Lawyer and Paralegals

Paralegals can lead to a career path. Since they lead attorneys to trials, they mainly know the work of an attorney. So if a paralegal want to go to law school and be an attorney or lawyers, they already will know the work and what

I quickly found that this was not the field for me. I did not have the patience for it and hated every day of it. I then took a job as a Patient Access Representative in an emergency room. I loved the hospital environment and the fast pace of the job but the pay was not something I could live with for the long term. I continued to apply for criminal justice positions and continued to get rejection letters. I then started hearing about Paralegal studies being a lucrative field. So I looked into obtaining an A.S. degree in Paralegal Studies. The program was not very long and I decided to give it a try. Once again I had run into the same road block. This time when I applied for open positions, I was told that law firms were looking for someone with a Paralegal certificate and experience. Now I was really dumbfounded. I just could not imagine that attorneys would be more interested in hiring someone with a certificate instead of a degree. I guess I could have gotten a certificate but at that point I was very hesitant about putting any more time or money into that venture.

Criminal law paralegals provide assistance to defense attorneys and prosecutors. Their duties include drafting documents, doing research, interviewing witnesses, putting together discovery information, communicating with other parties, and assisting attorneys when they are in

In order to complete this assignment we must first recognize what Unauthorized Practice of Law is when it comes to paralegals. There is no set definition on what UPL is but as a paralegal there are guidelines to go by. Some ways they can violate the practice of law would be an individual holding themselves as an attorney when they are paralegals, giving legal advice as an attorney would, or representing clients in a court of law. All of the previous are violations and can be subject to several disciplinary actions [ (Unauthorized Practice of Law, 2010) ]. It has been named illegal due to the damages on may suffer due to bad legal advice. In some states it is considered a criminal offense and could be given a jail sentence.

A paralegal is an individual who is qualified, through training, education or by virtue of the experience and are subsequently under employment or merely retained under a given lawyer or law firm, or an agency; to perform work that is delegated to him or her by the lawyer and for which the lawyer is responsible. Across the United States, paralegals profession is regulated by various certification laws, and this ultimately makes their work different.

The role a paralegal has in a law firm is a vital. These professionals are highly valued for the abilities they contribute in the area of knowing the law, legal research and how it applies to a client’s case. Furthermore, paralegals also as assist their Attorneys on a variety of tasks pertaining to a law related matters. Regardless, no matter how knowledgeable the paralegal may be; they are always required to work under the direct supervision of an attorney. There are very little exceptions for paralegals to work in the law field, unsupervised. Even in these exceptions, It is still possible for a professional paralegal, under the supervision of an attorney or not, to still commit UPL (California Legislative Information Business and Professions Code).

Legal information can be given by anyone with law knowledge, a simple statement only of what the law states is legal information, that person leaves it up to the individual to decide how they want to proceed with their case. Generally, legal information is given at no cost. When giving legal advice a paralegal may discuss drafting or revising and official legal document with the oversight of a practicing attorney. A paralegal may discuss with clients legal information consisting of a question whether or not a certain act is legal but may not give legal advice based off of the clients responses. If a paralegal is not setting legal fees, undertaking representation, giving legal advice, or representing a client in court, a paralegal may assist an attorney with anything else. When assisting clients a paralegal does have the right to type up forms for clients however they may not aid in helping them fill out the form. When filling out a form the paralegal could accidentally give advice on what to put and giving legal advice as a paralegal is against the

The Florida Paralegal Program was created in 2007, in order to regulate the paralegal profession in the state of the Florida. This program offers them a voluntary registration in this distingue organization, under the compromise to meet certain requirements such as education, certification, or work experience criteria, and also abide by a Code of Ethics and Responsibilities, all these based on the Chapter 20 of the Rules regulating the Florida Bar. Subsequently, these rules establish that a Florida Registered Paralegal is a paralegal who meets the requirements set out in Chapter 20 of the Rules regulating the Florida Bar. These rules designate that a paralegal is a person with education, training or work experience, who works under the direction of a member of The Florida Bar and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a member of The Florida Bar is responsible. However, there are certain differences, as well as pros and cons, between paralegals that are not registered under this rule and those who are, specifically on the following main points: work experience, education, and requirements to qualify.

Since paralegals can only work under the supervision of an attorney, by doing the opposite may be consider an unauthorized practice of law, so paralegals must avoid assisting in the unlicensed practice of

It is a task in itself for one, such as myself, to allow another to fully grasp the principle of why I want to become a paralegal, let alone explain it within three pages without simply stating, “I desire to use the set of skills and passion that I possess in order to help others while working within this specific field of law.” Nevertheless, the reality of the fact is that it is purely the essence and core of why I have the drive and determination to work towards becoming a paralegal.

To understand what a paralegal does we must first understand what the job of a lawyer entails. Black’s Law Dictionary defines a lawyer as “a person learned in the law; as an attorney,

In stating so, Flynn argues that while some in the legal field think that paralegals are supervised and work under an attorney, therefore do not need to be licensed or certified. Others believe paralegals handle intricate legal matters, therefore should be licensed and certified. This statement from Flynn reinforces my belief that paralegals are essential to the effectiveness of a law firm and leads into my standing that licensing should be in place to ensure education, knowledge and adherence, which in turn will make a paralegal more valuable. Licensing of the paralegal profession and the requirements of experience and education that come with it; would dispel the long time misunderstanding of position titles among law office staff, attorneys and the public.

Lawyers have quite chance of advancement possibilities and employment outlook. Most beginning lawyers start in salaried positions as associates in law firms or as research assistants or law clerks to experienced lawyers or judges. After several years of experience, they may become partners in their firms or set up their own practices. Some lawyers go into politics or become judges. Some become prosecutors or district attorneys. About seven hundred and thirty-five thousand lawyers practice nationwide. The demand for lawyers is expected to grow as fast as the average for all jobs through 2014. However, many people are entering the profession, so competition for available jobs may be stiff. Lawyers who want to work for law firms will find the best opportunities in big cities, while those who are interested in setting up their own practices will find more opportunities in small towns or suburban areas. There are also

The lawyer is the lead in the legal team and has passed the bar examination and have a license to practice law in their respective state(s). In larger firms, the lawyers can be assigned as partners and associates. The partner has actual ownership in the firm whereas the associate are usually on salary as an employee, not being an owner in the firm. The supervising attorney in a large firm is responsible for the actions and work of the lawyers under him/her. The paralegal is responsible for the litigation process. Some of the responsibilities of the paralegal are preparing casework, investigations, preparing briefings, conducting

Each state's regulations are unique and employers' requirements vary widely due to the many kinds of work that paralegals can do (National Federation of Paralegal Associations, 2012). It takes a lot of hard work and really knowing your legalese to be a great paralegal, and I am going to study very hard to get there.