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Overview:
While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, many of their tasks are delegated to paralegals. Also called legal assistants, paralegals continue to assume a growing range of tasks in legal offices and often times perform many of the same tasks as lawyers. However, they are explicitly prohibited from carrying out duties which are considered to be the practice of the law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, and presenting cases in court.
Paralegals are found in all types of organizations, but most are employed by law firms, corporate legal departments, and various government offices. They can work in different areas of the law, including litigation, personal injury, corporate law, criminal law, intellectual property, bankruptcy, immigration, and real estate.
Role:
The duties of a paralegal differ widely based on the type of organization in which they are employed. Paralegals who work for corporations often assist attorneys with employee contracts, shareholder agreements, stock-option plans and employee benefit plans. They may also help prepare and file financial reports, and prepare financial forms to secure loans for the corporations. Paralegals often monitor and review government regulations to ensure that the corporation is aware of new requirements and is operating within the law.
Paralegals in the public sector generally analyze legal material for internal use, maintain reference files, conduct research, and collect and analyze evidence for general use by the agency and the public.
Qualifications:
The most common way to become a paralegal is through a community college paralegal program that leads to an associate's degree. The other common method of entry, is through a certification program. Some employers train paralegals on the job, hiring college graduates with no legal experience or promoting experienced legal secretaries. Other entrants have experience in a technical field that is useful to law firms, such as a background in tax preparation.
Review our list of Paralegal Training Schools >>
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