Demand for paralegal, legal assistants growing
For anyone with an interest in law but without an interest in law school debt, the paralegal profession may be a career to consider.
Interest in paralegal work has grown significantly during the last few years, and area paralegals say the career is growing not just in popularity but in diversity as well.
Donna Patterson, a paralegal with Cantey Hanger LLP, who has been a paralegal studies instructor at the University of Texas at Arlington since 2002, said the paralegal program at UT-Arlington has seen a growing increase in student enrollment.
“I can tell you personally, as an instructor, that I do see an increase in people going into the field, and there are more men now than ever in the paralegal field, it’s a great career opportunity,” Patterson said.
Patterson also is the public relations and scholarship chair for the Fort Worth Paralegal Association, which was established in 1982.
The basics of a paralegalÂ’s job description is to assist attorneys. Otherwise, job duties change depending on what type of law a paralegal focuses on, how many attorneys they work for, and what type of firm the paralegal works in.
Paralegals also spend a large amount of time researching evidence and preparing documents and information for the courtroom.
“I do an awful lot of research, anything from due diligence on the opposing party in a litigation, to current case laws and statutes,” Patterson said.
Key qualifications paralegals need to be successful are a solid knowledge of the law, and the ability to be extremely organized and finish work ahead of deadlines.
Weekly work hours for paralegals depend on the type of law a firm practices, Patterson said, adding that in transactional law a paralegal is likely to have a traditional nine-to-five schedule, but in litigation, work weeks can stretch up to 50 or more hours.
For Monty Mays, a freelance paralegal and the head of MMPS Associates, work loads and hours are often up to him. Mays also is the president of the Fort Worth Paralegal Association.
“I’ve been a paralegal for 15 years in Tarrant County, concentrating mostly in family law. But in July of last year, me and the firm I was with parted ways and I decided to take advantage of my experience and open up my own shop,” Mays said. “I contract myself out to attorneys just to do documents.”
Freelance work has gone well for Mays, he said, because some law firms may not need a full-time paralegal but still need occasional help on cases.
For Mays, area attorneys get in touch with him, put in a request for certain documents they need prepared, and Mays goes to work.
“They e-mail or fax me what they want, I prepare the documents and e-mail them back, and they don’t even have to leave the office,” Mays said. “We charge per document.”
While Mays has been successful in growing his freelance paralegal firm, he said there are a few drawbacks to not being a full-time staff member at a law firm.
“Like any other type of employment, it’s feast or famine,” he said. “Working with a firm my paycheck was steady, the same every pay day, whether we had work or not.I have to work harder at it being self-employed to keep income coming in, but it’s more enjoyable in the end.”
MayesÂ’ advice for anyone looking to go into a paralegal program is to check with area schools and with the State Bar of Texas, which keeps a running list of schools the Bar approves that have strong paralegal programs.
The paralegal program at UT-Arlington provides a different type of education than fast-track paralegal certification courses, which are often advertised on television, Patterson said.
The UT-Arlington program “is a full program, it takes two years for someone to finish if they work hard,” she said. “I would recommend a long program before I would recommend something that’s only going to take a few days or a few hours. The long-term benefit is that it’s more well-rounded and you get more exposure to the different areas of law and their applications.”
The Fort Worth Paralegal Association also spends time working with area schools and paralegal students to offer career days, lectures and various career-prep programs, said Julie Sherman, who is also a paralegal at Cantey Hanger and president-elect and education chair with the Paralegal Association.
“We do a lot with paralegal schools in the area, Tarrant County College, the UTA paralegal program, Texas Wesleyan has a program, UNT has a paralegal studies program,” Sherman said. “We work with schools and speak with students about how to do resumes, how to dress for job interviews, what to do before taking certification exams, and just try to help students get prepared for real life.”
