Paralegal?

[Kathleen04]

Does anyone here work as a paralegal? Can anyone lead me to some credible resources on how to get a paralegal certification/what is involved?

Thanks. :)

[serryjw]

1. I had a friend 10 years ago

that did it in Atlanta. It was expensive and you start at the bottom until you have experience. I heard good things about court reporting. Have you thought about that?

[Lavender Brown]

2. You might want to post this in the lounge... I know there are quite a few

in the paralegal field on DU but not everyone reads the career forum. :hi:

[Kathleen04]

3. Thanks, LavenderBrown

I'll post over there, last night I think it would have gotten buried in Oscar posts. :+

[Sanity Claws]

4. Depends on the state

Some community colleges offer programs that lead to certification. You might want to check out your local ones. If you already have a bachelor's degree, there are certification programs available through extension programs at local universities. I'm in Seattle and believe the UW offers an program through its extension that offers a paralegal certificate. I understand that it's quite competitive to get into.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. No idea.

I have a BA in biology, and an associates' in Court Reporting. I did that for about 17 years until I went completely nuts from the stress of trials and nasty judges and lawyers.

I also went to night school for five years while working fulltime at the courthouse as a court reporter, and got a Juris Doctor (law degree). I don't have a law license. Before I was a court reporter, I was a legal secretary for my father who was an attorney in general civil practice, so I grew up around this stuff, reading pleadings and motions and such.

I spent over a year looking for a legal assistant job and got ONE interview. I'm stumped.

Overqualified and too old I guess.

[liberalhistorian]

6. Don't even bother. I'm a college graduate

with a BA AND a paralegal certificate, and I've never been able to find anything more than $30,000 a year, which is complete bullshit. Not to mention that I can't seem to get away from the secretarial crap I'm no good at, and I've never had the kind of paralegal job I'd hoped to get (plaintiff litigation, helping people instead of corporations screwing over people, etc.), and I've never had much luck with it.

Not to mention that it's really, really hard to even find a job, no matter what kind of qualifications you had. I have a BA and a certificate, good references, excellent legal research and writing samples, etc., to no avail. Also not to mention that you usually have to act as the attorney's kindergarten teacher, constantly reminding them of everything.

I'm done. Once my current job ends in October, I'm done and I can't wait to get out of it.

[Berry Cool]

7. I'd like to add to this thread late, just in case anyone reads it now who's curious.

And I'm a person who has a certificate, and it actually helped me get another job, but not as a paralegal.

...If I had it to do over now, I would not get a paralegal certificate, especially if I were trying to get a job as a paralegal! It is not a growth area of employment right now. Firms are letting paralegals go as a cost-cutting measure, and some are outsourcing their paralegal work to India...What they have to pay someone $30K to do here, they can pay $10K for there.

It's sad. My advice is, don't do it.

[SheilaT]

8. I have a paralegal certificate.

The biggest problem with the field is that too many law firms and lawyers don't want anything more than secretarial support. Getting someone to hire you to do real paralegal work is harder than it should be.

Junior colleges often have paralegal programs and many of them are quite good.

But basic administrative assistant work will pay as well, and you don't have to deal with idiot lawyers.