Can you become a Paralegal: A wise career choice for which students are opting more and more is to become a paralegal. Today the state is facing increased number of legal problems. That's why the scope for paralegals is increasing day by day. Before opting for a paralegal career you need to know in depth that what a paralegal is.



What is a Paralegal: Paralegals are also known as legal assistants. Their main job is to assist lawyers during legal services. However paralegals are not certified for providing any kind of legal advice to any client of legal services. Here are some guidelines which can explain you this career in a better way.

Guidelines to Become a Paralegal: The first step t fulfill your dream of becoming a paralegal is to search a school or institution which can provide you the basic education. A paralegal school will provide you the whole knowledge about the course so that you can become a paralegal.

If you want to become a paralegal then you would be glad to know that you can function much like a lawyer, except that you can not give your clients a legal advice nor present their cases in court. It also follows that having a paralegal degree will not give you the authority to set your fees (much like a lawyer does) or even accept cases. But do not worry if you want to become a paralegal because there are a lot of things that paralegals can do.

Paralegal certification gives you the right to act like a lawyer but not as a lawyer. You are allowed to do only some of the work which the lawyer does like giving advice to the clients on their legal problems or matters, to supports the advocates in handling the cases.

A person with a paralegal training can do the following: help an attorney draft legal documents (mortgages, contracts and the likes); investigate real cases handled by the lawyer; maintain significant case files and court decisions; research and write legal documents.

There are a lot of choices for you if you desire to become a paralegal. You can get an associate program or degree for paralegals from the various paralegal colleges, paralegal certificate programs (a two-year program ideal for those who have a bachelor's or associate degree already) or other paralegal training programs that can be taken for four years.

Educational Programs and Training of Paralegals: You can become a paralegal in many ways. The easiest way is to go for a community college program which will further lead to an associate's degree. Even if you are already having a college degree then also you can become a paralegal is to complete a two year paralegal certificate program. Some colleges also offer a bachelor's or master's degree program in paralegal studies.

Banks; authorized abet cluster, official departments, public and private firms, offices is the area of working as a Paralegal. The requirement of a Paralegal is the paralegal certification that is given by the Paralegal universities and colleges.

Internship programs can be successfully carried out from reputed banks, legal advisory agencies, corporate departments and many government and private firms of law.

Becoming a paralegal can be your stepping stone towards a more flourishing legal career. After finishing a paralegal course (an associate or a bachelor's degree) you can move one step forward and proceed to getting a law degree. However, you should not expect that the paralegal courses or programs you got would be credited in a law school because the two have different requirements. However, what have you got to lose?