A Paralegal Career

A paralegal career can be intellectually challenging, personally fulfilling and financially rewarding. It is one of the best available in America, for being dynamic, productive, and growing at a rate much faster than the average.

A paralegal career is dynamic, productive, and growing at a rate much faster than the average. Labor Statistics indicate a growth rate for paralegals higher than 28 % in the last decade. The number of practicing paralegals grew from 200,000 in 2002 to more than 257,000 in 2012. While there will be attrition factors, the field will continue to grow as the demand for legal services increases, and the complexities of our legal systems continue to rise. The growth will be enhanced further by the ability of experienced paralegals to handle more of the legal tasks traditionally performed by lawyers at significantly higher cost to the clients. That will even be more significant for paralegals that specialize in specific areas, such as real estate, medical malpractice, insurance claims, bankruptcy, and product liability.

Paralegals enjoy high degree of independence in performing their assigned tasks. They have the opportunities to interact with a variety of people in their daily efforts to gather information from clients, from the representatives of other parties and from court personnel. Perhaps one significant part of their personal satisfaction comes from being part of an effective legal team, able to identify and participate in solving the legal issues of various clients. Furthermore, a paralegal career provides a wide variety of work activities, in that each legal problem, and there may be many of course, presents different arrays of facts and legal issues which in turn necessitate different skills and varying levels of effort.
A paralegal career can be financially rewarding, particularly for those who invest further in their own education and experience, because in reality the wages earned from a paralegal career depend primarily on these factors. These wages are also impacted by the type and size of the employer, and by the geographic location of the job. Paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas in general earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions.

According to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics:
“In May 2008, full-time wage-and-salary paralegals and legal assistants earned $46,120(on average). The middle 50 percent earned between $36,080 and $59,310. The top 10 percent earned more than $73,450, and the bottom 10 percent earned less than $29,260. Median annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of paralegals were:

•Federal Executive Branch $58,540
•Management of companies and enterprises 55,910
•carriers 52,200
•Employment Services 50,050
•Legal Services 44,480”

Whenever the subject of a career in the legal field arises, there always is the question of whether the interest of a candidate could be better served by opting for a profession as a lawyer or as a paralegal instead. While either option leads to a respectable and rewarding level of activity, the two have substantial differences in cost and in time.
Unless they opt for certification or pursue college degrees, paralegals can enter the field with a training cycle as short as three months. They do not need to incur law school debts, pass entrance exams or experience high stress levels. They have a shorter learning curve, function in an above average growing field, and enjoy reasonable levels of compensation depending on their education, experience and geographic location. In exchange, they only have to assess their personal capabilities first, and determine if they possess the required strong organizational skills and the careful attention to details.

By contrast with paralegals, lawyers undergo more than seven years of post-high school education, accumulate massive school debts, often approaching six figures, must pass entrance and Bar exams, endure high stress levels, and operate in a field with only slightly above average growth. They must possess high degree of communications and analytical skills. Their financial rewards might be higher of course, but still somewhat impacted by economic cycles and changing times.

A Paralegal career is an effective and less stressful path to a continually changing and evolving profession. Being part of a problem solving team, paralegals must be able to assume high levels of responsibility, master new technologies as they evolve, and grow in a dynamic landscape which makes every day unique and enjoyable.