Adams Media The Everything Guide To Being A Paralegal: Winning Secrets to a Successful Career! (Everything: School and Careers)

Paralegal is not a good career choice

11/23/2008

I noticed this book in the bookstore and picked it up to thumb thru it. As a former paralegal, I was curious what it said about, what was for me, the worst experience of my life. My life's biggest mistake is my decision several years ago to go to paralegal school. Several years later, I went back to school and earned my BA in order to effect a career change. I was desperate to get out of law.

About the book, while it seems to be pretty thorough in describing different aspects of law in which a paralegal can work, corporations vs firms, and paralegal education, one important thing this book does not include is the type of environment most paralegals end up working in, the personality types of an overwhelming majority of attorneys, and the fact that average lifespan of a paralegal "career" is probably something between 5-10 years. Many paralegals get burnt out on the job, sick of working for attys, and just desire something more rewarding in general and, like me, return to school in order to learn something totally different.

The younger the paralegal is when she (or he) starts school, the more likely she is to leave the profession and is more likely to spend less years in the profession. My guess is this is because the older a woman is, the more likely she is to be subject to age discrimination, and alot of women just feel they are too old to start over or fear change. It's almost unheard of for a girl who went to paralegal school right out of high school to make a career out of this. I was desperate. I left the industry at 39, returned to school full time, and finished my BA at 42. I spent 6 of the longest years of my life in the industry.

For those of you who have your heart set on this, then here is some advice: Unfortunately, the biggest demand for paralegals is in the worst environment in which to work - civil litigation law firms. A better environment is working for in-house counsel for large corporations. In law firms, attys are under a lot of stress. Sometimes they are miserable, and they take that misery out on staff. There is horrendous pressure to bill hours in law firms, and the attys must put in long hours to meet their billing requirements. They often want their secretaries/paralegals available to them during those long hours (this is definitely not an 8-5 job). They are under tremendous pressure to meet the deadlines imposed by civil law. They are also under pressure to schmooze clients and bring in more clients to the firm. If your atty is charging his client $400 an hour, then he will be willing to drop everything at the last minute and work an entire weekend for a client. And you better be available for him, too. With the atty's pay, it's worth it for him to waste an entire weekend at the office. It's not worth it for staff.

You will miss your kids' events. Get used to missing dinner, and if you are married, your husband is likely to have an affair with a woman who has time for him because you don't. Another thing about firms: There is no upward mobility. You will always be at the bottom of the totem pole because there is no position to which you can be promoted. Firms don't have a ladder of success to climb.

Corporations are usually a much better place to work. In-house counsel represent the corporations for which they work. Take 24-Hour Fitness, for example. They probably get sued alot by someone who sustained injuries while working out at their gym. The attys represent the interests of 24-Hour Fitness. They are salaried employees; therefore, there is no pressure to bill a minimum number of hours. They don't have to ass-kiss clients, and there is no pressure to sell oneself in order to attract more clients to the firm. One thing I know that law firm staff hate is client contact. This doesn't exist working for in-house counsel in a large company. The downside is that these jobs have very little turnover. The staff members who have these jobs know that it's much worse if they leave. Furthermore, many large corporations still have retirement pensions for their employees. Law firms don't have that. At best, they match a small percentage of what you invest in a 401k. However, I worked at a very large and well known law firm that matched NOTHING for its employees' 401k. And another thing about corporations: They do have a ladder of success to climb. You can be promoted out of the legal dept into something else.

Non-litigation lawfirms such as a transaction law firm (sales contracts), while not as good a place to work as a corporation, are a lot less volatile than a civil litigation firm. They are not subject to the civil deadlines. There are no court appearances and no scheduling of court reporters. There is a lot less calendaring of anything, if any at all. The attys you work for represent the buyer (or seller) of some big deal, and the other party(ies) to the contract have their attys representing them. There is no court involved. The attys do bill for their hours. It seemed that they were under less pressure to bill as many hours, and they charged more than civil litigators. You do, unfortunately, have client contact.

Working for attys is very hard work, and it's the atty who will have a lot to show for that hard work, not you. They drive luxury cars, live in huge homes, travel to exotic places, and own rentals and vacation homes. If you are single, you are likely to rent for the rest of your life. Outside of corporate in-house counsel, it is very difficult to find a job with a firm who treats staff well. Most firms foster a hostile and tense work environment. I have heard stories (I have not witnessed) of attys throwing chairs and phones at people and standing on their desks and screaming. I did have an atty slam something down on my desk so hard that other stuff on the desk fell off. I had two attys get into a physical confrontation right in front of my desk and were pulled apart by other attys in the office. You will see coworkers crying in the lady's room. Once, that was me. Turnover is very high. I have a friend who was told by a recruiter that probably 15% of the attys treat staff well, and those people aren't going anywhere, that it's the other 85% that has the turnover.

If you are looking for a job where you can stay with one company for several years, this isn't it. Not only will you leave a job to hopefully land another job where morale and staff treatment are better, but since yearly raises don't keep up with the going rate for the market, you will have to change jobs every 2 or 3 years in order to maintain a salary that is competitive with the going rate.

I am not an isolated case. I was very unhappy at every firm at which I worked, and I was never unhappy at a job until I entered the legal industry. With the exception of a very small handful of legal secretaries who were in their late 50's - 60's, I never met anyone who was happy with this line of work (except for corporate in-house staff).

Great Book

4/6/2008

Great book for the Paralegal. Give's alot of insight and tips on the legal profession.Explains different fields the Paralegal can get into.

good insight into the profession

2/8/2008

Good insight into the profession. Definitions of all legal branches well explained. Pros and cons on schooling very beneficial when researching schools or meeting with school admissions agents, etc.

Excellent Career Guide for Serious Paralegals

9/20/2007

As someone who earned a paralegal certification at WOLI (Washington Online Learning Institute), a 100% online school, I was very pleased to have this book recommended by my career counselor at WOLI. I found this book to be full of useful information about the paralegal profession, the importance of credentials and most importantly what potential employers such as law firms and corporations expect from persons such as myself. I understand that many WOLI students are using this book and I am pleased to recommend it.

A great guide for paralegals or anyone considering the field.

8/20/2006

This book is a great overview of the paralegal field. It briefly covers every aspect of being a paralegal. This would be a great book to read if you are considering becoming a paralegal but aren't sure if it's the right career for you. I have completed a degree in paralegal studies and found this book to be a great review of all the areas I have studied. I'm sure it will be a handy reminder for those areas of paralegal practice that I don't use on a regular basis. I recommend it to everyone from beginning paralegals to those with years of experience. The author has done a great job of writing in a manner that keeps everything simple enough for anyone to understand but detailed enough to be of use to anyone involved in the paralegal field.