Anyone a paralegal?

[riderinthestorm]

I have a 30 year old niece who is thinking of getting some training to be a paralegal. She's got a bachelor's degree but has been out of working for a few years raising kids. She believes this career will be fairly recession proof.

Anyone out there have any advice? She thinks she can get certified in a few months via an online course but she's not sure this kind of certification will be acceptable. She'd like to go to law school someday (when she has time and money!) so she thought this might be a good step for now.

I thought I'd ask the Lounge since there always seems to be some good advice here. I just got back from an afternoon at her house so it's fresh on my mind.

[flvegan]

1. Not one, but worked with hundreds of them.

*most* of them went the other route. Got the entry level job at the law firm, proved themselves, then got the paralegal cert on the firm's dime. The folks that started there with a paralegal cert, didn't leapfrog the folks without. I think it's a good addition to a resume to maybe edge out "the other guy". Again, that's just my experience.

I agree that it is a recession proof industry, and if it's what she wants to do, she should go for it. Especially with that bachelor's in her holster.

[riderinthestorm]

5. Thanks flyvegan.

Sounds like she should try to find an entry level job first. I know she'd like to ultimately get her law degree but her kids are still pretty young and she was hoping to do this part-time for now, get her feet wet, and go from there.

[flvegan]

11. I think it's also important

that if she goes this route, to try to decide up front, what type of law she wants to be involved in. Way back when, I wanted to be a lawyer. Did the "get my foot in the door, then go to law school" thing. Real estate was in my blood, so that's the field I went after. Very much a niche part of law. I didn't see law school, but I'm solid in this field. IOW, if you hate insurance and medical brouhaha, don't go into PI. If you like litigation, find a defense firm. Good luck to her!

[skygazer]

2. I'm going through a paralegal program right now

There are a lot of jobs out there in my area - there are more in some parts of the country than in others. She should check the requirements for her state - here in California, you need to be certified through an ABA approved program unless you have a certain number of years experience.

I'm really enjoying the program and I know a lot of people who have gotten work in the field. :hi:

[Shakespeare]

3. Unless she has other law firm experience, it's going to be EXTREMELY difficult to get that first job

I'm kind of a hybrid litigation assistant/paralegal with 12+ years' experience working at BIG firms in DC, SF and LA. I don't have the certificate, but was grandfathered in because of my experience.

Almost every paralegal I know started out as a legal secretary (or similar position) and worked their way up from there. If she's doing an online program, I'm not sure she'll be taken very seriously even for an entry-level job (sorry to be blunt, but that's true). She'd be much better off getting a job, even part-time, at a law firm (perhaps as a file clerk) and simultaneously working towards the certificate from a brick-and-mortar school.

If she's in a city of any size, my best advice (especially if she doesn't have existing firm experience) is to go through a GOOD temp agency (somebody like Robert Half Legal), and try to get some temp assignments as either a paralegal or legal secretary (and if she's lucky, she can work a good assignment into a permanent position, and they do a bang-up job negotiating salary and benefits when they place you).

All that said, however, it's one of the few recession-proof jobs I can think of, the salary's sweet, and EXTREMELY portable if she ever has to relocate.

[riderinthestorm]

6. Cool. Excellent advice

She's within commuting distance of Chicago so she's hoping she would be in a good location to get a decent job, even part time. She doesn't have any experience with a law firm at all. So you think going through a temp agency is the best way to get a foot in the door at a law firm?

[Shakespeare]

12. Yes, and I'd suggest she use the firm I mentioned in my other post.

I'm 99% sure they've got a big office in Chicago (and they may even be able to find her a spot somewhere closer to her in the 'burbs). Using a placement firm is definitely the best way to get a foot in the door (and they do all the work for you tracking down jobs, so it's very helpful). Robert Half Legal is probably the best legal placement firm in the country; I've used them about four times now over the years with various relocations between DC/LA/SF and back to LA.

Do you know if she's proficient in Microsoft Word? That's a HUGE thing--really vital--to have as a skill, even going in for an entry-level job. If she signs up with Robert Half, they have some tutorials she can do at their offices to brush up her skills. If she can test showing decent skills in Word, along with the bachelors degree, they can probably find her some kind of entry-level law firm job, especially since she has an explicit interest in getting her paralegal certification. From there, it's up to her to hustle & make it what she wants (which she can definitely do).

edited to add contact info for Robert Half in Chicago (there's no cost to her for placement, btw--the employer pays the fee):

Chicago
205 N. Michigan Ave
Suite 3301
Chicago, IL 60601 -5914
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

[TheCentepedeShoes]

4. I started the program at the

local community college but suspended it when I changed jobs and got really busy. I'm planning to take the will/trust course next fall which can benefit me in my present position (not law related).
One could also focus on things like family law (divorce, child issues), real estate, bankruptcy. The introductory course I took provided an over view of various specialties. My focus at the time was going to be real estate.
Not all states require an official certification. Texas doesn't but I think California does (I see your niece must be in IL so I don't know if they have a requirement) and they allow paralegals to do some things on their own other states don't because they have the state license.
I just think she needs to make sure that whatever courses she takes, whether classroom or online have the proper accreditation.
I have a bachelor's also (history), and that kept me from needing to take all the other courses required for being on a 'degree track' with paralegal studies. Although the registrar's office and I got in a dispute over my 6 hrs of math - hey, they were both 7AM classes, what do I remember they were about after all this time???

And most of all - best of luck to her in whatever she decides. :)

[riderinthestorm]

7. Hey good luck to you

I didn't know that about some states requiring certification and others not. Where would she find out if a course is "accredited"? I suppose the ABA perhaps?

[skygazer]

8. Here's a list

http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/paralegals/directory/

That's where I found my school. One other thing - my program has an internship program that allows some hand-on work and very often leads to a job. Internships are handy things. Good luck to her. :hi:

[riderinthestorm]

9. Wow, thanks for the link. I'm forwarding it on to her right now.

Good luck with your own program!

[kaiden]

10. My husband got his paralegal certificate nearly two years ago.

He'd been working as a loan officer for a mortgage company when the economy tanked. He took a course at the university on weekends and then got a job as an intern at the law firm where I work. He's been contract ever since (and he still does loans) -- but the cool thing is that he's now the go-to guy on national subprime mortgage fraud cases.

He's learning a lot, but it will be years before he makes the kind of money experienced paralegals make.

If your niece excels in grammar, she might be better off being coming a legal secretary and then going to law school. Legal secretaries make more money than the most experienced paralegals -- without all the paper-pushing and docketing.

DISCLAIMER: I guess you've figured out by now that I'm a legal secretary. :)

[Shakespeare]

13. LOL---I almost mentioned the salary difference in my post.

I get the best of both worlds right now (I LOVE MY JOB)--I do a lot of research and drafting of certain pleadings, all billable paralegal work, but technically I'm a litigation assistant, so I get the sweet salary associated with that. It's a LOT more enjoyable, and the only time I have serious overtime is during leadup to trials or whenever we have a major filing like an MSJ or appellate brief.

Years ago I used to bitch about litigation and beg not to be assigned to attorneys who did heavy litigation, but I'm so glad now that I have that experience. $$$$$

[kaiden]

14. Amen, Shakespeare!

Except for trial preparation, I can still leave at 4:00 on Fridays to have an adult beverage or three before having the entire weekend free to do what I want (which usually includes more adult beverages)!

[Iris]

15. Yes - that's what I was going to say - legal secretaries make more money

I think it also depends on where you live. In small towns, paralegal jobs are either nonexistent or very low-paying.

[LibertyLover]

16. I've been a paralegal for 25 years

and I love it. I honestly don't know how law firms today look at on-line certification since I don't work in a law firm, but rather in the legal department of a non-governmental organization in Washington DC. I do know that when I worked in the private sector, most law firms wanted legal assistants with a certificate from an ABA certified program. Once one of the firms I worked for hired someone with a certificate from one of those schools that advertised on the back of matchbooks. It was not ABA certified. The woman was a disaster. She didn't know even the basics. She lasted the 3 months probationary period and was let go. I would have your niece check to see if the on-line course is ABA certified. As an alternative, can she check the local community college? They may have a paralegal certification program. As other posters have indicated, it may be difficult for her to get her foot in the door at a law firm - everyone wants experience, but if she can sell herself, they may be willing to take her on and show her the ropes. As for the legal secretary route, I've only known one person in all my years as a paralegal who successfully went from a secretarial position to a legal assistant's position. But it may be different now in law firms. It's been 14 years since I last worked in one. I have to say that much of the education as a paralegal comes on the job. For example, my certificate was in litigation, but I have never worked in litigation at all. I have done corporate, blue sky, corporate transactional and now international finance. I would also say to use Robert Half. They are excellent. If you, or she, have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me and I'll be more than happy to try and answer.

[spindrifter]

17. I've hired paralegals and supervised them--

If possible, get the certificate from a community college--the program will probably offer an opportunity to do an internship. This may be the foot in the door. Otherwise, try for the entry-level position. A lot of small firms want a paralegal to help out with the appropriate work. Your niece should build as many computer skills as possible. No matter whether she's interested in small or large firm work, you must be able to handle data on a computer.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. I have no idea how to get a legal assistant job, although I am quailfied.

I was a legal secretary while I was in college, my father was an attorney and I grew up around legal stuff. I knew how to type wills, deeds, pleadings and such.


I became a court reporter and earned my 2 year degree in court reporting. I spent quite a few years reporting trials of all kinds. Then I got burned out from the horrendous stress.


While I was a court reporter, I went to law school at night and earned a Juris Doctor. I did not pass the bar exam.


Several years ago, I attempted to get a job as a legal assistant. In nearly two years of looking, I got a grand total of ONE interview. I signed up with several agencies and was not ever sent out on a temporary job either!!!!!!!!

:wtf:


I am totally baffled, as I have the best possible experience and education you could have to be a legal assistant.


I also have a Bachelor's Degree in Biology, which means that I can spell medical terminology from expert witnesses in personal injury cases and medical examiner's reports in criminal cases.


Maybe employers don't understand that a former legal secretary and former highly experienced court reporter, with a degree in biology and a law degree, can be an excellent litigation assistant. It's not my fault they can't see that.


I am completely baffled. I ascribe my lack of success to my age (over 40).

:wtf: :wtf:


TO HELL WITH THE JOB MARKET.