What is in a Paralegal Degree?

We have encountered countless students who, despite exhibiting a passion for law, find difficulty choosing the career path to take. Becoming a lawyer tends to be the default option for many students despite having an alternative option that actually suits them better.

Paralegals are the less-glamorized, unsung heroes of the judicial sector, and there’s a good chance you wanted to be one all along; you just didn’t know it yet.

Out in the Open

The biggest difference between a career as a lawyer and a career as a paralegal is exposure. While lawyers appear in court, provide legal advice, and sign pleadings, your work as a paralegal will involve the research and writing of any documents involved in those activities.

Simply put, you are the force behind the scenes—creating the ammunition for attorneys to take to the fight. If you are a student who wishes to work in the industry, but not necessarily present, then paralegal work may be the optimal career path for you. If branching out is a concern, you’ll find that your experience as a paralegal enables you to access a sufficient number of specializations and promotions, much like lawyers.

Free and Fulfilled

If you do not wish to use your paralegal degree as a stepping-stone towards becoming a certified attorney, choosing to stay within the profession offers you the chance to leap between various areas of the practice. You do not have to commit your entire future to mastering a single aspect of the law when you’re a paralegal.

As a paralegal, your ability to furnish documents and help lawyers help their clients serves as a core skill you can take with you wherever—even outside the practice of law itself. Unlike attorneys who have the cut-and-dry progression of law school to associate to partner, paralegals can lend their expertise to almost any section of the judicial process, be it directly or indirectly. From litigation to management to recruitment to even marketing, paralegals are never at a shortage of things to do and jobs to fulfill.

Picking a career path that you will love and excel in means winning half the battle. People who pursue a profession in the judiciary, whether the goal is to become a lawyer or a paralegal, need to possess a balance of strength and brilliance of mind to keep up within this industry that lives off competition for its very existence. In that vein, lawyers and paralegals live off the capabilities of each other.

Learn how to excel in one of the country’s fastest-growing careers. Contact us for more information.