Is Paralegal a good career right now as of 2010?

Prorkycake

I am a paralegal in the State of Texas. To briefly answer your question, no one can accurately answer this question for you and anyone who gives you a "matter-of-fact" answer is full of it. The demand for paralegals is fully dependent on what area of the country you live in, and what area of law you plan to work in. With the economy in consideration, I can tell you that for the most part, all areas of law are feeling the pinch with the exception of the areas that benefit from the bad economy. For example, I work in construction litigation. We have the most business when contractors, owners, subcontractors, etc. aren't paying their bills. Last year, our small firm grossed over one million dollars in revenue and I walked away with a hefty bonus. This won't always be the case.

Are paralegals in demand? When you define "demand", I get the gist that you are asking if firms are chomping at the bit to hire you. The simple answer. No. Paralegals are not in such high demand that finding a job will be simple.

Is the profession recession proof? The simple answer. No profession is recession proof with the exception of those that do well on the misery and financial woes of others. Some areas of law prosper and some don't.

Should you invest in this kind of career? Again. This is dependent on you as a person and no one can accurately answer this for you. All I can tell you is that I enjoy being a paralegal, and that most people that come here on Yahoo do not have a clue what exactly a paralegal does, what the unsaid requirements are, and what kind of time and effort you have to invest to have a rewarding career.

I am a litigation paralegal and the only paralegal for the firm I work for. My daily tasks are mind numbing to most. I review pleadings boards, discovery boards, draft Motions, draft discovery responses and requests, contact the Court, write correspondence to Court personnel, Clerks, coordinate the service of citations with Sheriffs and Constables, coordinate mediations and depositions, arrange for copy service pick up and drop off, keep the client up to date on all documents we receive on their behalf, arrange trial exhibits, mess with trial software, OCR documents, scan documents, prepare attorneys for mediation and depositions, keep track of three attorneys' due dates and calendar every due date, schedule hearings, draft fax memorandums, proofread, draft Requests for Equitable Adjustment and every so often, do legal research. I am the eyes, ears and handy man of the office. I am the office's resident Excel and Word expert. I am always the one tasked to troubleshoot any of the computers. I do just about everything.

With that said, I work in a small firm. In larger firms, you may not have to do half of that because you have staff to do most of it. Our office doesn't have an IT department or a filing department..I do it all. You will need to ask yourself what kind of environment you want to work in. Many paralegals never touch a discovery board or a pleadings board. Again, all dependent on what kind of firm you work for.

I truly despise that someone would tell you that education is not important or a priority. A decade ago when the profession was still establishing itself, sure. There were many people that worked their way up the ladder. Is that so now? Absolutely not! At the very least, you will require an associate's degree for smaller firms and a bachelor's for larger firms. There is one thing certain. You will most likely not even get an interview if you do not have a credible education of some sort. If you don't already have a college degree, you will need one. Attend an ABA approved program and avoid online degrees or 1 year certificates. If you already have a bachelor's or even a masters, I would then say it may be acceptable to get an online degree or certificate. Obviously, with those kind of degrees, you've already demonstrated you've taken quite a bit of collegiate level courses.

Good luck with your decision, but please do not be one of these people that think becoming a paralegal is something you can just wake up one morning and do. The reason why people have so much trouble finding a job in this area is because they are not informed of the real qualifications they need to have.

redgator

This question has been asked a 1000 times. Look through some other answers.

mailaccount63

No, Paralegal is NOT a good career as of 2010.

Choosing a career is one of life's most important and difficult decisions. But knowing what your expectations are, and then comparing them to the realities will help you make educated decisions.

We simply already have way too many Legal Professionals. AND the legal profession is dramatically changing: it is in absolute CRISIS! Job searching in this vocational field has changed >>DRAMATICALLY<< in the last five years. And, every year, more and more people graduate from law school, but there are fewer and fewer jobs. Even the largest and most reputable law firms are experiencing unprecedented cutbacks. I don't expect the situation to improve in the coming years.....

Be aware of what you are proposing on getting yourself into. Please do more research first. Reminder: We are STILL in a World-wide Recession. Obviously, economic conditions affect the number of jobs available. Consider career paths that have available JOBS.<< Even in a Recovery, there are some jobs that just won't return - the field of Law won't make a comeback. Too many things have changed in this vocational field.

Warning> Jobs in the field of Law are drying up fast!! This no longer is a good field to invest time and/or money into. This is a SHRINKING, crumbling, and dying vocational field. Many, many reasons: We now have computers. So, many people today (mistakenly) think they can do their own legal work, thanks to the Internet and legal books. Also, there are a lot of companies out there making very efficient legal software for the field of Law. Today's graduating lawyers tend to be very computer savvy, so they just do the work themselves to save themselves the cost of overhead - they aren't hiring legal staff. Also, the "Public" buys this legal software/law books in order to get legal work done without the expense of an Attorney. Also, we simply already have way too many Legal Professionals - we just have an absolute glut!! ("Legal Professionals" includes, but is not limited to: Attorneys/Lawyers, Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc) For example: Sites like legalzoom.com have taken away work that many small-time attorneys/lawyers would do/used to do.

The field of Law has a mystique that actually exceeds reality. The field of Law is a vastly overrated career - especially by television.<< There are many myths regarding the field of Law. Law is a more demanding profession than most people realize. It is not like what you see on TV.

Cost of law school to be lawyer, approx $150,000+. Be prepared to take on a LOT of debt, if becoming an attorney is your "true", ultimate goal!!!<<

There are no jobs in this vocational field. I have watched as my family, coworkers, friends, acqaintances, etc. as they have been laid off left and right in this vocational field.

Regarding being a Paralegal: Employers (usually law firms) in the field of Law TODAY want employees with >>>BACHELORS<<< degrees from traditional (bricks and mortar) colleges/universities. Those "certificates" you see advertised aren't worth the paper they are printed on - they are generally SCAMS. (>>I found this out the hard way.) Also, the law school's program needs to be accredited by the American Bar Association - if it isn't, you are just wasting your time/money.

Even if you do finish law school, you won't be able to find a job when you are done. Since this vocational field is shrinking (at an alarming rate), many new attorneys/lawyers are, themselves, having to work "down" as Paralegals, Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Bailiffs, Court Reporters, etc, etc, to simply try to keep some of their bills paid <<this would be your competition. And the competition is fierce in TODAY's job market!!

Now... the law schools know this, but they won't tell you the truth >that the job market/economy is just SATURATED with way too many Legal Professionals. Instead the schools will feed you a fairytale and will LIE to you. The root of the problem is we already have too many law schools. We are STILL in a Recession, and the schools are fighting for their own survival - they will tell students anything to get to the students' money. (Which is why they won't tell you the truth about the job market for the field of Law.) And these schools continue to recruit and churn out even more graduates.............Remember>>> law schools are BUSINESSES - their TOP concern is making money for themselves.

>>>>>THE #1 MOST IMPORTANT THING (and I can't stress this enough>>>): You ESPECIALLY have to beware of the BOGUS, INFLATED law school salary/job stats given out by >law schools< (AND by the U.S. Bureau of Labor)!!***<<<<<

If you don't believe me, then:
**Check out these websites:
http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Lawyer-in-the-United-States
http://informeddecisionmaking.blogspot.com
http://calicocat.com/2004/08/law-school-big-lie.html
>>>>>>>http://being

Chris

I work at a law firm as a file clerk. This would be one of the larger firms in my state. They are laying off a lot of paralegals and legal assistants right now so I don't think its recession proof. It is a good career though, something that can be used at many offices and not just a single area. The paralegals I've spoke to have said that they have been with the office for 10+ years and simply worked up to their levels, so education isn't a priority.

paralegal

While I agree that finding a job in the legal industry is very competitive, I must say that if paralegals were allowed to assist the public, there is a strong demand there for our assistance. The public demands change but the lawyers are too afraid to compete with us. And while some may say that lawyers are more competent than paralegals because they have to go through all that education to take the bar, LAW SCHOOL is a waste of MONEY!!! Most law students have no prior work experience and thus don't know how to use the knowledge they are given albiet they aren't given much in law school for they have to learn on their own and only the A students get the job in this economy--it doesn't mean that the A student will be more competent but the A student learned better thinking skills than the B or C student. Law school is game and a competitive and expensive game. Paralegals get a better education than law students do. Our education is different and gives you more hands on experience than a law degree from an ABA accredited law school. In law schools, professors do not tell you if you are doing it right. They figure the natural born geniuses will get it and that is all that matters. It takes years of experience as a lawyer to be a competent lawyer. Paralegals are better prepared to assist the public than a lawyer is.

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