obtain the appropriate licenses to practice law in different states.
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Greeting Maestro Sersea
High steaks, high speed, and at times high stress the working of the world of law are supported by efforts of paralegal and legal assistance. These law professionals help lawyers prepare for hearings and trials, draft documents, and coordinate electronic materials such as emails, accounting databases, and websites related to a trial or investigation. T
They gather case facts and dig into related laws and regulations write up reports and schedule meetings and interviews with witnesses, lawyers, and others. Not, all paralegals work with trails lawyers.
Corporate paralegals help prepare employee contracts, shareholder agreements, and financial reports. They stay current with regulations to give up-to-date information paralegals also specialize in areas such as Criminal law, intellectual property, immigration, and family law. Most paralegals work for law firms, some are employed in government or the finance and insurance industries. In small firms, paralegals have more varied duties, and their work lasts the duration of a case. While in large firms paralegals make focus on a particular phase of a case. Most paralegal and legal assistants, work full time in an office environment adding overtime to meet deadlines. They may occasionally travel for research preparation for trials, most employers prefer applicants who have an associate degree in paralegals assistance or a bachelor’s degree in another field. Sometimes with a certificate in paralegal studies. The median annual wage for a paralegal or legal assistant is $ 52,920 or $25.44 per hour. The job of Paralegal or legal assistance is projected to grow 12% from 2020 to 2030, faster than all occupations. Paralegal and Legals assistance hold about 345,000 openings in 2020 and is projected 43,000 openings for each year many of these vacancies are expected to need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force such as to retires.
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