Paralegal Training
Paralegals work as assistants to lawyers. They help prepare cases for trial by interviewing witnesses, verifying facts, researching applicable laws, organizing information, and preparing various legal documents. Parlegals can assist with drafting legal papers for mortgages, employee benefit programs, estate planning, and tax returns depending what kind of law office they work in. They often choose to specialize in a particular area of law such as labour law, bankruptcy, personal injury, litigation or family law. As well, government agencies and many large businesses employ paralegals to take care of legal matters associated with their day to day work.
While it is necessary for a paralegal to be very familiar with legal proceedings and the law, paralegals do not have to attend law school or take part in the bar exam. Becoming a paralegal is often the next step for people who have worked several years as a legal secretary and are ready to take on new responsibilities. Those with ambitions to become a lawyer may work as a paralegal to gain experience before applying to law school. People desiring a change in their career can sometimes use their current skills to cross over from other fields to become paralegals. For example, because many civil cases deal with physical injuries, death or diseases, nurses sometimes consult on various cases serving as nurse paralegals.
In most cases those applying to become a paralegal should have completed high school or their GED, and may need to take some post-secondary courses or complete a bachelor's degree. The requirements for acceptance into paralegal training differs a great deal from program to program. Colleges, universities, online training institutes, and some vocational schools all offer paralegal training. These programs can take as little as a six weeks to complete or up to four years depending which one you choose.
The standards for paralegal certification vary widely from place to place so it's best to contact local employers or law institutes to find out which training programs are endorsed in your area. Many programs will advertise that they are approved by the American Bar Association, but it isn't necessary for programs to seek the ABA's approval. The fact that a program has ABA endorsement should only impact your decision if potential employers tell you they only accept ABA approved training. When moving to a new country, state or province paralegals often have to become recertified to familiarize themselves with local laws before they can work.
A great deal of paralegal work is becoming computer based as legal databases move online and paralegals start to use more and more software to store and organize information. Because of this, the most beneficial programs are those that provide computer lessons along with other training to introduce students to the software commonly used by paralegals. A comprehensive training program should also cover topics such as how paralegals fit into the legal system, rules regulating paralegal work, paralegal ethics, and the basics of how the legal system works. While taking part in training students learn how to interview witnesses, write legal documents, carry out legal research, and analyse legal information.