|
Professional Education | |
| ||
|
|
Paralegal Education
If you enjoy dealing with legal issues, but don't want to make the commitment needed to become a lawyer, you might consider a career as a legal assistant, or paralegal. The field has seen huge growth over the past 30 years, and it is expected to continue to be one of the fastest growing over the next 10 years. Here's the official American Bar Association definition of a paralegal. "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." Paralegals work with lawyers to conduct research; investigate facts; analyze, digest and draft documents; interview clients and witnesses. Paralegals do not provide legal counsel, represent clients in court, set a fee or accept a case. Most paralegals work in law offices, corporations and government agencies. Though they may also work in specialized fields such as real estate, insurance and medical. The average salary nationwide is approximately $40,000. Skills and training To be effective, paralegal professionals must be organized, analytical and good communicators. They must enjoy research and writing. Paralegal training is recommended to work in this competitive field. In fact, according to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, more than 80% of all paralegals have received some formal paralegal education. Most paralegal programs contain 24 credits covering Legal Research & Writing, Business Law, Civil Law, Family Law, Torts, Contracts, Wills, Real Property, Criminal Law. You can get your training in several ways: Industry associations strongly recommend that you combine your paralegal training with a bachelor's degree, stating that a four-year degree is the hiring standard today in many markets. Certification exams (CLA and PACE) are not required to practice as a paralegal, but they do increase your credentials as an experienced paralegal professional. Associations and other online resources for information about the paralegal profession: American Bar Association (ABA) The ABA web site allows you to search for ABA-approved paralegal programs by state, and provides general guidelines about the profession as distinct from the legal profession. National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) Includes the CareerNet database, evaluating paralegal programs, information about the Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) certification exam. National Federation of Paralegal Associations Includes reference guide to Internet legal research, searchable job database, what to look for in a paralegal program, information about the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE). American Association for Paralegal Education Offers guidance on how to choose a program and where to find a program. Top |
|
|||||||
Home About NDG Contact Us Privacy
| ||||||||||
