I am thinking about studying to become a paralegal - any insights about the profession?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"I am a paralegal. I have a Bachelor's in Elem Ed and a Masters in Legal Studies. "

WTF is a Masters in Legal Studies? How long have you been out of the work force?

"I don't like to be in the spotlight."

Hard to believe, considering how often you post on DCUM.

How would you know how often she posts since posts are anonymous?

[Anonymous]

I'm an attorney that has worked with some excellent paralegals over the years, and I fully appreciate the role the play, particularly in litigation. I do wonder what effect the current glut of young unemployed lawyers is going to have on paralegals. I bet that there are lots of young law school grads out there who would gladly work for paralegal pay, just to get their foot in the door. I'm no longer at a firm, so I don't have any direct experience. Just wondering.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an attorney that has worked with some excellent paralegals over the years, and I fully appreciate the role the play, particularly in litigation. I do wonder what effect the current glut of young unemployed lawyers is going to have on paralegals. I bet that there are lots of young law school grads out there who would gladly work for paralegal pay, just to get their foot in the door. I'm no longer at a firm, so I don't have any direct experience. Just wondering.

I think there are firms that now tell you in their job postings that they don't want JDs because they know once the job market turns, these people are all going to leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an attorney that has worked with some excellent paralegals over the years, and I fully appreciate the role the play, particularly in litigation. I do wonder what effect the current glut of young unemployed lawyers is going to have on paralegals. I bet that there are lots of young law school grads out there who would gladly work for paralegal pay, just to get their foot in the door. I'm no longer at a firm, so I don't have any direct experience. Just wondering.

I think there are firms that now tell you in their job postings that they don't want JDs because they know once the job market turns, these people are all going to leave.

This. And if I were an attorney, I'm not sure I would want a paralegal with a JD. I think I might feel like all of my decisions were being second-guessed. I also wonder what affect it would have on the attorney's career. Would it look bad to future employers that the JD was unable to find an attorney position?

Also, as a paralegal I am very aware of UPL. I know exactly where that line is and am very careful not to cross it. I can explain the grounds for divorce in Virginia, but I could never advise a client on his specific case. I can explain a plea offer to a client, but I could never advise the client of the best course of action. Would an attorney be able to stay in paralegal mode, or would it be really easy to slip up and give legal advise. And if he did, would that constitute UPL given the relationship? That would risky for a firm.

I know two attorneys working as paralegals. They both chose that path years ago. But neither work in litigation.

[Anonymous]

Let's face it, the glut in lawyers will take a L-O-N-G time to turn around. Unfortunately for me as a lawyer. It really is common sense, we knew how there were too many to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm an attorney that has worked with some excellent paralegals over the years, and I fully appreciate the role the play, particularly in litigation. I do wonder what effect the current glut of young unemployed lawyers is going to have on paralegals. I bet that there are lots of young law school grads out there who would gladly work for paralegal pay, just to get their foot in the door. I'm no longer at a firm, so I don't have any direct experience. Just wondering.

I think there are firms that now tell you in their job postings that they don't want JDs because they know once the job market turns, these people are all going to leave.

pp here -- I wasn't thinking so much of hiring JD's as paralegals per se, but simply shifting work that might otherwise be done by paralegals to JDs. I hear that, in order to keep their hours up, Partners are doing work that used to be done by Senior Associates, and I would think this would eventually trickle down to the paralegals. On top of which, an increasing amount of document discovery, etc, is being done electronically. I think the paralegal of the future is going to be more an IT person in many firms. As for the "when the job market turns around" comment, most lawyers I know think the changes in the legal job market are structural and not likely to "turn around" any time soon.