Jun 04

Paralegal Salary Range

Dental Assistant No Comments »
<img src="http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/322549-105-57.jpg" width="233" height="350" alt="Paralegal Salary Range" class="ImgBorder"

Apart from careers in medical and engineering, many people nowadays are opting for a career in legal services. Certainly, lawyers and attorneys are not common people. These are the ones that fight for justice and therefore have a different level of respect in the society. Now, career in law is not just becoming a lawyer, rather there are many other career opportunities which not only have an excellent career outlook, but also are high earning. Paralegal is one such career option.

The concept of paralegal services started developing somewhere in the 1960s, when lawyers strongly felt the need of trained legal assistants, that would help them in providing prompt and efficient legal services. Therefore, paralegals can be defined as well educated and trained professionals that render legal assistance services and also perform law related work under the supervision of lawyers. However, they are not licensed to pursue legal practice and provide direct legal advice to people. Now, this definition is just a glimpse of what paralegals do. Actually they are responsible for many more things. So here’s a discussion on the paralegal salary range, its job description and also the educational requirements.

Paralegal Job Description

We’ve already seen the definition and therefore got an idea of what exactly is the duty of paralegals. The following text is just an elaboration on the same, speaking about the job description of paralegals.
The most important duty of paralegals is to assist the lawyers in legal work. However, besides this, they are expected to perform any law related work, assigned to them by the lawyers.
Other duties and tasks performed by paralegals are, conducting research on legal cases under the supervision and guidance of the lawyer.
Maintaining all the legal documentation and case files pertaining to the cases of lawyers.
Initiating correspondence with the clients, pleading and also preparing drafts of legal documents.
Explaining the case to the witnesses and also interrogating with them on a primary level. Maintaining contacts with the clients.
Looking after the administrative and clerical work of the lawyer’s office.
Be present with the lawyer at the time of court hearings, trials, execution of wills, real estate closings etc.
Paralegal Educational Requirements

Paralegal has now become a recognized occupation and therefore many people are increasingly opting for paralegal jobs. Today, there are many colleges and institutions imparting training on paralegal services and taking care of all the certifications associated with it. Most of the people, go for a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies, while some other continue studying up to the master’s level. These programs should be approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) and also the candidate must clear the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) exam conducted by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). Besides, formal education, paralegals should also possess effective communication skills, deep knowledge and understanding of legal procedures and must be efficient with computers. Formal education is followed by ‘on the job training’ in the lawyer’s office. Read more on effective communication skills.

Salary Range for Paralegals

Although paralegals always remain assistants to the lawyers, the profession turns quite high earning with knowledge and practical experience. The lowest 10 percent of paralegals earn around USD 27000 – USD 30000, whereas the middle half earn somewhere around USD 35000. Salary range of the most experienced paralegals exceeds USD 65000. These are all approximate figures and it should be noted that the salary range depends upon the organization’s size, volume of business and your understanding of the subject.

Hopefully, now you must have got an idea of the of the paralegal salary range, job details and the educational requirements. The career outlook for paralegals is excellent as their jobs are not confined to the lawyer’s office. In fact, many multinational corporations, private firms and government offices, also require paralegal services for their lawyers and certainly, the pay scale in such ventures is quite high.

Tagged with: • •
Mar 09

Paralegal Duties

Medical Assistant No Comments »
<img src="http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/353360-2555-38.jpg" width="340" height="255" alt="Paralegal Duties" class="ImgBorder"

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!

Tagged with: •
preload preload preload