The Paralegal Role & Law Practices and Organization
"A legal assistant, or paralegal, is a person qualified by education, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work, for which a lawyer is responsible."
In other words, a paralegal's primary focus is to take responsibility for legal labor that would otherwise be inherently delegated to a lawyer. Some of these tasks include conducting client and witness interviews, managing client documents, keeping track of deadlines, conducting legal research, and drafting legal documents. Over the last five or six decades, paralegalism has gained incredible traction within the law field. This can be credited to much of the tedious and laborious work being unloaded off the shoulders of attorneys. Lawyers now have much more time to focus on representing the client in the most effective way possible, and law firms, companies, etc. can save money by employing paralegals rather than a team of lawyers.
It is important that an aspiring paralegal acquire the necessary skills that it takes to perform the job well. Some of these skills include communication, organization, time management, attention to detail, and technological skills. Since there are many areas of law that are practiced, it is ideal to be especially knowledgeable in one or more areas such as, litigation or real estate. Some of the technical skills that are necessary involve working with text editors, databases, social media applications, and email. Thankfully, for aspiring paralegals, there exists a plethora of learning opportunities that will equipped you with, not only the knowledge and skills, but also a degree and/or certification that will make you more valuable in the labor market. Some colleges and universities offer degrees ranging from an associates all the way to a masters, and some organizations, such as the National Association of Legal Assistants and the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, offer several certifications and continued learning opportunities to make you even more valuable in the labor market.
The work environment that a paralegal might experience depends highly on different factors. Does this paralegal work for a law firm, a company, or the government? Is this a larger entity, like a corporation or a law firm with over a hundred attorneys, or is this a smaller entity, like a law firm governed by a single attorney? Most paralegals work for private law firms with their own way of governing files, billing and financial procedures, and procedures regarding employment conditions. Depending on the size of the law firm, there could be a team of support staff that carries out their specific duties in cooperation with the paralegal. Their might exist an office manager, secretaries, file clerks, bookkeepers, messengers, and others. However, in a smaller law firm, the paralegal may need to perform all of the tasks that would otherwise be delegated to support staff. Regardless, organization and accuracy is highly important with or without support staff.
Another aspect that varies greatly with the practice of law are the financial procedures. The fees that law firms can charge to clients depend on their tier. Lower tier law firms usually employ contracted lawyers or outsource their legal work to law practitioners, usually in India. Regional tier firms are common for smaller client cases, but also have the ability to work with larger companies. Top tier firms are mostly reserved for large business transactions, matters of tax, and international deals. Regardless of the size, state ethical codes require all fees to be reasonable to the client, and are typically discussed and agreed upon at outset of the attorney-client relationship. Not all fees are the same. The primary fee arrangements include hourly fees, contingency fees, and fixed price fees. Contingency fees are only paid to the firm if the client's case is won, but cannot be applied to criminal cases. Sometimes a client may need to pay a retainer, which is basically an advanced payment similar to a deposit for an apartment. If it's agreed upon to pay an hourly rate to the firm, then hours must be billed appropriately so that double billing or the billing of nonbillable hours does not take place. These days, billing hours are managed and recorded electronically using time slips or expense slips. Emphasis on ethical financial procedures must be remembered at all times. The ABA takes a firm ethical stance regarding billing practices, and even though their opinions aren't legally binding, courts have tended to side with the ABA when resolving fee disputes.
In conclusion, paralegals take on a number of responsibilities, so that lawyers can work more effectively. Through proper training and education, a paralegal can develop their skills and increase their value in the job market by acquiring prior job experience, a degree, a certification, continued learning, or all of the above. Depending on where a paralegal decides to become employed, their work environment may differ. This includes differing policy on procedure, and whether or not support staff is present. Lastly, the financial and billing aspect of a case depends on the agreed upon billing method, size of the firm, and type of case. Ethical financial practices are also overseen by large legal organizations, such as the ABA.
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