Paralegal Careers

Program Description

The program stresses practical and specific paralegal skills designed to meet the employment and personnel training needs of attorneys, corporations, government agencies, law firms, and the legal departments of banks, insurance companies, and various business organizations.  Students explore legal research, writing and analysis, basic concepts of substantive, administrative, and procedural law, acquire basic office skills, and gain a general understanding of the ethical and professional responsibilities of a legal assistant. 

Occupational Objectives

Graduates may pursue careers as paralegals, legal office assistants, legal secretaries/receptionists, claims examiners, and compliance and enforcement inspectors in business, industry, and government.

Occupational Skills

Upon successful completion of the Paralegal program, the graduate will be able to:

• Demonstrate basic knowledge of the law and the legal system.
• Create, edit, and file legal and related documents;
• Organize filing and document systems for litigation;
• Draft and review documents in a variety of legal venues;
• Assist in analyzing statutory and legislative material;
• Use electronic research systems; and
• Demonstrate basic office skills.

Paralegals help attorneys prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. 7 out of 10 paralegals work in private law offices.

The following from Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition

Job Outlook

Despite projected much faster than average employment growth, competition for jobs is expected to continue as many people seek to go into this profession; experienced, formally trained paralegals should have the best employment opportunities.

Employment change. Employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 28 percent between 2008 and 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. Employers are trying to reduce costs and increase the availability and efficiency of legal services by hiring paralegals to perform tasks once done by lawyers. Paralegals are performing a wider variety of duties, making them more useful to businesses.

Demand for paralegals also is expected to grow as an expanding population increasingly requires legal services, especially in areas such as intellectual property, healthcare, international law, elder issues, criminal law, and environmental law. The growth of prepaid legal plans also should contribute to the demand for legal services.

Private law firms will continue to be the largest employers of paralegals, but a growing array of other organizations, such as corporate legal departments, insurance companies, real-estate and title insurance firms, and banks also hire paralegals. Corporations in particular are expected to increase their in-house legal departments to cut costs. The wide range of tasks paralegals can perform has helped to increase their employment in small and medium-size establishments of all types.

Job prospects. In addition to new jobs created by employment growth, more job openings will arise as people leave the occupation. There will be demand for paralegals who specialize in areas such as real estate, bankruptcy, medical malpractice, and product liability. Community legal service programs, which provide assistance to the poor, elderly, minorities, and middle-income families, will employ additional paralegals to minimize expenses and serve the most people. Job opportunities also are expected in Federal, State, and local government agencies, consumer organizations, and the courts. However, this occupation attracts many applicants, creating competition for jobs. Experienced, formally trained paralegals should have the best job prospects.

To a limited extent, paralegal jobs are affected by the business cycle. During recessions, demand declines for some discretionary legal services, such as planning estates, drafting wills, and handling real estate transactions. Corporations are less inclined to initiate certain types of litigation when falling sales and profits lead to fiscal belt tightening. As a result, full-time paralegals employed in offices adversely affected by a recession may be laid off or have their work hours reduced. However, during recessions, corporations and individuals are more likely to face problems that require legal assistance, such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, and divorces. Paralegals, who provide many of the same legal services as lawyers at a lower cost, tend to fare relatively better in difficult economic conditions.

Earnings

Wages of paralegals and legal assistants vary greatly. Salaries depend on education, training, experience, the type and size of employer, and the geographic location of the job. In general, paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions. In May 2008, full-time wage-and-salary paralegals and legal assistants earned $46,120. The middle 50 percent earned between $36,080 and $59,310. The top 10 percent earned more than $73,450, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $29,260. Median annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of paralegals were:

Federal Executive Branch $58,540 Management of companies and enterprises 55,910 Insurance carriers 52,200 Employment services 50,050 Legal services 44,480

In addition to earning a salary, many paralegals receive bonuses, in part to compensate them for sometimes having to work long hours. Paralegals also receive vacation, paid sick leave, a savings plan, life insurance, personal paid time off, dental insurance, and reimbursement for continuing legal education.