Becoming a paralegal is a great way to get into the legal profession without laboring through years and years of studies and tough competition that practicing lawyers go through. Moreover, even though paralegals cannot practice as lawyers, they are paid well.

In the United States, average starting salary for paralegals is around $25,000 to $30,000 annually. Those working for the federal government get more than $50,000 whereas those working for state and local governments get paid around $35,000. In the private sector, the salary starts around $40,000 and can go up to $100,000 with benefits if employed with some of the top law firms.

The paralegal field has grown rapidly in the recent years. One reason is that in today’s competitive world, law firms prefer to hire more paralegals, who cost the company lesser, to handle the ever increasing paper work and advisory work and hire few lawyers to handle trials and court cases.

In the United States, average starting salary for paralegals is around $25,000 to $30,000 annually. Those working for the federal government get more than $50,000 whereas those working for state and local governments get paid around $35,000. In the private sector, the salary starts around $40,000 and can go up to $100,000 with benefits if employed with some of the top law firms.

The paralegal field has grown rapidly in the recent years. One reason is that in today’s competitive world, law firms prefer to hire more paralegals, who cost the company lesser, to handle the ever increasing paper work and advisory work and hire few lawyers to handle trials and court cases.

The role of a paralegal can be essentially described as Legal Assistant. Paralegals are meant to assist lawyers with their cases and paperwork. Although paralegals are not qualified to act as lawyers, try cases or charge fees for legal consultation them self, they can perform almost all other legal work done by lawyers.

A paralegal’s primary job is to help a lawyer prepare for case, trials, meetings, hearings etc. It is the paralegals who delve through all the case material, reference information like relevant laws, related cases and decisions etc. to make sure every possible information is made available to the lawyer. They also investigate to check the validity of facts. Paralegals may need to document this information for the lawyer to be of use during the trial. Paralegals can also prepare arguments and filings to be used in the court and even be present to during the trial to offer advise if needed.

Apart from assisting in trials and cases, paralegal professionals also work on more mundane legal work like drafting wills legal contracts for businesses, legal letters, divorce papers, tax filing, legal and financial transactions etc. As legal assistants paralegals can be asked to perform more administrative duties such as making appointments, taking meeting minutes, book keeping etc.

Since paralegals can come from any other field of study, they can choose their industry as well e.g. paralegals with financial background may prefer working for companies or financial institutes. Similarly, by specializing in a certain field e.g. immigration law, a paralegal can carve a niche for himself or herself and become more sought after in that particular field.

Paralegals working outside of the legal field may find themselves working on employment contracts, evaluating business proposals, preparing financial documents in compliance with current laws, monitoring administrative work, drafting company policies.

Paralegals can also perform community service by helping legal-aid clinics that provide legal help to those who cannot afford it otherwise.

While paralegals have fixed working hours, during cases and trials they may be required to work over night and through weekends to assist the lawyers. Over time is generally compensated and work is generally permanent for most. 

The job description of a paralegal mostly depends on their education and experience. Beginners and those without a formal paralegal background may be given administrative role in the beginning. Since paralegals are not required to complete any course in the subject to qualify for a job, many just work and build up experience and get certifications to move forward. The minimum qualification is a high school degree.

For those who have completed an accredited course, the career path may go faster. With the right accreditation and certification, even legal secretaries can become paralegals. Paralegal courses are 2 to 4 years long and it is possible to do an accredited course online.