There is a high demand for people in the field of paralegals. Paralegal certification can give you an edge from other candidates trying to fill up those positions. For starters, what are paralegals? Paralegal certification can boost one’s credentials and therefore can help you land better jobs. Paralegals are people who assist and help professional lawyers do their work in the field of law. Paralegals are prohibited to practice and offer legal services.
Job Description: Overview
Paralegal duties or tasks such as making lawyers ready for meetings, hearings and case closings are some of the tasks one paralegal must accomplish. Paralegals also ensures that all case related and diligence facts are all accounted for. Paralegals are also responsible for data analysis, create reports that was given. These reports can help the lawyer regarding a case.
There are many tasks assigned for a paralegal. Each paralegal has his/her own specialization. For one, corporate paralegals assist lawyers on how to draft and analyze employee contracts, shareholder agreements, and employee benefits. Corporate paralegals also ensures that the company is updated about government regulations and all regulations are done legally.
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Paralegals in the public sector have different responsibilities as well. Depending on the agency, a paralegal for litigation may: do research and analysis, keeps records for reference, for case hearings. They make reports based on the agency regulations, laws and policy for a specified department.
What are the requirements?
To be paralegal, you must meet these certain criteria: education, hired by a lawyer, a corporation, law office, or any company that involves legal work which requires a lawyer. These criterion must be met to enable you to take a paralegal certification exam. The exam covers these topics: Ethics, legal writing, law office management, computer skills, communication, and procedural and substantive law. You also have to consider the fees required, some of these fees differ from state to state. Each fee can range from 0 to 0. Some of these fees are: application fee, examination fee, biennial fee, and recertificaton fee.
There are four organizations that can grant you a paralegal certification namely: National Association Of Legal Assistants (NALA)- exams are administered for 2 days, thrice a year. National Association of Legal Secretaries (NALS)- offers three exams and certifications suited for each paralegal. American Alliance of Paralegals- offers no exams, the only requirement is 5 years of paralegal practice, education and experience.Qualified applicants can apply for certification. National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA)- administers the Paralegal Advanced (PACE) exam.A paralegal certification expires every four years. It is best to continue studying and re take the exam for you to continue the profession.
For more information on paralegal certification please visit: www.paralegaljobdescription.org/paralegal-certification
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