Wikipedia defines Paralegal (.org) A legal assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible." Under this definition, the legal responsibility for a paralegal's work rests directly and solely upon the lawyer
BLS defines Paralegal (.gov) Paralegals, or legal assistants, help lawyers in their work. They perform some of the same tasks as lawyers. Paralegals investigate cases to make sure that lawyers know all of the important facts.
The Free Dictionary defines Paralegal (.com) a non-lawyer who performs routine tasks requiring some knowledge of the law and procedures, employed by a law office or who works free-lance as an independent for various lawyers.
Inver Hills defines Paralegal (.edu) Paralegals are professionals trained to assist lawyers in various legal capacities. Paralegal duties entail more responsibility than clerical tasks, and fall into a broad range of substantive legal work. Paralegals conduct factual and legal research, draft legal documents, work with clients, and manage cases.
As I was reviewing all of these websites I realized that they all pretty much said the same thing. Paralegals are behind the scenes lawyers. They do the majority of the research and the writing of the arguments that the lawyers do in court. This job would be perfect for me because I get to be behind the scenes but still making a difference while getting to use my writing skills.
Work Cited
Farlex. "Paralegal Legal Definition of Paralegal. Paralegal Synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary." Legal Dictionary. Farlex, 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/paralegal>.
"Paralegal." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bls, 19 Mar. 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://www.bls.gov/k12/law05.htm>.
"Paralegal." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 24 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paralegal>.
"What Is a Paralegal?" Department Web Site. Inver Hills Community College, Fall 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. <http://depts.inverhills.edu/paralegal/whatisaparalegal.htm>.
