Q: What is a paralegal, or legal assistant?

A: Did you see the movie, "Erin Brockovich"? She was working in the capacity of a paralegal or legal assistant. There's really no difference between the two titles, it's just a matter of preference. As defined by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations,(NFPA) a paralegal/legal assistant is a person qualified through education, training or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory or court authority to perform this work.

NFPA's preferred term is "Paralegal." Many NFPA members, however, use the term "Legal Assistant."

The formal establishment of the paralegal profession can be traced to the 1960s when individuals were trained to assist attorneys in making legal services available to the poor during the "War on Poverty." Shortly after public agencies began hiring paralegals, private law firms and corporations recognized the benefits of employing paralegals to supply efficient support, reduce the expense of legal services, and increase the availability of services to the public.

Q: Who uses the services?

A: Paralegals are employed in private law firms, banks, corporations, insurance agencies, legal clinics, courts, government agencies, accounting and engineering firms, title companies, construction companies, and legal aid offices—in fact, almost everywhere law-related work is performed. Paralegals either work with attorneys who assume professional responsibility for the final work product, or work in areas where "lay" individuals are explicitly authorized by statute or regulation to assume certain law-related responsibilities independently.

Paralegals who work in the private sector are usually employed by law firms and corporations and often specialize in areas of law such as litigation, probate, real estate, corporate, taxation, domestic relations, or employee benefits. Paralegals who work in the public sector are often employed by non-profit public law firms, state or local governmental agencies in areas such as welfare, family law, health care, landlord/tenant, disability benefits, unemployment compensation, or social security.

Q: And it requires training?

A: Absolutely. It's a specialized field, and becoming more so all the time. Individuals with diverse backgrounds are employed as paralegals. Education and training requirements differ widely but are generally related to the responsibilities of the position. Specialized training in other fields sometimes determines the paralegal's area of practice. For example, paralegals with medical training often work in personal injury or medical malpractice, while a paralegal in environmental law may have had experience in a related field. S/he would work for either a lawfirm representing a company related to environmental issues, or with a government agency enforcing them.

Q: How does your program work?

A:It's very simple. It is a home-based on-line distance learning program that is entirely self-paced. You do it in your own time frame at home. It is entirely platform learning based, so you are presented information, and then you are tested on it. You do not move forward until you fully grasp the topic you are working on. The coursework is divided into two modules, one dealing with the law and how it works, an overview of the profession, and the second is training for law specialties. Often, to expand opportunities, paralegal trainees also purchase the legal transcription module. An interesting commentary from one of our co-authors: "I spent over $20,000 and 2 years to obtain the same training. Unbelievable.!"

Q: What does your program include?

A: This state-of-the-art home training program consists of 2 volumes (or the on-line). The first module contains the "all about the law" information, and the second focuses on law specialties, complete with samples of pleadings, formats, and citations. It is designed to teach the functions and processes of institutions in the U.S. legal system, roles and issues in the field, and selected specialties of law. It discusses employment opportunities and provides dozens of websites for research purposes to enhance your educational skills on-line and build your own personal Cybrary.

It covers issues relevant to the profession, an overview of American Law, court systems, litigation. The course contains information on how to do interviews (interrogations), legal writing, research, use citations and prepare the documents required. Since the Internet has become a major resource to the profession, hundreds of sites are provided for references and research projects both in the course and for future use in the profession. It reviews English grammar and provides all the typing rules, complete with the captions for different types of courts and actions.

Q: How long does it take to complete this program?

A: It takes anywhere from 4 to 6 months (depending how much time you have to devote to the program). The average will be about 5 months. It is a theory and application process that is equivalent to 900 hours of instruction. In some areas, that allows you to sit for a "Legal Assistant" examination and certification.

Q: Is this field for me?

A: If you have at least average keyboard, organizational and communication skills, are logical and methodical, and can learn and retain what you've learned, this could definitely be for you.

Q: What are the best reasons I should consider this field?

A: According to available data, the paralegal and legal transcription fields will grow exponentially in the next few years as more people require help with their legal issues but do not have the funds to hire an attorney directly. Clearly the economic benefits of utilizing paralegals becomes a welcome alternative to both attorneys and to consumers. Also, as attorneys realize their own productivity and cost efficiency is maximized through utilizing paralegal services, the demand will increase and new opportunities will open up. According to the findings of NFPA the future of paralegals is increasing rapidly with the projection being that by the year 2005 there will be a need for between 150,000 and 176,000 paralegals in this nation. Working in areas such as law firms, corporations and corporate legal departments, financial institutions, insurance companies, real estate and title agencies, state and federal governmental agencies, courts, public defenders' and prosecutors' offices, public utility companies, publicly, funded legal service projects and community legal service programs. These are dynamic times for the paralegal-legal assistant.

Q: How much can I expect to earn?

A: Paralegal salaries vary. Salaries depend on the education and experience the paralegal brings to the job, the type of employer, and the geographic location of the job. Generally, paralegals working for large law firms in metropolitan areas earn more than paralegals working for smaller firms or in less populated areas.

The NFPA's 2001 Paralegal Compensation and Benefits Report reveals a high salary of $98,600. The average salary nationwide is $43,085. Employers of the majority of paralegals provide life and health insurance benefits and pay the paralegal's professional dues. Susan Rojo, a co-author in the program earns (in her own business) $90 to $100K a year.

Q: What about expanding opportunities and horizons?

A: The opportunities for expanding roles in your career are also furthered through continuing education, expanded experience, increased acceptance of responsibility and increased challenges and as standards for this profession are established and recognized, roles and responsibilities will be expanded. Technologically speaking, supply and demand are what run the evolution and creation of new software, macros and research methods available, and currently the Internet is the paralegal's best friend in terms of research and technology, and perhaps even for continuing education credits. One of the best ways to find a paralegal job is through networking and paralegal association job banks and various Internet Job Listing sites. These have increased ten-fold in two years.

Q: What will I need for software?

A: Most attorneys have their preference: Hotdocs, a WordPerfect program, and Legal Solutions, a program divided into modules depending on the field of practice and MSWord. If you are good with MSWord or WordPerfect, you will learn whatever they use very easily. for the Internet work, you will need an upload/download protocol, such as FTP. Navigating the net is important since so much case law research is available from on-line law libraries. Voice recognition software is very commonly employed in the legal field.

Q: How can I learn to do it?

A: Enroll in the course. Meditec has trained hundreds of people who sought new career opportunities without the need to leave home and avoid spending the $20,000 to do it. Expanding to the legal side of things using our platform learning system, with input from experts in the field, was a natural follow-on to the medical. We also believed it was a process a student could do well at home. We have streamlined the learning curve into a compact, no frills process sufficient to get you onto a fast-track career opportunity.

Q: What equipment do I need?

A: For the training, a computer with a modem or DSL to access the Internet, a word processor (many law offices use WordPerfect with its legal version) and either a cassette or CD player if you opt the dictation part of the training.

Q: What else do I need?

A: Suggested:

• Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (latest edition)
• Black's Law Dictionary (pocketbook), Bryan A. Gardner, $24.95 (Amazon.com)
• The Bluebook: (citations), $16.00 (Legalbluebook.com)
• Handbook of Basic Law Terms (pocketbook), Bryan A. Gardner, $12.95 (Amazon.com)
• Throughout the course, you will be provided websites for research purposes; this activity will facilitate your ability to use such sites in your training and your career. Some of the exercises are based on the research you do, so you will take the time to familiarize yourself by reading what they offer, moving around to find other topics which may be of interest and looking at the links various sites will provide. You bookmark those you frequent most for a ready resource.

Q: Do I need to be certified?

A: No, but there are widely recognized certification authorities that can give the examination and certificate should you decide you want to pursue professional certification. Licensing requirements vary from state to state, but certification (unless you move on to court reporting) is virtually nonexistent. With this course, you may sit for the Legal Assistant Certification (CLA), if applicable in your area. It is a new enough field, with lots of argument about the certification process, that ultimately you may be able to "grand-daddy" in to some kinds of certification.

Q: Do you provide placement or otherwise provide work?

A: Meditec does not guaranty placement or work. The HomeBizBook, available in our General Store is an excellent resource to learn to network and find work. Your web-assisted research will also provide potential employer information for your future planning. You may also plan to set up your own practice. Meditec does provide clients interested in home-based transcription if you decide to include that in your training.

Q: So how do I get started?

A: Call toll free 877.335.4072 or enroll on-line.

Q: Anything else?

A: Only this: If you desire a relatively new and specialized career that is in great demand, one that is immune to recession and other economic and industry fluctuations, one that can be easily developed into a home business or which can land you the job you want, then look no further. If you've shopped the others, you know that it will much longer than traditional schools and cost a lot more. This is a very cost effective way to get on track for a new career.