Paralegals maintain and organize files, draft documents and conduct research. All of these tasks are done under the supervision of a lawyer, who is ultimately responsible for the paralegal’s work. One important distinction between paralegals and lawyers is that paralegals cannot give others advice. Whether they give a client advice or a neighbor, and regardless of whether it was good or bad advice, they can be sued for doing so.
What Does a Paralegal Do?
Paralegals perform several different types of tasks in order to help lawyers—whether they work with a personal injury lawyer or an auto accident attorney—get the best possible outcome for their clients. Not only do paralegals help lawyers during trial, but they also conduct vast amounts of research in order to find out more about any laws, regulations or legal precedent that may affect a particular case. Legal precedent is an opinion from a higher court that sets the standard for how to apply the law to the same legal question in the future.
Paralegals also perform several other tasks including the organization and presentation of information, investigating the facts of a case, drafting correspondence and various documents, and getting formal statements or affidavits for use as evidence in court. Overall, paralegals help lawyers—ranging from the personal injury lawyer to the auto accident attorney—prepare for trials, hearings and other meetings.
What Is the Workplace Like for a Paralegal?
Paralegals work for several different types of organizations, ranging from corporate legal departments to government agencies. Most of the time paralegals work full time and year round, while some are hired during an organization’s busy times of the year. Depending on the organization a paralegal works for and the type of cases they handle, they may have to put in some overtime in order to meet deadlines—same thing goes for lawyers.
Here at Robert J. DeBry, our lawyers work to get you the best possible outcome in your case. If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident as the result of someone else’s negligence, call us today. Our team is here to help.
Sources:
https://www.allaboutlaw.co.uk/law-careers/paralegal/what-is-a-paralegal
https://www.sokanu.com/careers/paralegal/