A paralegal new to the field has many options as far as career opportunities. One major decision for a paralegal pursuing a career at a law firm is whether or not to seek employment at a small or large firm. Taking into consideration some of the pros and cons of both small and large firms will give oneself an understanding on which to set their criteria for their final decision.
Law firms with 25 or fewer attorneys are usually considered small law firms. Since small laws firms out number larger law firms, the majority of all paralegals work for small firms. In small law firms 14% of paralegals work for firms that contain just one attorney, 29% in firms with two to five attorneys, 18% with six to ten attorneys, and 17% of all paralegals work in firms containing eleven to twenty-five attorneys (Miller, Urisko 23). In small firms competition between paralegals would be slim to none depending on the how many paralegals work for the firm. Sally Kane says, “With fewer employees vying for assignments, promotions and a slice of the profits, legal professionals in small law firms face less in-house competition than their big-firm counterparts” ("Small Law Firm Life - 10 Benefits of Working in a Small Law Firm - Small Law Firm Employment."). A paralegal just starting out would have the privilege of becoming familiar with many processes of law at a small firm.
Small firms tend to be less formal and may have a more relaxed, casual, dress code. A less formal dress code would save the paralegal money in the long run because there would be no need to keep up with expensive formal clothing.
Small law firms offer the paralegal a chance to work in many different areas of law and allow them to provide many different services while working on...
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...ook, “Paralegal Career for Dummies”, Scott Hatch, JD, says, “If you think that attorneys are the only legal professionals capable of making six-figure salaries, you’re wrong!” (13).
Whether you’re a paralegal looking for a high salary or a casual work environment with a chance to work on many different areas of law, a large law firm and a small law firm both offer a paralegal what they ultimately set out to find the chance to assist an attorney at law.
Works Cited
Hatch, Scott A., Hatch, Lisa Zimmer. Paralegal Career For Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Pub., 2006. Print.
Kane, Sally. "Small Law Firm Life - 10 Benefits of Working in a Small Law Firm - Small Law Firm Employment." About.com Legal Careers. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.
Miller, Roger LeRoy., Meinzinger, Mary. Paralegal Today: The Legal Team At Work. Clifton Park, NY : Delmar Cengage Learning, 2010. Print
Peter Paralegal is employed by Honest Law Firm and has been instructed by his supervising attorney to prepare and conduct initial interviews with two potential clients to see if a conflict of interest is present. Big Box and Value Mart are competitors and are requesting representation by Honest Law Firm on matters that are unrelated to one another. Peter Paralegal was also asked to perform tasks related to the cases such as; prepare questions and conduct initial interviews, explain legal fees arrangements, establish the attorney-client relations, draft initial pleadings and responses, interview witnesses, draft and sign initial case evaluation letters.
Paralegals have become an essential part of today's legal system, and as the profession becomes one of the leading and fastest growing occupations in the U.S. economy; these individuals perform delegated tasks under the supervision of attorneys. Education has played an important part on this matter; it has facilitated this development by allowing lawyers to use these skills professionals as agents to delegate specific tasks such as legal research, gathering of information and the drafting of specific legal documents under the supervision and final approval of their principals. This has been very significant because now; we can enjoy a speedy process in a cumbersome legal system. From en economic standpoint, it has also been beneficial by decreasing the substantial amount of the legal cost a firm could incur if only lawyers were allowed to perform this kind work.
Freedman, Monroe H., and Abbe Smith. Understanding Lawyers' Ethics. New Providence, NJ: LexisNexis, 2010. Print.
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