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If you were a legal secretary then you already were a paralegal. There's no difference between the two jobs. Get another job as a legal secretary. Skip the certificate. All classes teach you is general information. Almost none of it is specific to any job you will be doing. You have to learn on the job whether you are a secretary or a paralegal or even a lawyer. Same with any profession.
I finished my education for a career change when I turned 40, and I have never regretted it.
Law is not a physically demanding profession, so you should be able to continue your career pretty much as long as you want to.
After age 40, I can imagine it would be hard to get one of those coveted internships at big law firms.
You're right, law isn't physically demanding. It's just a heavily over-saturated field with too many lawyers and too much competition for dwindling job opportunities. Recommending that someone go to law school is not good advice.
If you were a legal secretary then you already were a paralegal. There's no difference between the two jobs. Get another job as a legal secretary. Skip the certificate. All classes teach you is general information. Almost none of it is specific to any job you will be doing. You have to learn on the job whether you are a secretary or a paralegal or even a lawyer. Same with any profession.
huh? I thought that there was a distinct difference. I really had no experience prior to that position. I thought getting a certificate would help me become more familiar.
I have am very interested in the law and think that the Paralegal path might be one I would like to pursue. The problem is that I have never really gotten along very well with lawyers. I am an ISFJ and am very agreeable, but when pushed have a tendency to speak my mind (in a professional way) and this rubs people the wrong way. My last job I had was in the legal field as a secretary and I was stressed almost everyday. Not because of deadlines but because of the attorney I worked for giving conflicting information or information that was downright wrong. Since I had not experience I was not very sure what was going on. I do enjoy learning about laws and if nothing else will learn something new. I only have an Associates of Arts and am considering getting a certificate in Paralegal studies, but I am not sure if this would benefit me since I have such little experience. I honestly don't mind starting out as a file clerk but am a bit nervous because I have had poor experiences with attorneys. Not just working for them, but dealing with them in child custody and other matters. (although I did win) I want to be entirely realistic about my situation because if attorneys just have certain quirks then I will just have to get used to it. I have read on this forum how some people say the attorneys mistreat them and I really don't want that type of environment, but at the same time want to learn about that law.
If you think you want to work in a law firm, large or small, sole practitioner, specialized law, municipal law, etc. etc., learn this simple rule:
Keep your mind open and your mouth shut.
You do not know the law until you get that degree. Only about 6/7 years and continuing education after that.
I have am very interested in the law and think that the Paralegal path might be one I would like to pursue. The problem is that I have never really gotten along very well with lawyers. I am an ISFJ and am very agreeable, but when pushed have a tendency to speak my mind (in a professional way) and this rubs people the wrong way. My last job I had was in the legal field as a secretary and I was stressed almost everyday. Not because of deadlines but because of the attorney I worked for giving conflicting information or information that was downright wrong. Since I had not experience I was not very sure what was going on. I do enjoy learning about laws and if nothing else will learn something new. I only have an Associates of Arts and am considering getting a certificate in Paralegal studies, but I am not sure if this would benefit me since I have such little experience. I honestly don't mind starting out as a file clerk but am a bit nervous because I have had poor experiences with attorneys. Not just working for them, but dealing with them in child custody and other matters. (although I did win) I want to be entirely realistic about my situation because if attorneys just have certain quirks then I will just have to get used to it. I have read on this forum how some people say the attorneys mistreat them and I really don't want that type of environment, but at the same time want to learn about that law.
That is like saying "I want to be a pilot, but I really don't like airplanes very much."
The legal field is overcrowded, not just for attorneys, but for paralegals, legal secretaries, etc....it's highly competitive due to the over-saturation of people pursuing a legal career.
Not saturated here in S. Fla. We get many recruiting emails for the S. Fla area. If you have experience and you know what you are doing, the salaries here are $60k and up. Most of the recruiting emails that I receive pay about $80k with benefits, but definitely require experience. Though, one came last week for an $80k job w/benefits for a corporate paralegal, but they would accept an experienced commercial RE paralegal and train them for corporate.
It is totally dependent on where you are geographically, and it happens that S. Fla has a shortage of experienced good paralegals. I honestly do not know any paralegals who couldn't find a good job. Just do a search--sign up for a job alert. There are emails full of paralegal jobs in places with good economies that are growing.
If anyone knows of or is a paralegal in S. Fla, DM me--there are some really good jobs looking to be filled and there are $500 referral fees. That is how badly they need qualified paralegals here.
As far as the OP goes, I would look for a larger firm with a lot of attorneys, or simply the right fit with a one-man band. It is like dating. Gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find the good ones (who really are ok with those who speak their minds). Good luck!
In theory and possibly in salary, but not in practice. They both do whatever is needed to assist the attorney. One difference is education, but I have a BA, an MBA and finished a year of law school before deciding I didn't want to be a lawyer, and I can say almost nothing learned in school is really relevant to any job, where you start from scratch and learn everything their way. My wife was a legal secretary for three different landlord/tenant law practices for 20 years. She did everything a paralegal would have done. Possibly in a large corporate law firm rather than a smaller practice there are differences.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HolyGuacomole
huh? I thought that there was a distinct difference. I really had no experience prior to that position. I thought getting a certificate would help me become more familiar.
That's true, but it depends on the type of law, the size of the practice. Legal research was one of the reasons why I quit law school after completing the first year. It's like a never ending term paper.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PriscillaVanilla
Yes, there is a difference. Paralegals do legal research, something a secretary may or may not be trained to do.
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