A paralegal is an individual, qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, governmental agency, or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. There are actually a few things that have inspired me to major in this field of work. As I have grown to become the young adult that I am, some personal experiences and personal interests played a huge role along the way.
As a child, a hit television show from the 1980s, Miami Vice, was most popular in my household. Although the show was fictional, it brought about real-life concepts. The overall theme of the show is what lured me into the interests of studying the roles and duties of a paralegal. The two main detectives in the 1980s hit show, Miami Vice, were always known for exposing the "bad guys" and sending them to court, or even incarcerating them. During that process, there were lots of research and paperwork that had to have been involved in doing so. This part of the process is what fascinated me the most. I always wanted to know how the court system worked or how lawyers retained all of their information while preparing for trial all at the same time. I wanted to know the facts; not only in the criminal field of law, but also in the overall
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My instructor, Darleen Dozier, has been an influential person to me throughout this process. She has been in the paralegal field for almost half of her life and the excitement she shares with her class about her experiences is what motivates me the most to continue pursuing this career. Not only does she prepare us for the paralegal work force inside of the classroom, but on the outside as well. She offers fieldtrips, luncheons, and even seminars to help get us better acquainted with the roles and duties of being a
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).
A growing legal profession is the Paralegal profession. Paralegals assist attorneys prepare for their hearings, trials, motions and legal meetings. Yet, their exact duties may differ depending on the size of the firm and the range of law in which the paralegal functions or how that particular office functions. In lesser firms, paralegals duties differ a great deal more. In accumulation to reviewing and documents, paralegals can complete written reports that help Attorneys determine how to best handle their cases. Skilled paralegals are allowed to take on greater roles and responsibilities that may require overseeing group projects or assigning work to other staff or paralegals. Paralegals often work in groups with other paralegals, attorneys
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
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.
Paralegals qualify as a career in the Criminal Justice section. Paralegals work with lawyers and help them manage information on different cases and subjects. Paralegals don’t actually work with the clients the whole time, but they do go over the case and help the lawyer decide what to decide on. Paralegals interview the clients and take lots of notes on the case. Paralegals have to have good learning and listening skills.
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.
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.
Paralegals or legal assistants are qualified by education, training or work experience, but are not required by any state to be licensed. Although, legal assistants may get become certified through such organization as NALA or some state bar associations. Paralegals are a valuable asset to an attorney, but it is important for a paralegal or legal assistant to adhere to the standards of legal ethics and proper conduct, one of which, they must never give legal advice. A paralegal or legal assistant may assist an attorney, but the attorney is ultimately responsible, therefore the paralegal should work under the supervision of said attorney. Currently, there are no absolute requirements for a person to be a paralegal, but with most
A paralegal is a person who assists an attorney in various aspects. As a paralegal, my mom provides paralegal support to multiple attorneys in a fast-paced work environment; managing high volumes of document production; managing attorney deadlines and ensuring compliance with various court deadlines; drafting material pleadings motions, and identifying documents responsive to discovery requests; managing and maintaining privilege logs, drafting subpoenas and correspondence. Assisting attorneys with pre and post trial matters, arbitration, depositions and mediation
Chere Estrin has been writing this blog since 2005. She's been a founder for magazines and associations within the paralegal industry where she's a passionate advocate for those in the field. She's written Paralegal Career Guide along with her posts. Categories on the blog range from advertising, aviation law and bankruptcy law to IRS, identity theft and jury selection. http://estrinlegaled.typepad.com/my_weblog/
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
2. Mrs. Farrah Burkhart, she was my instructor/mentor. We used to be part of a micro business that produce, market, and distribute candles. The team applied concepts like Standard Operating Procedures, Lean Manufacturing, and The 5S Methodology to our work. She shares her wisdom along with teaching the curriculum, what great teachers have in common. I learned a lot from her.
Lawyer is a person whose profession is to represent clients in a court of law or to advise or act for clients in other legal matters. Lawyers serve as both advocates and advisers. As advocates, they speak for their clients in court by presenting supportive evidence. As advisers, they counsel their clients on their legal rights and obligations. Lawyers, also called attorneys and counselors, can interpret laws and apply laws to specific situations, and draft new laws. Much of their work involves researching precedents, which are earlier interpretations of laws and the history of judicial decisions based on that law. Lawyers use precedents to support their cases in court. Many resources from law libraries and public documents to computer
The main reason why I wanted to study Law was the importance it takes in the world. Law builds civilization, protect fundamental rights and protect ideas and inventions through patenting. Anyone can defend his or her right through the legal system. Law can bind an agreement to allow an aircraft to fly from country A to country B. Law is continuously relevant in many context including banking, construction, sports, land, media, commerical, human rights etc. And this excites me more, as it is very broad and in my perspective not going to be repetitive or dull.
After conducting research on this career, I found paralegals have many responsibilities in the legal world. Many of them I was unaware of until this research. Paralegals