Chapter 1

Discovering the Paralegal Profession

IN THIS CHAPTER

Looking into what paralegals do

Familiarizing yourself with the kinds of workplaces paralegals encounter

Getting the proper training to work as a paralegal

With so much media coverage for attorneys and so little for the equally important paralegals, you may not be entirely familiar with what a paralegal career entails. In this chapter, we tell you what paralegals do, where paralegals work, and what it takes to become a paralegal.

Almost a Lawyer: What a Paralegal Does

Both paralegals and lawyers are legal professionals. The difference is that an attorney must supervise a paralegal's work, and a paralegal can't do certain things, like give legal advice and represent clients in court.

But there are many things paralegals can do. Because using a paralegal instead of an attorney can save a lot of money, many law firms and corporations include paralegals in their staff. As a paralegal, you'll likely be doing many of the tasks that in past decades were accomplished primarily by licensed attorneys. We cover some of these important tasks in the following sections.

Researching and analyzing the law

Courts make decisions about current cases based on the decisions made in past cases. So, to effectively prepare a case, you have to know what the courts have decided in similar circumstances and evaluate them to figure out how they apply to the case you're working on. You find prior cases and relevant statutes through legal research.

Performing legal research can eat up gobs of time, so attorneys often count on competent paralegals to take up this duty. No matter which area of law you enter, you'll have to do legal research. If you work in areas that frequently require litigation, you'll do lots of research, but even other areas like domestic law, trusts and estates, corporate law, and entertainment law are going to require you to hit the books.

Of course, legal research has moved away from books and into computer technology. This doesn't mean that you'll be doing less research, just that you may be doing it from your desk rather than heading to a law library. (Chapter 13 shows you how to research the law in texts and on a computer.)

Your job doesn't stop with the accumulation of research. You also have to analyze the information by applying the law to facts and probably draft memos that present your analysis for the lawyers in your firm. You may need to apply the information that you find to a corporate contract, will, or other legal document. In many cases, you may even be asked to do initial writing on motions that will be filed in court. So although you may not be speaking in court, your work will be.

Playing Sherlock: Interviewing and investigating

Cases aren't only about relevant statutes and case precedents; they're also about the facts. As we discuss in Chapters 11 and 12, you may interview witnesses and collect evidence in your paralegal career. Evidence gathering is especially important in any kind of litigation. Litigation occurs in many areas of law. For example, corporate law may involve litigation stemming from contract disputes or product liability; patent and trademark law may lead to trials over intellectual property rights; and family law features frequent litigation, especially stemming from divorce and child custody issues.

For each of these kinds of lawsuits, there are witnesses to interview and evidence to gather. For example, if your supervising attorney were working for a plaintiff in a product liability suit, you might need to gather information on the harm caused by the product, interview other people who may have been adversely affected by the product, work to determine what the company knew of the danger and when, and collect information from any additional witnesses.

Even if you aren't working in litigation, you may still need your interview and investigation skills. For example, when you help prepare a prenuptial agreement for a family law practice, you need to determine the client's assets and investigate the background of the future spouse. Whatever area of law you become involved in, you'll use interview and investigation skills.

Convening with clients

Without clients, the practice of law wouldn't exist. Tasks like legal research and document preparation may seem to be the main duties of legal professionals. But, you only engage in these and other legal tasks because you're working on behalf of a client. Establishing good relationships with clients is essential to open communication and good legal practice - and it's also important to strengthening your career.

During your paralegal career you may find that you're often the liaison between the client and the attorneys you work for, which may be one of the most important duties you have. As the liaison, you keep the client informed of how the case is progressing and work with the client to get all the relevant case information. Then you accurately relay what the client tells you to the attorney who represents the client.

As a paralegal, you generally aren't allowed to have your own clients. If you tell clients that you're representing them in a legal matter, you're probably guilty of the unauthorized practice of law. So, in every case, clearly communicate to the client your status as a paralegal. All your duties are supervised by a licensed attorney, which means that you communicate everything the client tells you to your supervising attorney. Attorney-client privilege doesn't require or even allow you to keep any secrets from your client's lawyer. (You can find more on these and other ethical concerns for paralegals in Chapter 15.)

Administrating the legal environment

In some offices, you may work as a case administrator. An administrator handles the case details for a client and the attorney. For example, law firms may have special accounts where they keep money that belongs to clients rather than to the firm. If a client wins a judgment or if money included in a will is being dispersed, that money passes through the accounts of a law firm. Or, you may keep track of the money bequeathed through a will if you work for a probate attorney.

WHY IT PAYS TO BE A PARALEGAL

Many people with dreams of working in the legal profession think first about becoming an attorney. The reality is that becoming a paralegal may make more sense than becoming an attorney. In general, paralegals don't make as much money as the licensed attorneys they work for. However, some experienced paralegals, such as those working in large corporate firms, may make considerably more money than young attorneys in other areas like criminal and family law. For the sake of comparison, consider two imaginary college students who graduate from the same college in the same year and end up working at the same midsize corporate law firm three years later.

Ann decides to attend law school after graduation. Because of her good grades and LSAT scores, she's accepted at a competitive law school, one that doesn't offer many scholarships. So Ann has to finance her education with loans. The average cost of tuition, living expenses, and books at a competitive law school is more than $55,000 per year. Federally guaranteed loans only cover about half of this, so Ann has to take the rest in private loans with higher interest rates. At the end of her three years of study and her six months of preparing for the bar exam, Ann is in debt for more than $100,000. To pay off her loans within 20 years, Ann makes monthly payments of as much as $2,200 per month. Ann also had to forgo three and a half years of wages while she was in law school and studying for the exam.

John decided after graduation to become a paralegal. He chose a course of paralegal training that took about a year, but the classes fit his schedule so that he could also work full-time as an administrative assistant at a law firm. His tuition was much lower than Ann's, and because he was working, John didn't have to take out any loans at all. After completion of his course, John stayed with the firm as a paralegal instead of an administrative assistant.

By the time Ann is hired by the firm, John has already worked there for three and half years, the last three as a paralegal. He has earned raises each year and is making $60,000 per year. Ann joins the firm at a salary of $85,000 (a good starting salary for an attorney). Ann's loan payments of $2,200 per month add up to about $26,000 per year. So, when taxes are taken into account, John actually has more disposable income than Ann! In addition, John has saved $20,000 from his three and a half years of working, while Ann still has to pay off $100,000 in debt. In terms of wealth, John is starting out $120,000 ahead of Ann! Even if Ann's salary rises faster than John's, it will probably take about 20 years for Ann to catch up with John in terms of wealth.

As this example illustrates, for many people, becoming a paralegal is a better way to get involved in a law career.

In a small law office, your paralegal duties may also include administrating the entire operation, including the filing system, the calendar, and the billings. (For more on how to manage these tasks, turn to Chapter...