Paralegal/Legal Assistant

As a legal recruiter, one of the more common positions we look for and get the most inquiries about at Boston Legal Recruitment is that of a paralegal (also known as a legal assistant) in order to get paralegal training. Those who take up paralegal studies do so in hopes of becoming a paralegal. And from the various students that take paralegal studies, we recruit people that want to be paralegals.

The job of a paralegal is to assist lawyers with tasks that they would normally do themselves but don’t have time for due to their busy schedules, and the fact that they can get paralegals to do some of their workload also helps them out in the long run as a different set of eyes and minds can assist the attorney in other ways. Lawyers and attorneys throughout the United States need a legal assistant as tons of work needs to be done for certain cases, which is why assistants exist. Since all lawyers and attorneys are different in what their work schedules are and what they need and want done by the paralegal, every single paralegal isn’t going to get the same workload.

The main job that an up-and-coming paralegal will use his or her paralegal training on is preparation to help their boss with anything that they’ll need help with in their cases. This ranges from closings and other hearings to corporate meetings to the trials themselves. Some paralegals even help prepare contracts and other vitally important legal documents to further enhance their paralegal studies.

There are five essential things that paralegals cannot do because of their position. They are:

• Get into the attorney-client relationship when it comes to a particular case
• Give legal advice to anyone (specifically the client)
• Sign legal papers and pleadings on behalf of any party
• Appear in court on behalf of anybody (specifically the client)
• Set and collect fees for legal services that a lawyer does

Legal recruiters, like us, look for potential paralegals who can handle the workload that the normal legal assistant would get. The typical workload for any paralegal is 40 hours per week, and they must meet deadlines set by the lawyer. At first, the work won’t be as grueling since there is a learning curve when someone becomes a paralegal.

Duties range from mundane activities (when first starting), but gradually inductees will be doing tasks with hard-set deadline as experience is obtained working the job of a paralegal. In order to become a paralegal, the paralegal training varies. However, a good way to start is with a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies.