There are several reasons why a paralegal career is so sought after. As an illustration, were you aware that the average paralegal salary is around $34,000 a year? And that is just for local and state work. Paralegals working in Federal positions might gross as much as double. Not only does a position as a paralegal pay well, but you may not even need a degree. Legal assistants are in massive demand in government positions and at law firms. Realistically, legal assistant employment prospects are expected to grow at a much faster pace than most opportunities through 2014.
For all these reasons, it makes good logic that paralegal careers are increasing in attractiveness. So what exactly does a paralegal do?
In case you didn't already realize, paralegals are legal assistants. In fact, the words are virtually interchangeable. One thing a paralegal cannot do is offer legal advice. But, they do help lawyers in almost every other area of their jobs. A paralegal job can consist of preparing legal documents, performing essential legal studies, and helping with a lot of an attorney's prepatory work. They can work in a variety of fields; spanning from IP law to criminal law. Approximately 70% of all legal assistants in the U.S. are employed in a law firm.
There are not too many (if any) requirements for gaining a position as a legal assistant through most of the U.S. Even though there are no set requirements for a paralegal education, a paralegal certification is valuable and desired by a number of law firms. The following are two paralegal certification tests:
CLA Exam (or Certified Legal Assistant Exam) which is offered by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA).
PACE (or Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam) which is offered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA).
Since the certifications usually have requirements in order to take them, you may want to think about an education in paralegal studies. There are dozens of undergraduate paralegal programs along with Bachelor's and even post-baccalaureate degree programs.
While you can gain a position as a paralegal even without a certification or education, but you may have a more difficult time getting a job and it will likely be for lower pay. Many law firms are moving toward hiring those with formal paralegal education in addition to experience. So while it is a possibility to get hired with little to no formal training, it will make your life easier to gain some before looking for your first job as a legal assistant.
|
