It’s a whole new world out there for paralegals. If you are not riding the horse in the direction it’s going, you are going to be left behind. Why? Because whether you are seeking a new position, looking to expand in your role at your present job or merely suiting up and showing up (let’s be honest here), staying complacent and ignoring the trends is, well, death to your career.
Here are just a few of the most recent trends of which you need to be aware:
1. Hottest, most requested software package for litigation paralegals: Relativity.
Employers can’t get enough litigation paralegals with solid Relativity skills. If you are not familiar with Relativity, get on the band-wagon now. Even if your firm doesn’t use it in-house, you may be required to oversee the vendor of your choice who is using it.
2. Most requested skills - Real Estate transactional:
Real estate is heating up. Law firms are seeking the experienced paralegal who can review title reports, surveys, prepare lease summaries, purchase and sale agreements, participate in closings and due diligence. Biggest mistake you can make: Pushing your real estate license. I know you’re proud of it. But, in fact, law firms hate to hear about it. Yes, you did learn about easements, title reports, and escrow accounts in your real estate license course and you’ve sold a lot of houses. But law firms don’t want that skill. Why? It’s not transaction paralegal work. They discount the real estate license and I mean big time. It’s a huge turnoff and doesn’t help in most cases.
3. Biggest, newest step-down or step-up? The Paralegal hybrid job called the Paralegal/Legal Assistant:
By combining your paralegal and secretarial skills, the firm saves money. No longer do attorneys need a full-time secretary, so by combining the paralegal with the legal assistant, they think they save money. However, they do lose the billable time the paralegal generates while saving the dollars they put out for the secretary. You must have great typing skills, know the court system and be able to tolerate clerical duties such as meeting and greeting clients, getting coffee, booking travel arrangements, typing correspondence, and answering phones. If you can do that, you might make a very decent salary. Good legal secretaries can earn upper $70’s to lower $80’s in major metropolitan areas. We actually just placed a Real Estate Paralegal/Legal Assistant in Los Angeles for $95,000 plus bonus. Who knew?
4. Why the paralegal pool seems smaller: It isn’t, really. Paralegals are moving into other roles with different titles such as Litigation Support or eDiscovery.
Employers are hiring paralegals with excellent technology skills. These paralegals now have titles such as Litigation Support Analyst, Coordinator, or Manager and earning very decent salaries. If you check the backgrounds of highly successful eDiscovery Case Managers and Litigation Support professionals, you probably will find a paralegal background. This is a great area for you to move into. Garner and develop your technology skills. This is where you find
The Newest, Latest Trends in the Paralegal World - Are You Riding the Horse in the Direction It's Going?
BY CHERE ESTRIM