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What are the job duties of paralegals?
Paralegals perform many legal tasks for lawyers. However, they may not perform any duties that are considered practicing law. Therefore, paralegals may not present cases in court, give legal advice, or set fees. Paralegals are essentially legal assistants for lawyers, they do a lot of prep-work and investigate the facts of the cases.
One of a paralegal's most important duties is helping lawyers prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. Paralegals investigate the facts of cases and ensure that all relevant information is considered. They also identify appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials that are relevant to assigned cases. After they analyze and organize the information, paralegals may prepare written reports that attorneys use in determining how cases should be handled.
In addition to this preparatory work, paralegals perform a number of other vital functions. For example, they help draft contracts, mortgages, separation agreements, and instruments of trust.
The duties of paralegals also differ widely with the type of organization in which they are employed. Paralegals in small and medium-size law firms usually perform a variety of duties that require a general knowledge of the law. Familiarity with computer use and technical knowledge have become essential to a paralegal career. Computer software packages and the Internet are used to search legal literature stored in computer databases and on CD-ROM so familiarity with searching is very important for a paralegal career.
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