Paralegal Job Description - Entry Level Paralegal Job Description

The need for lawyers to specialize in different areas of law increases drastically as the law becomes more and more complex. Each field of specialization is even broken down to a wide array of functions and responsibilities. Thus the necessity for more specialized paralegals whose job description is not limited only to the routine clerical jobs arises.

 There are two main classifications of paralegal job description depending on the type of law firm or organization one is working for. Corporate paralegals assist lawyers in preparation of legal documents necessary for the company’s compliance with federal, state and local regulations in conducting business activities.

 Litigation paralegals, on the other hand, assist litigation lawyers from the pre-trial research period through the trial hearings onto the post-trial findings and appeals if necessary.

 The job description of corporate paralegals also depends a lot on the necessity of the organization, either business or non-profit. On normal work days, paralegals assist lawyers to accomplish legal documents for submission to different government agencies that require them.

 Part of the workflow also includes creating and maintaining corporate minute books, liaising with other departments and outside linkages whenever legal guidance is needed, and assisting lawyers in preparation for and during deal closings.

 Corporate paralegals also write applications, corporate consents and legal correspondence as necessitate by the organization. Lawyers also need assistance in drafting or amending company policies and during rare circumstances such as lawsuits.

 The duties of a litigation paralegal vary more than that of corporate paralegals. The qualifications depend highly on the specialization of the lawyer. Basically, litigation paralegals retrieve records of cases and pleadings, and digest laws as needed for the trial.

 Paralegals do mostly what lawyers do, in fact, they do what lawyers can’t do given the lack of time to perform different tasks at the same time.

 However there are still duties that paralegals cannot carry out such as setting legal fees, presenting cases in court, and giving legal advices.