The wonderful world of Paralegals! By: Nick Smith, Jessie Plant, Ceney Hernandez, Toni LaForge

What is a Paralegal? A Legal Assistant for 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. A Legal Assistant for 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. “Consider the reason of the case, for nothing is law that is not reason.” – J. Powell

The Role of the Paralegal Draft Pleadings Draft Pleadings Prepare legal arguments Prepare legal arguments Interview clients Interview clients Assist in trial preparation Assist in trial preparation Research laws and previous cases Research laws and previous cases Summarize depositions Summarize depositions Investigate facts Investigate facts Assist Lawyers Assist Lawyers Locate and interview witnesses Locate and interview witnesses “You are like the nurse to the doctor. The doctor plans and the nurse implements.” – Linda Michalik, Paralegal

What Paralegals Can’t Do Set Fees Set Fees Appear in Court Appear in Court Accept Cases Accept Cases Give Legal Advice Give Legal Advice "Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind." – Sir Francis Bacon

Views From the Local Legal Community “As an attorney engaged primarily in litigation work, I utilize the skills of my paralegal on a daily basis in the areas of research, pleadings drafting and preparation for trial, depositions and witness interviews.” – W. Asa Hutchinson, attorney “As an attorney engaged primarily in litigation work, I utilize the skills of my paralegal on a daily basis in the areas of research, pleadings drafting and preparation for trial, depositions and witness interviews.” – W. Asa Hutchinson, attorney

Where You Would Work Private law firms Private law firms Corporate legal departments Corporate legal departments Nonprofit organizations Nonprofit organizations Federal, State and Local Governments Federal, State and Local Governments “Law is order, and good law is good order.” - Aristotle

Work Environment Usually work in office Usually work in office Some work from home Some work from home Hours usually follow standard 40 hours a week, with long hours sometimes required Hours usually follow standard 40 hours a week, with long hours sometimes required Very independent work environment, often unsupervised Very independent work environment, often unsupervised Work with computers often Work with computers often Some work done in law libraries Some work done in law libraries “You get to put a lot of yourself into what you do and that provides a high level of satisfaction.” – Elizabeth Houser, Paralegal a high level of satisfaction.” – Elizabeth Houser, Paralegal

Job Skills Job Skills Strong work ethic Strong work ethic Detail management skills Detail management skills Good oral and written communication skills Good oral and written communication skills The ability to be self-directed and self-disciplined The ability to be self-directed and self-disciplined Initiative Initiative Excellent organizational and time management skills Excellent organizational and time management skills Honest and ethical Honest and ethical “If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers." - Charles Dickens

Salary and Benefits According to a survey conducted by NALA in 2004 the salary and benefits for Paralegals in our area is: in 2004 the salary and benefits for Paralegals in our area is: $33, $45,00.00 salary and benefits $33, $45,00.00 salary and benefits “Where there is no law, there is no freedom.” -John Locke

Educational Paths High School students should take a broad range of subjects such as: High School students should take a broad range of subjects such as: English (highly important) English (highly important) Social Studies Social Studies Government Government Computer Science Computer Science Languages Languages “It is the trade of lawyers to question everything, yield nothing, and talk by the hour.” – Thomas Jefferson

Educational Paths On the job training On the job training Certificate Certificate Associate Degree (most common path) Associate Degree (most common path) Bachelor’s Degree Bachelor’s Degree “In university they don't tell you that the greater part of the law is learning to tolerate fools." – Doris Lessing

NWACC Program NWACC offers an Associate of Applied Science in Legal Studies. NWACC offers an Associate of Applied Science in Legal Studies. The different courses taken will include: The different courses taken will include: Legal Research Legal Research Torts Torts Contracts Contracts Family Law Family Law Civil/Criminal Litigation Civil/Criminal Litigation “A law is valuable not because it is law, but because there is right in it.” – H.W. Beecher

Job Outlook The U.S. Dept. of Labor projects that the number of jobs for Paralegals will grow faster than average at about 33% through The U.S. Dept. of Labor projects that the number of jobs for Paralegals will grow faster than average at about 33% through “Laws and institutions, like clocks, must occasionally be cleaned, wound up, and set to true time.” – Henry Ward Beecher