PARALEGAL: Assists attorneys, corporations and individuals in legal matters, conducts investigations, researches and drafts legal opinions, and acts as liaison between law firms, clients and opposing counsel.
To the uninitiated the paralegal profession generally means something akin to being a glorified legal secretary, sitting at the right hand of an attorney, taking notes and carrying out minor organizational tasks.
But for 28 year old Angel Ann Price, lead paralegal in the Las Vegas, Nevada, family law practice of Carol Menninger, P.C., the profession offers far more responsible and demanding challenges.
Price says that "the responsibility and freedom she has working in a small law office is fantastic compared to what she would have with a larger firm." Her assignments frequently include researching legal issues, writing motions and opinions, and investigating facts in cases involving guardianship issues, minor's rights, paternity issues, divorces, property settlements, post-divorce custody issues, spousal abuse, and child abuse.
Price often works directly with family court judges investigating family environments and factual issues regarding abuse allegations and determining spousal assets. She frequently makes ex parte appearances on behalf of her attorney's clients and acts as liaison with the court to assist the judge in arriving at the sometimes difficult to find truth and reality of a situation.
In a recent divorce matter she said "Both parties were the type of people who loved to fight and this setting was destroying the two teenage children involved." Her firm represented the wife and Price's job was to put enough information in front of the judge to protect the kids, yet get a fair settlement of the property.
Without compromising her client's position in the divorce, the information Price provided to the judge resulted in an unusual finding. "The children were given temporary possession of the house for the term of the divorce, and both parents were given alternating visitation rights at the house for a week at a time."
While this was an unusual case, Price's involvement with the court resulted in both parents realizing the damage they were doing to the children. They eventually sought counseling and wound up with split custody and a better relationship with the children, and the kids were much happier as a result.
Price acquired her bachelor's degree in liberal arts in 1985 and took a job dealing craps in an Atlantic City casino while she looked for a career that would offer challenge and excitement. After career testing indicated she would do well either in law or as a cartoonist, she chose law. "I couldn't draw a stick figure", she says. "The local library had quite a good collection of law books and I became interested in reading various cases and the statutes from which they devolved, which really help me make up my mind. The practical application of the law to everyday affairs is what got me into the profession."
Price is currently attending law school part time, and eventually plans to establish her own practice, specializing in civil rights law for women. With the experience gained working as a paralegal, she will be able to accomplish this goal immediately upon getting her Juris Doctor, rather than having to go through the associate process with a law firm to acquire the practical experience which law school does not provide.
For now though, she says "she is happy mediating family disputes and attempting to see that children in divorce cases get the treatment they deserve and are not victimized by the process."
For those considering a career as a paralegal, Price recommends they "develop very strong written and verbal communication skills and acquire a substantial vocabulary." She also recommends taking supplemental courses in business, accounting, and computer skills.
Each week she receives court opinions from various sources regarding new issues in the rapidly expanding field of family and domestic law, especially as a result of the newly enacted Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act and other Federal acts in this field.
Price reads these opinions, digests them, and enters the information into a database she has designed. This database contains various important keywords such as grandparent rights, support orders, and willful unemployment of an ex- spouse which allows her to find the information rapidly. This information is then cross-indexed to the files where the source opinion is kept for easy and quick reference when the need arises in a case involving these matters.
It is also her job to interview and visit with the clients in order to distill the client's real motivation in the divorce and extract the legal issues from this information. "What with various types of counseling and self-help material available, most clients have a strong tendency to use buzzwords in describing their predicaments."
Price says "The new schools of thought in psychology are both a curse and a blessing in family law. They may help the client by giving them new ways of identifying and communicating their feelings, but they also tend to develop a `foreign' language that requires translation. Many times the client doesn't understand the full impact of the terminology they are using. They are like kids with new toys."
For more information: Contact the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), 1601 S. Main St., Suite 300, Tulsa, OK 74119; the American Association for Paralegal Education, P.O. Box 40244, Overland Park, KA 66204; or the American Bar Assn. Standing Committee on Legal Assistants, 750 North Lake Shore Dr., Chicago, IL 60611. Your local law library will likely have numerous books on the paralegal profession under the KF320.L4 call letters.
PROJECTIONS
Education: A few paralegals have come up through the ranks of legal secretaries after years of experience, but most paralegal positions require a minimum of two years of college and successful completion of a ABA approved paralegal program. The latter would include courses in legal terminology, legal documents, the litigation process, evidence, civil and/or criminal procedure, legal research, legal writing, and selected courses in areas such as real property, estate planning, family law, business and corporate law, or torts. A list of ABA approved schools can be requested from the American Association for Paralegal Education (see above).
Outlook: The U.S. Department of Labor states that the number of openings in this profession are expected to increase much faster than the average through the year 2005, noting that the competition will be keen. The profession will continue to grow rapidly as it expands into the public sector in areas such as community legal services for the poor, aged, and minorities.
According to "The 100 Best Jobs for the 1990s and Beyond" (Dearborn Publishing, 1992) and "The Best Jobs for the 1990s and Into The 21st Century" (Impact Publications), expected growth in the paralegal profession will exceed 100% during the next decade.
The profession also offers numerous opportunities in the corporate world working in-house as legal organizers, and litigation directors, and also offering their freelance services to attorneys on a contract basis.
In another growth area, paralegals that are offering their services directly to the lay public, representing them in various state and federal administrative matters.
Paralegals can also become Enrolled Agents with the IRS and as such can represent client taxpayers at all administrative levels of IRS proceedings.
Salary: In 1992 the profession's magazine "Legal Assistant Today" conducted a salary survey. The national average annual salary was $29,825, with highs reaching over $72,000. Some independent and corporate paralegals have achieved annual incomes in excess of $100,000. Large bonuses are not unheard of when a case is successfully concluded. Benefits offered by law firms and corporations are usually commensurate with the salaries offered.