Similarities Between Paralegals And Legal Assistants

Paralegals provide a broad range of assistance and support to lawyers as well as other legal professionals. According to the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), paralegals gain their knowledge and understanding of the legal system “through formal education, training, and experience” (NALA, 2015). Paralegals play a vital role in the civilian world as well as the United States military. Although the roles are very similar, there are some important differences in the scope of responsibility and education required for both classes of paralegals. Paralegals perform a variety of administrative tasks in support of attorneys: legal research pertaining to the relevant laws and regulations, managing files, writing reports, and drafting legal documents. They also aid the attorneys in preparing cases by handling exhibits and appeals, recording witness interviews, and reviewing trial transcripts. These job skills enable civilian paralegals and legal assistants to work in other settings besides law practices such as financial institutions, insurance companies, real estate brokers, title companies, court offices, and other corporations. On-the-job experience is a major source of their competency as legal …show more content…
While there are no mandatory certifications or standard educational requirements for paralegals and legal assistants, many employers prefer applicants to have a bachelor’s degree. “[Due to the limited number of schools offering] a bachelor’s and master’s degree in paralegal studies, paralegals typically have a bachelor’s degree in another subject and earn a certificate in paralegal studies,” (NALA, 2015. Because the American Bar Association requires ten hours of coursework to be completed in a traditional classroom setting, approximately only 25% of associate and bachelor’s degree programs are ABA-approved (Study.com,