Paralegal Profession

John Bergey
English 250
Final paper- Paralegal Profession-

A paralegal is a very important member of a legal team. Lawyers trust paralegals with very important information pertaining to the case they are working on, such as in a corporate law setting a paralegal would be trusted to handle business documents and have knowledge of records, and transactions of each company. In a litigation type law office a paralegal would have the responsibility of knowing all the details and personal information of the clients they are dealing with. A paralegal has many things they are trusted to do that they need to follow a code of ethics that has been set in place by the American Bar Association.
The tasks of a paralegal vary greatly depending on what type of law office you work in, your education, and on the job experience. According to paralegalsecrets.com the typical tasks done by paralegals include summarizing legal documents, performing legal research, and checking legal forms for accuracy. Paralegal tasks also include helping lawyers prepare for trial, interviewing witnesses, draft pleadings, and motions.
People, who don’t have much knowledge or the law, or legal proceedings, might not know what exactly the difference between a paralegal and a lawyer is. While there might be some close similarities between the two professions such as, they both work in law offices, they both draft documents such as, summons’s, answers, briefs, and memorandums. They are both very different.
A lawyer can set fees, give legal advice; appear as counsel in court, and signs pleadings and other legal documents. A lawyers’ job is to analyze and strategize information for their client with the hope of getting the best possible result, and the paralegals job is to conduct research, and other tasks based on the analysis and strategy of the lawyer.
The pathways to these two professions are both very different. To become a lawyer one must earn a bachelor’s degree, and then get accepted into... [continues]

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