Paralegals: The Role And Role Of Legal Assistants

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Definition: Legal assistants, also known as paralegals, are a distinguishable group of persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of legal services. Through formal education, training and experience, legal assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney. (www.NALA.org) Before starting the paralegal program, I did not have a clear understanding of what a paralegal actually does. I always been interested in being a paralegal, but never clearly understood the full responsibilities. After being in this program, I have some understanding to the many responsibilities than I initially knew. The primary function of a paralegal is to assist attorneys in preparing for hearing, trials, meetings, and real estate closings. In addition, paralegals can also do other office tasks, such as office management as trainer of new hired paralegal, book keeping, and free lancing. NALA have available for paralegals the options of CLE (Continuing Legal Education). This program is live educational, online self-study programs, and publications which is overseen by the association’s Continuing Education Counsel. The council works with Headquarters staff, professional writers, and others in planning and developing educational programs. The three areas I have chosen for CLE are Real Estate, Social Security Representation, and State and Federal Administration Law. The three areas mentions are my areas of interest, becoming a member of NALA, will allow me the opportunity to participate in CLE to give me the necessary knowledge to better and myself and know the law behind it. For a paralegal to participate in this... ... middle of paper ... ... facing charges of practicing law without a license (fraud) and the attorney he represented was charged as well and threatened to possibly lose his license because of failure to properly supervising the paralegal that worked for him. Paralegals must understand and know their rightful title, and know they are not attorneys and should not present their selves and such. Paralegals must refer all legal concerns, advice, and questions to the license attorneys they work for. When preparing any legal documents to be presented to the court, be honest, use current cases (shepardize), and always be honest with the court. Paralegals are not to sign the attorney’s name under any circumstances and are not to misrepresent their selves at any time. When in doubt of the research project, ask questions to further help completing the task, and never be afraid to others for help.

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