21st Century Paralegals Research Paper
Running head: 21st CENTURY PARALEGAL
21st Century Paralegal
Kathy Mlejnek
Composition I
Baker College
The paralegal field has evolved over the years. The paralegal profession is one of the fastest growing fields today and can be a very demanding career. Paralegals have changed in what their responsibilities are and how they are classified. Employment opportunities for paralegals are expected to grow faster than projected than the average for all occupations through 2014. Paralegals have learned more about the law, and now can do more than just be a legal secretary, as they may have done in years past. They also have more room for advancement within their employment, such as becoming a legal administrator. Today’s paralegals have more responsibilities …show more content…
On a typical day, Natalie might accompany an attorney to interview the family of a patient injured by malpractice; she might travel to assist with client depositions and coordinate exhibits or be sent to help with defendant depositions. Julie is primarily a litigation paralegal who does a lot of courtroom work and trial preparation. Part of her responsibilities is to help with exhibit and witness prep, and the trial file as well. She is also the network administrator for the firm’s computer system, though she works with a full time computer technician on staff. Attorneys expect a lot from their paralegals, and the same can be said for the paralegals as well. A good attorney should be able to recognize the brains he/she has working for him/her as paralegals and reward them with more challenging work. By providing paralegals with interesting work, involvement with clients and cases, and good supervision, more firms and corporations have a greater chance of keeping those individuals working for them and even possibly have them further their education, such as possibly going to law
21st Century Paralegal
Kathy Mlejnek
Composition I
Baker College
The paralegal field has evolved over the years. The paralegal profession is one of the fastest growing fields today and can be a very demanding career. Paralegals have changed in what their responsibilities are and how they are classified. Employment opportunities for paralegals are expected to grow faster than projected than the average for all occupations through 2014. Paralegals have learned more about the law, and now can do more than just be a legal secretary, as they may have done in years past. They also have more room for advancement within their employment, such as becoming a legal administrator. Today’s paralegals have more responsibilities …show more content…
On a typical day, Natalie might accompany an attorney to interview the family of a patient injured by malpractice; she might travel to assist with client depositions and coordinate exhibits or be sent to help with defendant depositions. Julie is primarily a litigation paralegal who does a lot of courtroom work and trial preparation. Part of her responsibilities is to help with exhibit and witness prep, and the trial file as well. She is also the network administrator for the firm’s computer system, though she works with a full time computer technician on staff. Attorneys expect a lot from their paralegals, and the same can be said for the paralegals as well. A good attorney should be able to recognize the brains he/she has working for him/her as paralegals and reward them with more challenging work. By providing paralegals with interesting work, involvement with clients and cases, and good supervision, more firms and corporations have a greater chance of keeping those individuals working for them and even possibly have them further their education, such as possibly going to law