Disadvantages Of Paralegal

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Time is money. For a lawyer, the more time he or she must spend on a case, the less time there is to meet new clients and expand the firm. Many of the duties that a lawyer spends his or her time doing are duties that could be delegated to a paralegal. What is a paralegal exactly is a question that is often asked. A paralegal by definition is “a person qualified by education, experience, training, or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, government agency, or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work, for which a lawyer is responsible (Miller, 2014).” So what exactly does that mean? A paralegal can perform many duties a lawyer is responsible for, with exceptions, …show more content…

Although a paralegal can perform certain duties of a lawyer, they are not legally allowed to practice law. A paralegal specializing in litigation can be a great asset to a firm because they are familiar with the court process, the rules of civil procedure, and the details of document filing with the courts. A paralegal can assist in several phases of the litigation process as well. A major advantage of having a paralegal is the fact that they can assist in both the legal and factual researching. The factual research can include, but is not limited, discovering background information on both the clients and the opposing parties, researching and validating facts about the case, and help with locating key documents related to the case. The legal research can include uncovering previous court decisions and related statutory law(s) in order to analyze how the law may be related to the case at hand. A paralegal may also assist in drafting documents for a lawyer. Although a paralegal cannot sign the documents, they are able to prepare as well as file them. Another part of the litigation process that a paralegal can be utilized is the discovery phase. A paralegal can draft discovery requests and responses, communicate with the client to determine what documents are available, and also be responsible for the organization of those documents. Paralegals can also be very helpful during the trial. Prior to the trial a paralegal can help with dispositions and disclosures. During the trial there are also several functions of a paralegal varying from attending the trial, taking notes, and even assisting in jury selection. These are just some of the ways a paralegal can be a great asset to a law office during the litigation process (Kroeck,

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