A Day in the Life of a Paralegal⁽¹⁾

Paralegals play important roles in law offices, corporate legal departments, government offices, insurance companies, real estate and title insurance firms, banks, and a variety of other industries. Paralegals may work special areas of law, including labor and employee, bankruptcy, criminal, personal injury, corporate, patent, real estate, or family.

From Paralegal Training to a Law Office
Paralegals function as assistants to lawyers as they prepare for legal proceedings including trials, depositions, and hearings. A paralegal who is assisting a lawyer during a trial might do the following tasks:

• Research laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials relating to the case to determine which are most relevant
• Analyze and organize the information, and write a report for the lawyer detailing your findings
• Prepare and file court and other legal documents
• Attend and provide assistance during court trials
• Use computer databases and software to track and organize legal documents and materials

As a paralegal, your regular workweek may be forty hours, but you may be required to work longer hours when deadlines are pressing and trial dates are coming up.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job growth in the paralegal profession is predicted to increase 28 percent between 2008 and 2018--much faster than the average. The BLS also reports that most paralegals have either an associate's degree in paralegal studies or a bachelor's degree in a related field and certification in paralegal studies. In some instances, certification may be required, though in most cases, certification is voluntary.