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What is a paralegal?
par·a·le·gal Noun /ˌparəˈlēgəl/ A person trained in subsidiary legal matters but not fully qualified as a lawyer.
Paralegals are very important members of any law firm or law department’s team. The paralegal supports every aspect of an attorney’s work and quite frankly performs duties that the attorney does not have time or a desire to perform. Having paralegals perform these duties is also better for the client because it saves them money to have a paralegal do them at $100 per hour than have the attorney do them at $300 per hour. Let’s take a look at some of the functions that paralegals assist attorneys doing.
What is a paralegal required to do?
- Interviewing clients. A paralegal can often perform initial client interviews to determine if there is a viable claim for the attorney to examine further. A paralegal can also do a follow-up interview with the client after the attorney has decided to take the case to gather additional information for the attorney. There is also a need to speak with the client during the discovery process to get answers to interrogatories. The paralegal will also usually be the person that gather this information for that attorney.
- Courtroom assistance. Paralegals can be of great assistance to attorneys during a trial. During the course of a trial, many documents will be introduced to the court and the jury. Paralegals will be able to help by keeping all the documents in order and making sure the attorney has what he needs when he needs it. (Think Della on Perry Mason)
- Deadline monitoring. Paralegals take the necessary actions to ensure that the attorney does not miss any deadlines. Almost every document filed in a lawsuit has a deadline attached to it. Multiple those deadline times one hundred clients and things can get really complicated for attorneys. Paralegals can keep the attorney’s deadline calendar and provide reminders for the attorney.
- Deal with witnesses. Witnesses can make or break a case. Witness statements will need to be taken and affidavits signed. The attorney does not need to handle these interviews alone because if a witness goes rogue and changes his testimony, the paralegal can serve as a witness as to what the witness previously stated. Also, witnesses will need to be subpoenaed to trials and hearings. Paralegals can handle all these tasks.
- File organization. Over the course of litigation many documents accumulate. If those documents are left loose in files it will be very difficult for the attorney to locate critical documents that she needs when she needs them. Keeping files organized systematically, is an important job function that often gets relegated to the paralegal.
- Draft documents. Drafting some basic documents for the attorney’s review is another critical task for paralegals. In every case there are some basic motions that need to be drafted that are more or less cut and paste with revisions to the case style. It’s a better use of the attorney’s time and the client’s money for paralegals to draft these type of documents.
I hope this helps give a good answer to the question “what is a paralegal?”. Clearly, paralegals make the attorney’s job easier and are virtually irreplaceable.
