This occupational report examines the paralegal profession, also known as legal assistants, covering their typical work settings, duties, and relationship to supervising attorneys. The paper reviews salary ranges, professional certifications such as the CLA, CP, AACP, and RP credentials, and employment growth projections through 2018. It also discusses advancement limitations due to the formal distinction between paralegals and licensed attorneys, the role of federal government employers, and the personal appeal of the profession as a career pathway — including the possibility of using paralegal experience as a stepping stone toward law school.
The occupation of paralegal generally involves working within a law firm, within the legal department of a private-sector company, or within a public-sector (government) organization (Echaore-McDavid, 2011). Paralegals are also known as legal assistants. The specific work they perform spans the entire range of legal tasks across all specialty areas of the practice of law. Many of those tasks are similar to those actually performed by lawyers, except that paralegals work under the direct supervision of attorneys and are legally prohibited from performing certain tasks exclusively reserved for lawyers — such as setting legal fees, representing clients in court, and furnishing legal advice (Echaore-McDavid, 2011).
Generally, the work setting and hours of the paralegal profession correspond to those of practicing attorneys, except that paralegals usually work standard eight-hour shifts and forty-hour weeks. Attorneys — especially in the early years of their careers when they are hoping to make partner in their firms — often work considerably longer than a standard forty-hour week (Damp, 2007).
In terms of professional outlook, the paralegal field has been one of the relatively few industries still experiencing growth. Projections indicated the addition of substantial numbers of new positions through 2018 (BLS, 2008). More specifically, as of 2008 there were approximately 263,000 paralegals working in the United States, and their ranks were expected to grow to nearly 350,000 between 2008 and 2018 (BLS, 2008).
Advancement opportunities in the field consist of more senior paralegal positions and legal office manager roles. However, advancement potential is limited by the formal distinction between paralegals and attorneys: becoming a lawyer requires a four-year college degree followed by a three-year law degree from an accredited law school. Therefore, despite the fact that much of the work performed by paralegals may be very similar to that performed by practicing attorneys, upward mobility within the same organization is structurally constrained.
Technically, there are no formal educational requirements to become a paralegal. As a practical matter, however, most employers require some advanced education or the completion of a recognized training program. Most employers prefer at least some college education and completion of a paralegal training program leading to one of several voluntary certifications (Echaore-McDavid, 2011). These include:
The Certified Legal Assistant (CLA) and Certified Paralegal (CP) credentials, both offered by the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA); the American Alliance Certified Paralegal (AACP) certification offered by the American Alliance of Paralegals, Inc.; and the Registered Paralegal (RP) certification administered by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA), which requires a bachelor's degree, at least two years of professional experience, and passage of a certification examination (Echaore-McDavid, 2011).
"Pay ranges, benefits, and top employers by agency"
"Student weighs pros, cons, and law school potential"
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