How to become a paralegal

If you want to become a paralegal (sometimes this is called a legal assistant), you should know that this is a challenging job as the paralegal job description includes helping the attorney that you work for conduct research, write reports and do other work in preparation for his hearings and trials. Here is how you can go about becoming a paralegal:

•  If you are still in high school, you can ask your guidance counselor what paralegal schools he recommends.

•  Request catalogs from these paralegal schools and check to see which ones are approved of by the American Bar Association (ABA). The ones that are ABA approved are the ones that you should attend.

•  You will also need to decide whether you just want to obtain a paralegal certificate or get a 2 or 4-year college paralegal degree. This will depend upon your career goals. If you want to work for a larger company, then you should get a Bachelor's degree in paralegal studies from a 4-year college.

•  Visit each of the schools that you are considering to make sure that this school is known for being able to arrange internships for their students and that they have a campus that you would not mind spending 4 years.

•  You should also look at online paralegal courses. There are plenty of them to choose from and this is a very convenient option for many people. Of course, you will still need to take some time to check these schools out.

•  If you already have a Bachelor's degree, then you will want to take a short-term paralegal program. You will usually find these through a university's continuing education program.

•  You will need to choose what area of law you would like to specialize in. Some of the possibilities include corporate law, patent/copyright law, criminal law and real estate law.

•  While taking your paralegal courses you will also need to become proficient in doing research online and in using legal software programs. This will serve you well since a lot of your work will be done on the computer.

•  After you have finished your paralegal studies, you should plan to get your certification from the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). This certification takes place after you get your degree and it will definitely help your career.

•  Once you are ready to start working, you can find a job at a legal office, government agency, corporate legal department, consumer group, insurance company, bank or legal aid society. You should know that you could expect to work 90 hours per week sometimes. This is usually during trial preparation or whenever you choose to work for a big law firm wherein you will have to complete a lot of paperwork before a certain deadline.

•  You can also work for yourself, helping lawyers on a part time basis and providing notary public services. If you choose this career path, you will be able to work from home helping several small attorney offices in completing their paperwork whenever they need your help.

•  As a paralegal your job duties include such things as filing for legal name changes, handling divorces and doing other such paperwork. A lawyer may also use a paralegal whenever a case is complicated. You will not be able to give legal advice or represent someone in court though.

•  The need for paralegals is definitely growing. The average paralegal salary is $39,130 but it is possible to make up to $61,390 per year.