By
Lanee’ Blunt
 |
| Becoming a paralegal-- Image by GraphiteBP. |
A
paralegal assists attorneys by maintaining and organizing files, conduct legal
research and draft documents. They work
on a variety of different things including research, clerical, and interview
potential clients. They have heavy phone and email contact with clients,
medical providers, insurance companies and opposing counsel. They prepare and draft
complaints. Paralegals work in law firms
including criminal, family, tax, estate, corporate legal departments, or
government agencies.
Education
Decide
if to complete a paralegal certificate program for high school graduates. Most certificate programs are for people who
have degrees in other areas and take a few months to complete. A paralegal will
typically earn an associate degree from a community college or university. A bachelor's degree in paralegal studies
combines paralegal training, legal research and legal applications of computers
with academic subjects.
Areas
Choose
an area that you would like to work in for example a large law firm or a
corporation. Make sure that you take
computer classes because a lot of your work will involve online computer
research.
Work Schedules
Most
paralegals work full time for law firms, corporations, and government
agencies. Most paralegals that work for
busy law firms work long hours and overtime to meet deadlines.
You
will need good research skills to conduct the legal research. Paralegals must be able to write to present
their research and related information to their supervising attorney.
