I’m currently a technical writer in Minnesota that’s suffering (possibly) from some burnout. I like what I do, but my job’s never been a priority for the companies I’ve worked for and it’s not very fulfilling. Sadly, the money’s good, so I’m not sure I’m ready to leave yet.
But I think I am getting ready to leave. A job I’ve always been interested in is that of a paralegal. Unfortunately, to me a “paralegal” is something like an “engineer” - I’m not really certain what it is they do. I’m an English major who dabbled with going into Chemical Engineering for a while, so I’ve got both communicative, analytical, and technical skills, all of which I think would be a good fit. I’m a writer, which would help with the writing tasks I’ve heard paralegals have.
So, friends, tell me all - do you (as a paralegal, or as one who knows paralegals/legal secretaries) do only grunt work? Do you research, write briefs, help with cases? Is it only administrative? Are you satisifed with your pay? Do you enjoy what you do - do you feel like you do something that matters? Does it really suck? Is there a lot of turnover? I need to know these things.
It really depends on what type of firm you work for. I am a public defender, and have used paralegals for the last 10 years. They do research, draft briefs and motions for me, and help me keep up with the jail interviews. Every lawyer I know uses them and I think it’s a growing field. If you have excellent writning skills- which, given your current career, you must- you are going to be very marketable.
I have a friend who is a paralegal for a medium-sized firm in Athens, GA, and they specialize in medical malpractice suits. She makes more money than most of the lawyers I know- she also works harder than most of them.
Just make sure you get into a good program- some are definitely better than others. Try to get one that includes an internship so you'll have some idea of what you're getting into and what your interests are.
Good luck!
Immigration paralegal here. My mom has also been a paralegal for 20+ years. I draft visa petitions, and since this is a field of law (employment-based immigration) where it’s rare to need to represent peple before a judge, I do most ofwhat junior-level attorneys do. I do basic research, a lot of writing, and some client contact; I also have communication with INS and embassies/consulates.
For most fields of law, it’s best to get a pralegal certificate first. But most programs don’t teach immigration law, so I did things basically through on-the-job apprenticeship.
There are firms that treat paralegals like secretaries, and firms that treat paralegals like legal professionals; make sure you work for the latter, not the former, or you’ll be deathly bored. And make sure you’re working in an area of law that you find interesting. My firm has very low turnover and is considered tops in its field; that’s what makes all the difference.
Wow, katie and Eva, this is great stuff - thanks! Some further questions for your consideration:
In my area (Minneapolis), I’ve seen commercials for a school of business offering a paralegal certificate - it’s a two year program. Is this a good option, or should I research what the Univ of Minnesota offers (if anything)?
Are there many paralegals who try to go on to get their law degree? If so, how long are they looking at for schooling?
What constitutes a good paralegal program? Internships I see, but is there anything else I should look for - is there a certification or such from some sort of governing body, should I look for accredited universities and colleges rather than “continuing education” type schools?
I was a paralegal for 3 years when I graduated from college. I worked for the head of the environmental law team at a huge law firm, and as a result got to do more related to rain-making than the actual practice of law. Among my duties were:
Being the managing editor of The Busiiness Lawyer, published by the American Bar Association Business Law Section. I solicited articles, sent them out for peer review, proofed and cite-checked the articles for publication, and deal with the printers. I did manage to mangle Santayana’s quote re: those condemned to repeat history but didn’t get fired for it.
Proofing, editing, and assisting in the writing of law review articles on Associate Justice Lewis Powell and Associate Justice Black. Despite my numerous spelling goofs on this site, I was good at this and enjoyed it.
File management on an environmental litigation that had been going on for nearly 20 years. Making sure that I knew what portions of the files were where, who had them, why they had them, and when they were coming back.
I also did an incredible number of one-off jobs. For example, I got a call one Sunday afternoon at around 3:00 telling me that a document was a the office and was needed in Philadelphia that evening (I live in Richmond). A plane ticket was waiting for me at the terminal. I went to the office, got the document, went to the terminal, boarded the plane, landed in Philly, caught a cab to someone’s house, delivered the document (the cabby waited), got back in the cab, went back to the Philly airport, and flew back to Richmond. I have no idea what this delivery job cost, but it wasn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
Snickers,, I don’t know what types of programs are available in your area, but if the local university has one, I’d look at that one first. I have had 3 paralegals from the local tech school- two (including the one I have now) were excellent, one was so-so. The program was taken over a few years ago by a guy who actually practices law, and I think that made a difference in the quality of the graduates. I also don’t know what, if any, accreditation proceedures there are, or if they vary from state to state.
There are paralegals who go on to law school- I had a few in my class. It probably gives you a leg up on the research and writing, plus you're pretty much an expert at whatever field you've been working in (at least compared to a bunch of snotty first year students!). My paralegal knows more about criminal law than a lot of the attorneys I see in court.
I had “paralegal” in my job title, though my job description was far more complicated than that. Here’s something you should know off the bat:
If I wrote something acceptable and non-legal, it went out with my name on it. If I wrote anything spectacular, the lawyers would edit it just enough so that they could knock my name off of it and sign it themselves.
Once or twice I had it out with a particularly pompous fellow who would snake my work, and then try to shave my billable hours on the grounds that “we can’t charge for the same work twice.” The prick. I had a billable hour goal just as did all the firm’s lawyers, so I made sure that dog didn’t hunt.
I don’t know if those monkey-shines are universal or just unique to my firm, but I’m pretty certain it’s S.O.P. for paralegals to go uncredited for their work in cases where the lawyers’ butt is on the line–motions, legal memoranda, and draft legislation, among other things. That seems fair enough to me, but if you’re sensitive about being recognized in print for what you write, you might want to look elsewhere.
The money was okay; it seemed to top out in the low-50s, but I work in Indian Affairs where the pay for everyone is significantly less than other realms of practice.
Freshly minted paralegal here, though not yet employed. I just completed a certification program at a community college here in the SF Bay Area. Considering the state of the local economy however, I probably should have gone through a univeristy sponsered one.
I also have a tech background, with nearly 8 years of QA work under my belt. So for me, a position with a software company’s legal department would be a good first step. I’d also like to see if working in the legal field appeals to me. If it turns out I really like it, law school may be in my future.
The classes I took were all over the map, from basic business writing to moderately complicated legal research and writing. (The program also offered imigration law, though I took environmental law instead.)
I’d stick to regionally accredited universities, if at all possible. Roosevelt College here in Chicago has one of the oldest programs in the country; it’s a post-bachelor’s program, and runs 9 months (my mom got hers there a few years ago, when it was only 4 months). So if you have a degree already, it probably makes sense to dig up a program like that one.
In a nutshell, I have been paralegaling for large New York City law firms for the past two years. It is downright dismal; there is virtually nothing to recommend it save the excellent money. No paralegal certificate is needed here, and in my opinion, only a minimal amount of literacy is actually required.
My job is purely administrative, and the turnover is very high. I jumped ship after nine months and transferred laterally to another firm, and in another six months I will be leaving the industry altogether for greener pastures. Most paralegals in my sphere are young aspiring lawyers, who want to save a bit of money and get a taste for New York law before they shuffle off to law school.
I would be happy to discuss my experiences in greater detail if you like, though I suspect my opinion of the profession is in the minority here.
I have a very small paralegal business I run out of my home. Most of it is filling out forms for small claims court, pro se bankruptcies, letters of discovery for traffic tickets and cease and desist letters to collection agencies. I make about 2 grand a year and I break even after expenses. Sometimes I wish my full time job did not pay so well, I would like to give it a go full time.
Hey, Sliv: What do you do about that section of the B&P Code requiring paralegals to go back to school four four hours every three years? I wanted to get hired as a paralegal by the LA Unified School District but they said I had to meet that requirement. My college (El Camino, Torrance, CA 90506) hasn’t had time to accommodate this statutory requirement, nor has any other school in the L. A. area. What should I do?
Again, thank you all for your replies - here’s a few more questions for your consideration:
Is there a trend in paralegaling - for example, do most students head for the criminal law because that’s what’s “exciting” or do people generally head for what genuinely interests them? Would “specializing” (for example, going into property law when everyone else heads for criminal law) help me garner a better job and more pay?
How’s the job market for paralegals? Has it really been affected by the economy downturn, are jobs hard to find, or is it better than other sectors (like tech writers - yikes, that’s dismal).
Besides working for strictly law firms, what other opportunities are there? I’ve a friend who worked as a paralegal for Compaq (before they were bought), so I know that the computer companies have them, but what about others (for example - 3M, Honeywell, Cargill, Best Buy, Medtronics are big employers here)? What sorts of work would a paralegal do at one of these places? How about hospitals or insurance companies?
Thanks, all, for the answers - it’s most enlightening. Keep 'em coming!
People tend to go where the jobs are. I got my start in bankruptcy/creditors’ rights about two years ago for reasons that should be fairly obvious.
It depends. If you are a corporate paralegal in mergers and acquisitions, well, you should probably consider retooling. For me, on the other hand, the market is fantastic. I get regular calls from recruiters. I got very lucky that I ended up in CR when I did.
I know they are out there, but I don’t know how much opportunity there is now. An acquaintance of mine is a paralegal for the NBA, interestly enough, but I have no idea how she got that job. I also do not know what kind of work paralegals retained by corporations actually do.
There are a number of paralegals that specialize in intellectual property (often called “foreign filing specialist” or “docket clerk” or something else other than “paralegal,” but they fill the same basic roles). The market for these in law firms is pretty fierce right now, and larger companies and universities also hire them in their patent/licensing departments. There is less writing than for many other paralegal positions, but an enormous amount of responsibility, juggling deadlines and coordinating overseas counsel. Having a technical background would be a plus, especially if you could help with doing prior art searches for patents.
Again, I talked about this to my law instructor at El Camino College and got a satisfying answer.
According to a legal journal, there’s a company in Pasadena, working with the State Bar, that produces cassettes and CDs with material on them, that you listen to, to meet the statutory requrements. (And at $104 for the six cassettes I got, it’s still a bargain.) The tapes came with a MCLE log I’ve filled out, so I guess I can call myself a “paralegal” again.
I assume other states/provinces/jurisdictions are doing much the sanme thing.