A law clerk is not the same as an associate as an associate is a licensed attorney or lawyer that works at a law firm and is not a partner or of counsel and a law clerk is a law student that works for a law firm or a corporate legal department while attending law school.
Female lawyers most often wear well tailored skirts or pant suits which are conservative but colorful or interesting silk blouse which are gorgeous from a fashion perspective and no nonsense from work perspectives.
An attorney is also called a lawyer as the terms attorney and lawyer are frequently considered synonyms.
A legal assistant can succeed by having the following skills which include adaptability, multi tasking, understanding legal terminology and documentation, interpersonal skills, detail oriented, technical skills, writing skills and organizational skills.
Legal assistants should be outstanding writers to prepare emails and memos that serve as representations of the lawyers they support.
They must also have good phone manners and interpersonal skills while speaking with clients or other parties.
Questions you should ask at a legal assistant interview are.
What area of law are you most interested in?
Why did you choose a career in law?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Why should we hire you?
Why do you want to work here?
Tell me about yourself?
To describe a legal assistant on a resume you would describe the legal assistant on a resume as a highly qualified assistant with a thorough command of legal, office, and administrative support functions combined with knowledge of court filings, legal procedures and legal documents.
The skills you need to be a legal secretary are attention to detail, organization and time management.
You also need hard skills, such as knowledge of legal terminology, documentation and procedures.
To become a legal executive you will require a Juris Doctor Degree from an accredited law school and it also requires admittance to a state bar.
A legal executive is not the same as a paralegal.
The role of a legal executive is similar to a solicitors role although the training route is different and the legal executives training covers only one or two specialist areas.
Paralegals provide office and case support to solicitors and barristers.
Generally speaking however, a paralegal usually holds a higher position than that of a legal secretary. Paralegals typically have a higher level of educational attainment.
They may hold a college degree and may have several certifications, such as the ones offered here at CSL.
The average salary of a paralegal in Canada is $72,492.00 per year or $37.18 per hour.
Entry level paralegal positions salary in Canada begin at $57,525.00 per year although most experienced paralegals make on average of $75,478.00 per year in Canada.
The job description of a paralegal is to provide clerical and research support services which include document preparation and review, interviewing witnesses and clients and doing research, investigations and fact checking as well as trial preparation.
Paralegals assist with case planning, development, and management, legal research, interviews clients, gathers facts and retrieves information, drafts and analyzes legal documents and collects, complies and utilizes technical information, to make recommendations to an attorney.
The difference between a paralegal vs a lawyer is that Paralegals support lawyers by assisting them with legal research, document preparation and also client communications and lawyers are more highly trained and better compensated than paralegals.
Also paralegals are not licensed to practice law or to represent clients and lawyers are licensed to represent their clients and practice law.
A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law.
The best place to work as a paralegal is San Jose CA.
Other best places to work as a paralegal are.
Washington, DC.
Trenton, NJ.
San Francisco, CA.
Seattle, WA.
Reno, NV.
Hartford, CT.
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX.
Paralegals make on average of $33,000.00 to $85,000.00 per year.
However in some locations Paralegals with more experience may make as much as $100,000.00 to $130,000.00 per year.
The pros and cons of being paralegal are.
Pros.
Being a Paralegal is a good paying Job.
Paralegals are in demand and will always be in demand.
Room for growth.
You make a difference.
It Offers You Career Longevity.
It Will Pay You Well.
It Sticks to a (Mostly) Predictable Work Schedule.
It Offers You the Prestige of Professional Certification.
It Provides You Recognition and Advancement.
It Offers You the Potential to Be Your Own boss.
Cons of being a paralegal are.
Busy Schedule·
Stressful and Challenging Work schedule·
Mundane Tasks·
Competitive Law School Admissions·
Schooling Costs.
Paralegals do not need to take the LSAT test unless they are planning on going to law school.
Anyone planning on going to law school has to take the LSAT test but if you just want to become a paralegal it's not required to take the LSAT test.
Paralegals are overworked and often get stressed out and suffer from burnout.
The type of paralegal that makes the most money is the paralegal manager who makes on average of $104,775.00 yearly.
Paralegal managers are responsible for the case management and workload of the paralegal team, assigning projects that include the preparation of various legal documents, court proceedings, and billing procedures, tracking continuing education hours, and ensuring the accuracy of the work produced.
A paralegal can become a lawyer by attending law school and then passing a bar exam.
Paralegals can also earn the title of paralegal manager within a law firm.
A natural step for a number of paralegals is to attend law school and become an attorney; many students become paralegals as the first step to a legal career.
Paralegals are usually unhappy because being a paralegal is a highly stressful job and they also work long hours which causes burnout.
Paralegals who are employed in law firm environments frequently work more than 40 hours a week, although those who are employed in corporate and government arenas might enjoy more relaxed schedules.
And you can probably forget about being paid time and a half for your hours over 40.
Paralegal jobs are stressful and a lot of paralegals suffer from burnout from the paralegal job.
As a paralegal you will work notoriously long hours, and your tasks as a paralegal include everything from office management to doing case research and preparing and editing legal contracts and documents.