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The legal profession is not limited to lawyers or judges only. It is much beyond what you can think about. One of the most important legal professions today is the job of legal assistant. The legal assistants are also known as paralegals. Paralegals or the legal assistants are the ones who are so trained that they can assist lawyers in delivering the legal services. Legal assistants perform a vital role in providing legal services by helping lawyers draft documents, prepare for trial and perform other legal duties. They work in corporate law departments, private legal firms, for the government and other law practicing areas under the guidance of an attorney. About 7 out of 10 paralegals work for legal firms while others work for corporations and government agencies. The paralegals, however, cannot give any legal advice or represent a client during the court proceedings or sign documents that are filed with courts or even establish legal fees.

Qualification Required

Paralegals or the legal assistants don’t have any formal paralegal training, says A. Harrison Barnes. The legal assistants should possess a 2-year associate’s degree, a 4-year bachelor’s degree and a paralegal certificate. Legal assistants who have a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies have the maximum prospects of getting a suitable job. Most legal assistants advance their legal careers through a paralegal certification. They just need to clear an examination and have one year of experience in this field.

The paralegals, says A. Harrison Barnes, need to undergo some courses in their degree program that teach them the fundamentals of law and also the specific details and skills that are required to perform their task. Some of these courses are family law, court rules, draft contracts and forms, legal terminology, civil litigation, real property law, legal writing, research and analysis, civil practice and procedures.

Skills Required

Together with their paralegal degrees, students also acquire the skills that are required to perform well in their legal job. They must have gained an excellent knowledge of legal terminology, substantive law, state and federal rules of law procedures. They should have the capability to analyze and solve problems. They must have the faculty of critical thinking along with writing skills and human relation skills. Organizational skills, too, are very much required especially in order to handle so many case files and exhibits that may number in hundreds. Communication skill is also very important for a legal assistant for they are the ones who interact with experts, witnesses, clients, vendors, other lawyers and court personnel. They also should have the ability to perform strong research which is required to prepare research memorandums, according to A. Harrison Barnes.

Salary and Job Prospects of Paralegals

According to A. Harrison Barnes, the owner of the famous job search portal, BCGSearch.com, the opportunities in the paralegal field are in plenty. In fact it is ranked as part of the 20 best jobs in the United States of America. The main reason for the growth in the paralegal field is the healthy legal market and the job attrition. The increase in demand is also increasing the legal fees and this is why the clients are resorting to the legal assistants than the highly priced lawyers. The increasing load of the cases is also increasing the demand for paralegals.

The job prospects in the field of legal assisting are increasing on a daily basis. Thus, more and more students are getting attracted to this field. Even the salary of the paralegals is a reason that is attracting the students, says A. Harrison Barnes. If you have enough experience, academic qualifications, and a favorable practice environment and are located in a good area, then you can expect an attractive salary for yourself. The average salary of a paralegal is $50,496. The median national salary of the legal assistants was $47,600 in May, 2007. Legal assistants with special skills can also draw an annual salary in six figures.

The best way to grab a legal assisting job is through the help of A. Harrison Barnes’s BCG Search.com. This job search engine is one of the best in the recruiting field. It is the place where you can get yourself your dream job as a paralegal. They have a team of more than 40 experienced lawyers who guide the clients in every way to get the most deserving job. The team works 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to help their clients get the desired results.

BCG Search has A. Huge database where jobs from all over the world are updated on a daily basis, thus allowing the clients access to all the jobs in the paralegal job market. It is guaranteed that you will be very satisfied by the services provided by them and will definitely score a good paralegal job for yourself.

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