Why Consider Becoming a Paralegal?
If you are considering the paralegal field as a career choice, you probably want to know why others have become paralegals, and whether their expectations were fulfilled. While every paralegal has their own personal reasons for entering the field, three of the most common reasons are job growth, job satisfaction, and variety of work.
Job Growth
The paralegal field offers one of the fastest-growing employment opportunities in the United States. A 2002 Bureau of Labor Statistics report estimated that there are more than 200,000 practicing paralegals in the United States. The same report projected a ten-year increase in the number of paralegals by 28.7 percent. By the year 2012, there will be more than 257,000 practicing paralegals.
The projected growth in the paralegal field is the outgrowth of an ever-increasing demand for the use of paralegals from clients. Over the last fifty years, the hourly rate has become the standard for legal billing. At the same time, clients have experienced an increase in the overall cost of legal services. As the cost of legal services continued to rise, clients looked for ways to save money. A properly trained paralegal is able to deliver many of the same legal services as a lawyer, but at a lower cost.
Essential
Hourly rates for paralegals are approximately 50–75 percent of the supervising lawyer's hourly rate. For example, a paralegal working with a supervising lawyer who charges $150 per hour would normally charge the client between $75 and $110 per hour, depending on the experience of the paralegal.
As word of this discovery got out, large corporations and insurance companies required their lawyers to cut legal costs by using paralegals. Lawyers soon realized that the proper use of paralegals made the practice of law more efficient and less expensive. The use of paralegals has now expanded to nearly every area of the law.
Job Satisfaction
Another reason the paralegal field is so popular is that it offers a high degree of job satisfaction. People who enter the paralegal field are often highly motivated and seek positions that offer a professional challenge. While paralegals work under the supervision of lawyers, they often have a significant amount of independence in performing their assigned tasks. Because paralegals offer a more cost-effective means of gathering information, most paralegals spend a significant portion of their time dealing with clients, the legal representatives of other parties, court personnel, and other persons. As a part of a team providing legal services, a paralegal is often directly involved in identifying and solving the client's legal issues.
Variety of Work
Paralegals often comment on the variety of work activities offered in the paralegal field. Each legal problem presents its own set of facts and legal issues. Even paralegals who specialize in a specific area of the law perform a wide variety of tasks on specific client matters. This variety makes the paralegal field interesting and challenging.
