The demands for paralegals and legal assistants are increasing everywhere as we become a more litigious society and according to US. Department of Labor statistics, the field will grow at a faster rate than almost any other occupation in the next ten years.
A paralegal is an assistant to an attorney and about the only thing a really good paralegal cannot do by law is to offer legal advice or with a few exceptions, represent a client in court which requires a law degree, admission to the Bar, or being an officer of the court. In general, a paralegal performs duties such as legal research, writing, drafting documents, interviewing, filing, calendaring and indexing deadlines and court appearances. These duties used to be performed by young, inexperienced attorneys or legal secretaries but within the last 20 years, a “legal assistant” has evolved and developed into a distinctive profession. By 1997, the American Bar Association officially recognized and defined legal assistants as such:
“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 who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.”(a)
A competent paralegal needs a solid legal education and a dedicated student can find such training at many community colleges offering Associates Degrees in Legal Studies. Some universities now offer Bachelor’s or even Master’s Programs for paralegals. (A word of caution: be careful of on-line courses promising unrealistic earnings and status. Like any other profession, achieving competency as a paralegal requires work.) Additionally, The National Association of Legal Assistants, awards a certification as a Certified Legal Assistant if certain objectives are met including taking required continuing education courses and passing a rigorous examination. (It is the gold standard in the field and opens many doors.) But, for one to be comfortable with, competent and reliable enough to work as a freelancer on a per assignment basis, a paralegal should have some in office experience. After that, depending on talent, desire, work assigned or accepted and personal circumstances some are ready to work in home based paralegal outsource businesses.
To run a successful business of this type from home, one needs all the traditional attributes any other home worker needs to become successful. The more one knows about the business the better, and it may be as important for the entrepreneur to be a sharp business person able to make contacts, prospect and organize as to perform the paralegal tasks. Like a specialized employment agency, part of this business involves being the conduit, bridge or middle person between lawyers, a legal firm, or any business with such needs; and the professional work product.
Many large and small corporations’ legal departments are looking to outsource their paralegal work, as are many law firms, both large and small. Since the law is broken down into distinct specializations such as Personal Injury, Real Estate, Contracts, Criminal, Workers Compensation, Intellectual Property just to name a few, it is important that as a resource, the freelancer does not overreach when establishing a reputation and developing business. The home office will not be any better than the weakest paralegal assignment submitted for payment to the contracting company or law firm. Another difficult problem may not be finding the work; there is plenty to go around. But in deciding which work to solicit and thoroughly understanding the standards expected when taking on an assignment. This simple concept will make or break the business. Somewhere along the line, a licensed attorney will have to sign off on the paralegal’s work, so the more complex and sophisticated the assignment, the more experienced and educated the legal assistant should be.
A paralegal outsourcing business can successfully be run from a home office and there is tremendous opportunity for such services right now. For instance, with so many mortgages in foreclosure, and small business’s facing bankruptcy, mounds of documents need to be drafted, researched and filed. A sharp, dedicated, hard working, honest business person who is not afraid to make phone calls and knock on doors and is a good judge of character can do quite well. It is challenging, hard work and may require a small financial risk. But the rewards can be satisfying both financially and sense of accomplishment, respect and reputation.
A: source Webster University Graduate Catalog 2007-2008
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