Brooklyn Mullins
Quick Facts: Paralegal 2012 Median Pay$46,900 year $22.59 per hour Entry-Level EducationAssociate’s degree Number of Jobs, ,000 Job Outlook17% (faster than average) Employment Change, ,2000
Paralegals and legal assistants typically do the following: Investigate the facts of a case Conduct research on relevant laws, regulations, and legal articles. Organize and maintain documents in a paper or electronic filing systems. Gather and arrange evidence and other legal documents for attorney review and case preparation. Write reports to help lawyers prepare for trials
Paralegals and legal assistants held about 277,000 jobs in Paralegals are found in all types of organizations, but most work for law firms, corporations, and government agencies. Most Paralegals do most of their work in offices and law libraries. Occasionally, they travel to gather information and do other tasks.
Most paralegals and legal assistants have an associate’s degree in paralegal studies, or a bachelor's degree in another field and a certificate in paralegal studies. In some cases, employers hire college graduates with a bachelor’s degree with no legal experience or education and train them on the job. In these cases, the new employee may have experience in a technical field that is useful to law firms, such tax preparation, nursing, or criminal justice.
The median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants was $46,990 in May The top five industries these paralegals worked were: Federal government $62,400 Finance and insurance $54,670 Local government$47,000 Legal services$44,950 State government$42,050
According to a report recently released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 84.3% of the nation's paralegals are women.
Paralegal