Paralegal is an adequately qualified job to work in legal services companies, law firms, or governments. Nevertheless, paralegals are under lawyers’ supervision no matter where they work. How much do you know about paralegal jobs? Would you like to know some good websites where you can easily find “paralegal jobs near me”?
In 2016, nearly 285,600 paralegals were operating in the United States. Legal service providers and law firms account for up to 73 percent of employers. Demand for this industry is on the rise.
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Why You Should Consider Paralegal Jobs
It’s another great writing in career advice section. Let’s catch a glimpse of pivotal upsides of taking paralegals jobs, as followed:
Chance To Help Other People
Not only when you are a doctor or a nurse can you help other people. Any industry, including paralegals, can do so. There are many law fields where you can enter and support others, such as advising, managing inquiries, supporting clients, avoiding the arrest of an innocent individual, so on.
It’s A Well-Paid Job
Anyone wants to find a stable career that pays well. A paralegal is one of the highest-paying occupations in general (the paralegals’ salary will be discussed more later in this article). What’s more, there is a growing demand for this role in society. Furthermore, paralegals often earn a lot of good-performance incentives and overtime pay.
Prestige
Reputation and glory are not just for the lawyers. In a law firm, paralegals play a crucial role. They are still the most attentive assistants to the attorneys. What’s more, people always appreciate you because you are working as a legal expert.
Enhance Skills
Communication Skills
Communication tends to be an integral component of the co-working community. A paralegal must frequently contact customers via letter, face-to-face meeting, email, phone, and other means. When dealing with clients, paralegals must be versatile and nimble (depending on the situation).
When dealing with attorneys, paralegals have to present and interpret effectively so that lawyers can gather information quickly.
Develop Personal Skills
This ability will allow you to deal with any situation more effectively and rapidly. From there, you can work your way up the corporate ladder. Indeed, working as a paralegal gives you an excellent opportunity to hone personal ability (consists of strategic thinking skills, logical reasoning, situation handling, teamwork, etc.)
Organizational Skills
If you have ever worked in the legal field, you will know that papers, records, and knowledge can quickly accumulate today. Hundreds of cases may be filed each month, and after a few years, wow, that is a large figure for the number of documents held. As a result, paralegals must have excellent file organizing and management skills to process information efficiently.
Always Be Ready
This is one of the industries that necessitates a high level of intelligence and perseverance in the face of emergency moments and adversity. If you cannot handle the stress of managing urgent cases daily, you will need to practice.
Multitasking
When you are in a hurry and have a small amount of time, you cannot help but multitask. To complete your duties, you must work at maximum capacity to organize all steps properly and efficiently in the shortest time.
Gain Experience
“Experience is the father of wisdom.” The experience you obtain as a paralegal when working under real lawyers’ supervision will rapidly increase. Hence, if you are a paralegal and turn up in courtrooms with an attorney, it will be pretty fascinating.
Typically, a paralegal is responsible for handling documents, dealing with attorneys, delivering customer service, and so on. The more you practice, the more skilled and experienced you become. As a result, you have a better chance of going up in your career.
Paralegal Jobs Description
Paralegals are known as legal assistants. People in this role often perform research on legislation, laws, and regulations and compile, draft, and coordinate legal documents (According to BLS – Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Paralegals are also in charge of arranging meetings with clients, litigants, witnesses, and other stakeholders. They also help lawyers prepare for hearings and trials. Paralegals perform a variety of duties, depending on the type of law they practice.
Paralegals can specialize in litigation, corporate and personal injury law, worker’s compensation, intellectual property, criminal law, and real estate. Their responsibilities can differ depending on the headquarters where they function.
Nicholle Pendergraft, a paralegal at Clear Counsel Law Group, says: “It surprised me to learn how many different paralegal positions there are. In my current office we provide three types of law and each paralegal deals with completely different documents and deadlines.”
Responsibilities And Duties
As previously said, paralegals’ nature and job skills can differ depending on the workplace. However, most paralegals will carry on the following responsibilities:
- Assist in trial planning.
- Be an expert in marriage and family law mediation or psychological assessment (custody, divorce
- Electronic information systems management is often regarded as a significant aspect of paralegals’ work because the majority of law firms rely on software to keep track of and store client information.
- Keywords, private information, and subject matter are all included in these databases and records. In legal cases, this information demands a high degree of privacy and confidentiality, so the individual in charge of it – paralegals – must exercise with extreme caution.
- Prepare courtroom records for trials and hearings, certification notices, grievances, subpoenas, interview notices, motions, contracts, and briefs, and provide behind-the-scenes assistance.
- Take part in conciliation and disciplinary hearings, such as exchanging information between opposing parties, questioning the integrity of witnesses, defendants, and plaintiffs’ evidence, and so on.
- Prepare papers for filing in state and federal courts.
Paralegal Jobs Near Me – Job Outlook
This career seems to have a bright future ahead of it. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for legal assistants will grow by about 15% between 2016 and 2026. In contrast to previous periods, this number is pretty high.
High legal fees often hamper clients. As a result, many lawyers may allow paralegals to work directly with clients. But customers will pay a lower rate for paralegals than they will for attorneys. And, of course, the consumer would profit from this.
Entry-Level Paralegal Salary
Salaries for paralegals are determined by various standards and aspects, including education level, hands-on experiences, and geographic position. Overall, paralegal employment in the federal government pays the most. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the following are basic statistics:
- The average annual wage for paralegals is $ 50,940 per hour (equivalent to 24.49 hours).
- The top 10% of paralegals’ annual salary is more than $ 82,050 per hour (equivalent to $ 39.45).
- Annual pay for paralegals is less than 10%: Less than $ 31,400 per hour (equivalent to $ 15.10 per hour).
As standard, companies in urban areas pay paralegals more than those in small towns, remote areas, and rural areas.
Some legal assistants have high managerial ability or special skills, experience, and annual (urban) salaries exceeding six figures. Meanwhile, the entry-level paralegal salary usually is about $ 25,000 per year (in rural areas).
Top 9 Paralegal Job Resources
A handful of informative sites for job seekers who are bound to working in the paralegal industry or relevant jobs.
FindLaw.com
It is the most famous platform because it focuses on positions that complement the candidate’s expertise and experience (as a paralegal).
This website is suitable for both beginning paralegals and experienced practitioners. The platform also includes a variety of customization features to help you find work as quickly as possible.
GetParalegalJobs.com
Candidates can select from a range of opportunities based on keywords or positions on the website. For example, you could find paralegal jobs in St Louis by directly typing keywords into the search tag.
Furthermore, the site will notify you of new work openings as soon as they are available on the website.
The American Bar Association
While most of the jobs on this website are geared toward attorneys, many paralegal positions are available. If you sign up for email updates, you’ll be able to stay up to date on the most recent posts. Besides, this site owns a significant number of other valuable law-related services.
NFPA Job List
The National Federation of Paralegal Associations is the source of the employment mentioned here (NFPA). Since this site does not require membership registration, anyone can update their information, post a resume, and apply for jobs.
EmpLawyerNet.com
Candidates or users must register for membership and pay participation fees on this platform. On the other hand, this platform provides you with a significant advantage: more work and choices.
LawCrossing.com
It is one of the most popular legal work sites on the Internet. However, to access job opportunities, you must be a member. Users can then send and receive work updates via email continuously.
USCourts.gov
This forum is ideal for those interested in operating as a legal party in the Federal Court system. The website provides direct access to valuable information.
Justice.gov
This website is for attorneys and paralegals interested in working for the federal government.
CareerBuilder.com
A well-known website! Employers also search for the most promising applicants here. Every day, new job openings are posted, and it is free to use.
Paralegal Jobs Near Me – Jobandedu‘s Final Words
When it comes to paralegals, there is a phrase that goes something like this: “Behind any great lawyer is a great paralegal.” Yes, this work’s general essence can be inferred from a single sentence: paralegals play a critical role in law, which is regarded as the “magnetic needle” for constructing a perfect society.
Thanks to paralegals, law firms and attorneys are much more effective. All in all, it is a brilliant idea to look for “paralegal jobs near me” to get started as a professional paralegal.
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