Paralegals?

[luvsJack]

Is anyone here a paralegal? What kind of degree do you have, Associates or Bachelors? What is the benefit of getting a 4-year degree over a 2-year in this area? Do you work for Fed or State government, for a legal office or somewhere else? Can you give me a range of the income? (maybe not what you make but what a starting paralegal would make in your area) Thanks for any info.

 

[Darcy03231]

I'm a paralegal (have been for over 25 years) and have a four year degree. I work in a small law office. Starting salary in my area would be in the mid $20k range.

I would think really hard about going for a paralegal degree. The field is very saturated right now and I know a lot of attorneys that are taking paralegal positions just to get into the field. Also, its really hard to get a job without experience, and of course you can't get the experience without a job. I know our firm doesn't hire without at least 2 years experience. The paralegal programs in our area are having a hard time getting their students internships, even unpaid ones. I would do a lot of research in your area before going to school. See what's available for jobs and the salary range in your area.

 

[lisah0711]

DH got his paralegal certificate before he went to law school. He wanted to work in the field for a couple of years before committing to law school. That was after he had his four year degree. In our area, the Pacific Northwest, paralegal certificate holders tend to have an associate's degree with their certificate. There's lots of online info about salary ranges in various areas of the country. I wouldn't want to scare you with the salary ranges around here as the average annual income is about $36K in our county. When I started practising as an attorney 17 years ago my starting pay was $24K a year -- it was a recession I was happy to get it.

A good paralegal who can think and juggle without making mistakes is worth their weight in gold. When a paralegal screws up they lose their job but their attorney loses their house! If you can reliably get your work done and do your fair share of billing, you will never have to worry about your job if you are in a private practice situation. Governmental agencies may be a bit different.

Do you know any attorneys or people who work in law offices? They might be willing to talk to you. Or they may have some orientation program for people entering a paralegal program. I just did a program at my old law school for incoming law students -- it gives them a chance to speak with an attorney and start understanding what is involved.

Oh, and learn everything that you can about word processing, docketing systems, timekeeping, Outlook and all the various ethical pitfalls that can wreak havoc.

That may have been TMI but we lawyers tend to be a bit wordy! Good luck!