With so many people going into business for themselves, could this trend carry over to the legal field, specifically paralegals? Typically legal assistants and paralegals in law firms or in other establishments perform some or all of the following duties:
Assist lawyers by interviewing clients, witnesses and other related parties, assembling documentary evidence, preparing trial briefs, and arranging for trials.- Prepare wills, real estate transactions and other legal documents, court reports and affidavits.
- Research records, court files and other legal documents.
That begs the question — can self-employed paralegals perform these tasks? What exactly does an independent paralegal do?
Self-employed paralegals perform some or all of the following duties:
- Represent clients in small claims court and in other lower court proceedings, at tribunals and before administrative bodies.
- Advise clients and take legal action on landlord and tenant matters, traffic violations, name changes and other issues within their jurisdictions.
Self-employed paralegals require knowledge of legal principles and procedures usually obtained through industry-sponsored courses and through experience, or on completion of a community college paralegal program.
Will there be growth in this field?
The market for self-employed paralegals is expected to grow more rapidly than the average for all occupations through the year 2007.
Demand for paralegal services is affected by legislative rules governing paralegals’ right to practice in various legal domains, as well as the overall economic environment.
Paralegals are having some success in taking over routine legal services from lawyers. There is also expected to be an increase in the number of self-employed paralegals. All of which are expected to create employment opportunities for this group. Paralegals are likely to work increasingly with computerized filing systems and computerized legal databases.
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