Paralegals and Legal Assistants

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Paralegals and Legal Assistants

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There are 16 reviews of this career.

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Author:

Anonymous

4.5 stars

Date:

June 18, 2008

The best thing about my career is that I have the opportunity to help people who are going through difficult problems and make the process a little easier. It is very rewarding to help people. I enjoy the research I am able to do. The paralegal career can be very stressful at times as there are many deadlines to deal with and as people are facing problems that have required them to get an attorney it can be emotionally draining. I would recommend this career to anyone who is interested in helping people, is a good listener, has good communication and research skills.

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Anonymous

4.5 stars

Date:

June 18, 2008

I am the assistant to a very busy litigator who is also the head of our local office. You must be able to multi-task and prioritize quickly and efficiently. Speed writing or short hand is definitely a plus.

The pros to my position is that I am still able to have more of a family life as opposed to the attorneys with a salary that allows me to live comfortably.

The con to my position is that it is in a major city that I commute to and from.

But the reward of raising my family outside the city is worth all of it.

I don't believe that there are any secrets to this profession - it's pretty much an open book.

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Anonymous

3.5 stars

Date:

March 17, 2008

If you enjoy research, have good written and oral skills, and don't mind multi-tasking, being a paralegal can be a fascinating job.

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Anonymous

1.5 stars

Date:

October 12, 2007

I have been a legal assistant for ~30 years in various legal fields, but mostly assisting trial attorneys. While the pay is better for legal secretaries/assistants than for other non-legal secretaries, there is so much more responsibility. The responsibility can be stressing, but don't let it get to you. When you leave the office, leave all thoughts about it there as well. You do need to be a detail-oriented individual, a self-starter, very organized with an overall knowledge of legal procedures so you know what to do first from all the projects currently on your desk. Experience is the best teacher. There was overtime involved with most of my jobs. And, you needed to work "downtown" to get the best pay scale, which involved tolls, parking, two to three hours just traveling to the job. What I found sad were the [nice] lawyers themselves, and thus the staff, would tolerate lawyers who mistreated the staff and even other attorneys. One ill-tempered attorney would run all over a floor-full of kind attorneys. Maybe it's like that in all professions, but I think the higher pay scale makes those hateful attorneys think the staff will just put up with their cruel and abusive treatment. After 30 years, I cannot recommend this career, unless you find a great attorney who is working solo--then grab him up and smile as you go to work each day knowing you are paid well and treated well to boot! If I had it to do over again, I would do what I love instead of what paid more and I wouldn't waste so much time away from home just in travel time alone to get to a job just to make those extra bucks. So, my best piece of advice to you is this: Don't let the money keep you locked into ANY job where you are being mistreated.

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Author:

Anonymous

4.5 stars

Date:

September 22, 2007

If you want to be a paralegal - a true paralegal - and do all the research, drafting of paperwork, and other "brain work" the career entails, then make sure you go into the field in a large metropolitan area. Smaller markets are not busy enough to really need a paralegal to do only that one duty. In a smaller market the paralegal will likely also be the secretary, receptionist, accounts payable clerk, or file clerk. To do your job well you need to have at least as Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies from a good school. It's best to get as many certifications as you are able. If you love secretarial work, but also like the challenge of occasionally researching law, the smaller market would be a good fit. In smaller firms, as in smaller towns, attorneys are not busy enough to not be able to handle doing a lot of their own work. Several attorneys prefer to do their own research and drafting if and when they have the time. Programs such as ProDoc and LexisNexis have not only made the paralegal's job much easier, but in some cases these programs have made having a trained paralegal unnecessary. Occasionally paralegals are allowed to accompany their lawyer-bosses into the courtroom and assist during trial. This is not the norm in small firms or more rural areas. This career is growing by leaps and bounds in big cities and the salary is growing as well. If you love research and solving puzzles or if you just love certain areas of law but don't want to devote the time, energy and money into going to law school, being a paralegal is a good fit for you.

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Anonymous

4 stars

Date:

March 28, 2007

Being a legal assistant is a very rewarding job. When you know you have helped someone with their Car Accident, or their Divorce and helped them get the answers they deserve and they need it makes everything worthwhile. There is always alot of forms, documents and letters you have to type to get the work done. It is a great job for communication skills because you are always on the phone with clients or courts.I would recommend this job for anyone looking for starting out in a legal career. Once you get a legal assistant job you will know if you want to be an attorney or not. the one thing people should know about this job is that you are sometimes doing all the work and never getting the credit. People always assume the attornies tell their assistants what to write or say but most of the time after a month everything becomes second nature to you.

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Anonymous

3.5 stars

Date:

March 23, 2007

The job requires a detail oriented person with good organizational skills. You should be a good writer, able to summarize facts, and a people person. You should make sure to start in a field that you are interested in. While general parts of the job apply to other fields of law, many of the higher paying jobs require 3 years in that field. The job pays well and depending on the type of law that you choose, it is very interesting and is a little different every day. The job can be stressful. You are pretty much the know-everything person for the attorneys you work for and can take the fall if something goes wrong even if it is out of your control.

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Anonymous

5 stars

Date:

February 03, 2007

In order to get a foot in the door, you must get a certification from an accredited school. Most major law firms will not even look at your resume without one. Make sure your typing, language and communication skills are up to par. You need to have a good bakground in research so pay special attention to those classes when taken. You need people skills, you will most likely be dealing with clients in highly stressful situations. I love my career, but with any office job I believe the people you work with make or break a job as well. The good news about being a Paralegal is you only have to go to school for 2 years and the pay is very nice especially if you get in with a large metro area firm. However, some bigger cities will require a Bachelor's Degree (why I don't know). Bad news is a lot of the time you get to do the attorneys' grunt work. Most law firms will bill clients for your time so you will have to account for nearly every second of your day as well. Also, if you work in a smaller firm you will be more or less a glorified secretary, so make sure you can type well.

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Anonymous

3 stars

Date:

January 26, 2007

I am a Paralegal at a high profile, mid sized litigation firm. This is my first job out of college. My desire to become an attorney naturally lead me towards a job in the legal field. While I would have preferred to go straight to law school, I was not in a financial position to do so. Truth be told, this job is very unrewarding. If it weren't for my above average compensation, I would have not given the job the ranking that I did. I pulled in $56,000 my first year of employment after graduation. This is a lot of money for someone with a BA degree. While this includes a LOT of overtime (up to 60 hour weeks during demanding times), I'm young and don't mind the overtime so much. If you have children or a wife, I would seriously consider the impact this job will have on your family life. Unfortunately, the nature of the work is flat out boring. You won't do much "real" legal work at a large firm, mainly paperwork and assignment of secreterial nature. Occsionally I get an interesting assignment, but not that often.

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Author:

Anonymous

1.5 stars

Date:

January 25, 2007

My recommendation for anyone considering the possibility of choosing to become a Paralegal or Legal Assistant would be to ask yourself, why not just be an Attorney. I have been a Legal Assistant for five years, two more years and I could have been an attorney. A Paralegal or Legal Assistant does absolutely everything that the attorney does, with the exception of representing clients in the courtroom and providing advice to them without the attorney's authorization.

If this is a career that you are considering to spend the next eight years, reconsider. If you are intimidated by the actual courtroom atmosphere, remember there are positions as Attorneys that will not require you to appear in court.

As a Paralegal or Legal Assistant, you will do the majority of foot work involved in representing a client, with the least amount of compensation. You will always be an employee. If you are spending your money to go to college, should'nt you get the most out of it?

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Author:

Anonymous

4 stars

Date:

January 24, 2007

I really enjoyed my career as a Paralegal. I felt as if I were contributing quite a lot to my the attorneys in the firm, as well as to those clients we had. I would definitely consider going into this career again. It is very rewarding. The only downfall I can state would be that Paralegals DO NOT make as much money as most of the colleges would have you believe that they do. Once you have accepted this fact, you will be quite happy with your career choice.

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Anonymous

4 stars

Date:

January 19, 2007

I am paralegal in WV state government. I enjoy some aspects my job because I help ensure that nursing home residents who are abused do not have to put up with substandard care. I also herd legislative rules through the rule making process. The cons of my job include lack of flexibility, and low pay. The pros include the good feeling you get when your work removes poor caregivers and providers from the systems. Being a paralegal involves close work with attorneys. I also must speak with nursing homes administrative personnel, witnesses, and residents of facilities. Legal research (my favorite part) is also involved to some extent.

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Author:

Anonymous

2.5 stars

Date:

January 19, 2007

My experience as a Paralegal was neither good, nor bad. Hence the neutral opinion. People going into this occupation need to have several abilities. First, they need to be completely detail oriented and have a strong technical writing background. Don't necessarily need to have majored in writing, but at least be strong with grammar and syntax. Second, any body going into this occupation should be willing and able to play office politics, and play them well, think "Survivor" meets "The Office." Last, but definitely not least, a person choosing this particular occupation should not want to make it their career. This occupation should merely be a stepping stone to other bigger careers.

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Author:

Anonymous

3.5 stars

Date:

January 13, 2007

Being a legal assistant is a good job, though usually not very exciting. You have to possess a reasonable level of intelligence, grammatical skills, and common sense. You may have the same intelligence level as your boss, but he or she has paid more for their education and will always make much more money than you ever will. You can't be promoted, even if you are doing everything your employer does without going out and getting a law degree yourself. Still it's a very stable job. If you can't afford to pay for a higher degree and you don't want to get into sales, this is a perfectly good job for you.

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Author:

Anonymous

3 stars

Date:

January 07, 2007

I have held two legal assistant positions, both without any sort of college degree. These positions depend greatly on your own ability to work on a personal level with an attorney, but if you are organized and effective, the financial rewards can be surprising. During summers when the semester is out, I work this job for ~$10 per hour, full time, which is not bad for a college student. The hours are your regular 9 to 5, and the work itself can be a little bit dry, especially if dealing with clients, but if you ahve a good firm and are able to build rapport with clients it can also be very rewarding.

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Author:

Anonymous

3.5 stars

Date:

January 06, 2007

The biggest tip I could give someone considering entering this field is to be prepared for constant continuing education. Once you are qualified to do any type of work in the legal field you must accept that learning is ongoing for any kind of success. I would recommend this career for anyone who wants to strive to do their best. It definitely isn't a field for people who do not want to be responsible or pull their own weight. If I had to choose to do this career over, given the pay, I would. However, if the pay were equal for working with animals or children, I would do that. The pros are respect and salary. The cons are there is no time to just sit back and relax, skills must constantly be upgraded and there is never really a sense of completion. The one thing about this type of career is that there is not a lot of room for creativity and you have to work very hard to prove yourself.

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