Did you know that there are more than 275,000 paralegals in the United States? With a growth outlook that slightly surpasses the national average for all professions, you may be contemplating a career as a paralegal. If you have already begun to research this field, you might also be wondering what your day-to-day responsibilities will be like. Put another way, just what does a paralegal do?
The answer to this question partially depends on a second question: what can a paralegal specialize in? Paralegals can specialize in dozens of areas, including contract administration, environmental law, and maritime law. These specializations, and the five described below, represent just a portion of the options available to a prospective paralegal, but they are an excellent place to begin or further your career investigation.
1. Civil litigation
According to the National Association of Legal Assistants, more than half (or 51%) of paralegals reported their specialty as civil litigation in 2008. Civil litigation involves disputes between two parties, but these disputes are not criminal in nature. Instead, parties typically seek outcomes like financial payment. Should you select this paralegal specialty, you will help with many aspects of the process: investigation, settlement, trial, and so on. Civil litigation paralegals write documents, interview involved parties, analyze information, etc. As with all paralegal specialties, it is also critically important to remain current on changes and literature in your field. You may also be asked to share these findings with lawyers.
2. Corporate law
This paralegal specialty, like the one that appears below, revolves around the world of business. Attorneys and paralegals in this field perform a wide variety of tasks for companies of all sizes. For instance, you may aid a startup in establishing itself as an official organization, including registering a corporate name, opening bank accounts, and writing bylaws. Paralegals also secure business licenses and create critical documents like confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements with the assistance of a lawyer. You may be asked to attend company meetings or to help guide organizations through challenging ethical dilemmas or complex legal situations.
3. Employee benefits
Individuals who choose this paralegal specialty may work for a very large multinational corporation, or they may work for a small local business. In both cases, you can expect to draft, review, and explain documents that involve employee benefits. This may include (but is not limited to) health care plans, retirement plans, and compensation plans that feature options like stocks. Employee benefit paralegals also assist with or compose annual reports for key stakeholders like the board of directors. Perhaps most importantly, paralegals in this role continually ensure that all benefit structures are compliant with any applicable laws.
4. Intellectual property
“Intellectual property” refers to a creative work developed by the human mind—an invention, a novel, a painting, a song, and so on. Intellectual property paralegals assist attorneys in protecting these creations, whether for an individual or an organization. In this role, you may be asked to conduct research into the laws that govern intellectual property. You may also monitor established patents and trademarks to ensure that they are not infringed upon. Paralegals in intellectual property also work with copyrights, including developing licensing agreements. If your client’s intellectual property is threatened, you may assist with litigation to protect it.
5. Real estate
If you have ever bought or sold a home, you almost certainly remember how much legal paperwork is involved in such a transaction. Paralegals who enter this specialty assist attorneys with both rentals and sales. For example, you may draft a lease or a purchase agreement based on a lawyer’s notes, as well as organize all necessary paperwork. You may also participate in any foreclosure proceedings, including attending sales of foreclosed properties. 2008 data provided by the National Association of Legal Assistants suggests that more than a quarter of the paralegal profession works in real estate—27% in total.
Many paralegal specialties share some degree of overlap with one another, but choosing an area that interests you can potentially increase your job satisfaction. It can also provide you with a general structure for shaping your career trajectory, and it can help you evaluate paralegal education programs. Whenever possible, choose a school that offers coursework in your preferred paralegal specialty, like the Center for Advanced Legal Studies’ options in criminal law, family law, and immigration law.
Co-founder and Director
Center for Advanced Legal Studies
One of the requirements of attending and graduating from an ABA approved paralegal program is that you must complete a minimum of 10 semester hours on campus. Realistically, that means you must live close enough so you can drive back and forth.
But not always… One of our students flew back and forth from Atlanta to attend class on campus, another drove from Texarkana, an easy 5½ hour one way trip, several others traveled from Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, etc. to attend weekend classes on our campus in Houston to comply with this 10 semester hour requirement.
