An Introduction To The Paralegal Profession

A paralegal is someone who does a large amount of legal work. They can be retained by a government agency, lawyer, law office, corporation, or any other type of business that uses a lawyer.

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A paralegal basically does all kinds of work that the lawyer they are working under is responsible for. As a paralegal, the work involves legal research, court appearances, petitions, investigations, interviews, and attending trials and estate matters. Paralegals are very important people when it comes to law. Lawyers can be very busy and need help with their cases. Paralegals also work for a fraction of what lawyers do and can be very beneficial to those seeking legal advice that wouldn't necessarily need to talk to an actual lawyer.

The basic courses a paralegal will need to complete are either the Paralegal certificate or an associates degree in paralegal studies. A paralegal certificate is available after a very short time in school and averages 30 credits. An associates degree will take over twice as long and need at minimum 62 credits. Both of these may require an internship for between 100 and 200 hours.

To become a paralegal, you can attend a local college or go to school online. There are many different specialized schools that can get you a certificate or a degree in as little as 1 year. The decision to go to traditional or online school is up to the individual. Online schools are a bit more flexible with your schedule but typically will cost more than a traditional in-class school.

Paralegal students will learn about laws and ethics and the ins and outs of the legal system. They will take courses on criminal law, family law, legal research, legal writing, civil litigation, and many more. A typical class load for the paralegal profession will also include psychology, critical writing, critical thinking, human relations, time management, and many other skills used in social interactions with peers and those in the legal profession.

This is a great way to start your career in the law field. There are many successful lawyers practicing today that first started with a paralegal job so they could decide if that was the direction they wanted to go in life. Paralegals make good wages and it is a great job for people interested in helping others. If you love television shows that are courtroom based, it's the paralegals that work behind the scenes gathering all that information for the lawyers to present their cases with. The most famous television paralegal is probably Erin Brokovich who was played by Julia Roberts in a big budget movie.