A paralegal is a professional who conducts legal research, writes documents, emails, and signatures for lawyers when they can't. In general, they are responsible for supporting lawyers and facilitating their work by managing administrative tasks. A paralegal performs the necessary routine tasks on behalf of an attorney. The work often includes elements of administration, customer service, and coordination.
Paralegals play an essential role in the day-to-day operations of the law office or legal department. They help with case management, document preparation, calendar maintenance, communication with clients and court officials, and help with lawyers' needs. Parole assistants must have excellent communication skills and great attention to detail. They should also feel comfortable working independently and as part of a team.
In these cases, using an independent or virtual paralegal is an effective solution that allows companies to delegate routine and time-consuming support tasks to a paralegal as needed. Now that you have understood “what a paralegal is, you can decide to hire a paralegal. Legal assistants support attorneys in a variety of tasks, including conducting legal research, drafting and reviewing documents, communicating with clients, preparing hearings, trials and meetings, and organizing and maintaining files. If your company uses Clio Manage, adding additional users, such as paralegals, to your office administration workflows (here's a simple step-by-step guide) makes collaboration on administrative tasks such as billing, scheduling, and document management smooth and efficient.
For law firms where lawyers spend a lot of time on administrative tasks, hiring a paralegal can improve the efficiency of the law firm. Paralegals work closely with lawyers to take care of some of the time-consuming administrative work that reduces lawyers' efficiency and productivity. Join this tour on August 18 to see why more than 150,000 legal professionals use Clio's leading cloud-based legal software. A high school degree is required to become a paralegal and most paralegals have an associate's degree or a certificate in paralegal studies.
But legal personnel who are not lawyers, such as paralegals, should not exceed the general guidance of the ABA Model Guidelines for the Use of Paralegal Services. Legal assistants may not, under any circumstances, practice law, provide legal advice to clients, or present themselves as lawyers. During these programs, one learns legal terminology, the purpose of certain legal documents, law firm practices, word processing, time management, and record keeping. Examples include interacting with legal clients, preparing legal documents, conducting interviews, assisting in trials, and more.
A paralegal's resume typically includes an associate's degree or a paralegal certification. With more knowledge about what a paralegal can actually offer, you can make more informed decisions when considering adding a paralegal to your team. As a paralegal, you will be assigned a variety of tasks to support attorneys, including drafting documents, conducting legal research, and maintaining and organizing files.
