The field of law is complex and constantly evolving. With the growing social, political and economical fabric of the society, the challenges before the state laws for maintaining effective law and order has risen drastically. And so has the workload and stress on the lawyers. Catering to the diverse cases in innumerable fields, lawyers’ profession is generally a race with the time! This race has necessitated the need of the legal assistants, also called as paralegals. Just like medical assistants assist doctors, legal assistants help the lawyers in successfully completing their tasks. Paralegal duties are the crucial parts of the paralegal job description and this article focuses on it.
Duties of a Paralegal
There are innumerable tasks that are expected from the paralegals, right from researching for a case to filing of case forms in the courts. The paralegal is directed by the senior lawyers to do a thorough research for some case and then update the lawyer about the relevant points of the case. One of the paralegal duties is to check the legal documents and validate them for submission in the court. The paralegal duties are not just limited to office work, they are also responsible for scheduling meetings, appointments and locating witnesses for the lawyers. It won’t be an exaggeration, if it is said that the paralegals form an important part of the lawyer’s successful career.
A good paralegal can help his lawyers by executing his responsibilities in an excellent manner. The paralegal duties also include managing the corporate clients and acting as a source of communication between the lawyer and clients. Since the lawyers can’t always be available for some meetings, the paralegals are expected to manage and take necessary information from the clients.
There are various specializations of the paralegals and as per the industry the paralegals can have varied job descriptions. For example, paralegals working with attorneys in cases of medicines are called nurse paralegals and they help in cases related to pharmacy! The paralegal duties of the bankruptcy paralegals are linked to the bankruptcy laws. The bankruptcy paralegals are in great demand during harsh economy wherein the bankruptcy law suits filed are in large numbers. Read more on how to become a paralegal.
Paralegal Educational Requirements
The paralegal duties demand skill and knowledge that are helpful in carrying out the large number of responsibilities. The educational requirement for becoming a paralegal are a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies or in some cases a master’s level course. The American Bar Association (ABA) approves the certificates and degree courses in paralegal studies. Besides this, it is mandatory for the candidate to pass the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) exam conducted by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). Effective communication skills are of prime importance as the paralegals have to deal with different types of people of diverse backgrounds.
Paralegal Salary Range
Working as assistants to the lawyers is enriching experience for any learner and so the prospective paralegals must take maximum advantage of the opportunity and learn the skills of this field. The paralegal salary range for the lowest 15% of the legal assistants are found to be between USD 25,000 to USD 30,000. The highest legal assistant salary has been up to USD 70,000 (approx) and it is enjoyed by the paralegals working in fields related to intellectual rights and property taxes.
As we can see, paralegal is now a growing field and there is an appreciable competition to be recruited as legal assistants of established lawyers. Paralegal is a field that presents great career opportunities to its aspirants and anybody interested in law studies can pursue it for gaining good experiences of law work. The paralegal duties demand an imposing personality with very good interpersonal skills. So, prepare yourself likewise and then enter into this field. All the best!
