McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Insert cover image so horizontal lines in cover design line up with gold horizontal lines on slide master

Chapter 4

The Role of the Paralegal/Legal

Assistant

4-2McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

• Upon completion of this chapter, you will be able to:– Explain what a legal assistant is– Understand the different skills and job duties

of a legal assistant– Identify the types of employment opportunities

available– Examine the educational and specialization

options available to legal assistants

4-3McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHAT IS A PARALEGAL/LEGAL ASSISTANT?

• 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. - ABA

4-4McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHAT IS A PARALEGAL/LEGAL ASSISTANT?

• Through formal education, training, and experience, legal assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law which qualifies them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney. - NALA

4-5McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHAT IS A PARALEGAL/LEGAL ASSISTANT?

• Paralegals perform substantive and procedural legal work as authorized by law, which work, in the absence of the paralegal, would be performed by any attorney. Paralegals have knowledge of law gained through education, or education and work experience...

• American Association for Paralegal Education

4-6McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHAT IS A PARALEGAL/LEGAL ASSISTANT?

• Benefits of belonging to one of the various professional organizations for paralegals include:– Meeting and networking with other paralegals– Receiving professional publications or

accessing online databases for up-to-date legal news

– Participating in meetings to develop policy– Continuing legal education courses– Access to group insurance plans

4-7McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

WHAT IS PARALEGAL/LEGAL ASSISTANT?

• Contract or Freelance Paralegals– Self-employed paralegals work on a job-to-job

basis.

– may work from home or at the client’s site.

– typically have flexible schedules and, after a project is completed, they are not generally required to pick up another assignment.

– still under the supervision of an attorney and must report to him or her regarding the project on which they are working.

4-8McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

JOB DUTIES

• 10 tasks commonly performed by paralegals:– Drafting correspondence– Managing cases– Overseeing calendar deadlines– Working on computers– Drafting pleadings– Assisting with client contact– Attending to office matters– Conducting general, factual research– Analyzing and summarizing documents– Filing court documents

4-9McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

JOB DUTIES

• Typical duties of a litigation paralegal:– Conducting legal research - Preparing legal memoranda– Conducting investigations - Analyzing legal

documents– Researching records - Preparing jury instructions– Drafting and preparing legal documents– Assisting attorneys at a deposition; prep depo summaries– Preparing trial notebooks and exhibits– Preparing clients and witnesses for trial– Maintaining and organizing the case and trial files– Developing and maintaining litigation support databases

4-10McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• Career opportunities for the paralegal exist at:– Law firms– Banks– Insurance companies– Corporations– Government offices– Freelance jobs

4-11McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• The Large Firm vs. The Small Firm

– Small:• may handle a more diverse set of tasks• opportunity for advancement may be limited

– Large:• Usually only perform one task or work in only

one area of law• provide opportunity for advancement

4-12McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• Corporations may also employ paralegals in positions such as:– Claims adjusters– Escrow officer– Records researchers– Notaries– Real estate agents

4-13McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

• Compensation– size of an organization & locality are factors in the

compensation

– Paralegals are considered “non-exempt” employees, therefore are entitled to overtime pay for work in excess of 40 hours per week

• This is beneficial because many paralegals work long hours

4-14McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZATION

• Certification– Paralegals/legal assistants are not required to

become certified; however, certification typically enhances their personal marketability and earning potential

– NALA has developed a two-day exam called the Certified Legal Assistant Exam

4-15McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZATION

• The subjects on the CLA include:– Legal research– Ethics– Legal terminology– Communications– Human relations– Judgment and analytical ability– Substantive law

4-16McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZATION

• To qualify to take the CLA, an individual must:– Graduate from a legal assistant program

– Hold a bachelor’s degree in any field and have either one year of experience or 15 semester hours of substantive legal assistant courses OR

– Have a high school diploma or equivalent, plus 7 years experience as a legal assistant, plus evidence of a minimum of 20 hours of continuing legal education credit within two years prior to the examination date

4-17McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZATION

• The Pros and Cons of Certification

– Advantages: • law firms know the strict demands required &

are generally more willing to hire a paralegal with certification and more willing to pay that paralegal a higher salary.

– Disadvantages: • extra time and costs associated with the

certification process.

4-18McGraw-Hill ©2009 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZATION

• Specialization– Just like attorneys, paralegals/legal assistants

may specialize in a particular area of law.– To specialize, paralegals/legal assistants

generally take specific courses or plan their classes to obtain specialized knowledge.

– The NFPA recognizes certain areas of specialization.