A paralegal or a legal assistant is someone who is delegated some of the responsibilities of a lawyer. Most legal assistants work in law firms although some also work for government agencies and the legal departments of corporate offices.
Some of the tasks assigned to legal assistants are drafting of contracts, helping lawyers prepare for trial through research, preparing legal arguments, filing tax returns and many others. However, legal assistants are not allowed to present cases in court. They cannot ask for any legal fees and they cannot give any legal advice.
If you want to become a legal assistant, then you should keep in mind that there is a lot of competition in the field. If you get formal training through legal assistant courses, then you will stand a better chance of landing a job.
There are a number of legal assistant programs in community colleges. If you have completed your college degree already, then you only need to get a legal assistant certificate through legal assistant courses.
Legal assistant courses vary in their duration. An associate degree can be completed in two years while a bachelor’s degree in four years. Certificate programs, on the other hand, usually just take a few months to complete.
Some firms believe that the best legal assistant training is still through actual job experience. You might want to start out as an intern at a law firm to familiarize yourself with the day to day operations. Some of the legal assistant courses include an internship program and others even include job placement.
As you gain more experience, then you will surely be given more responsibilities and less supervision as a legal assistant. It would be in your best interest in your legal assistant career to attend seminars on a regular basis to update yourself and improve your knowledge of the law.
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