Paralegal Schools - What is a paralegal?

At this point in time, not everyone working as a Paralegal has obtained one of the associate or bachelor Paralegal Degrees available from the 1000 or so Paralegal Schools in US, or approved Paralegal Schools in the UK and other countries . However, with the continued increase of people seeking work as paralegals and the likely increase in regulation, it seems only a matter of time before anyone seeking work as a paralegal will have to have completed at least one of the available Paralegal Courses. For those new to this expanding sector, this article provides an overview of what a paralegal is, and what business sectors are the biggest employers of paralegals.

The term Paralegal describes someone who does legal work but is not a lawyer, and refers to a new but rapidly growing area of employment. Paralegal is more of a job classification than it is a job title – those who consider themselves as a paralegals much more likely to have a job title such as ‘Investigator’, ‘Officer’, ‘Assessor’ or ‘Manager’.

There is no universally accepted formal definition of the role of a Paralegal – at the last count the wikipedia entry quoted six alternative definitions, whereas the UK Institute of Paralegals (IoP) site offers a further two alternatives – but essentially a Paralegal is someone who is not a lawyer, but uses the law in their everyday work, and has substantive knowledge of the area of the law in which they operate.

Paralegals tend to have a very deep knowledge of a particular area of law, rather than a less deep but more wide-ranging understanding that a lawyer may typically possess. The paralegal may monitor, apply, administer, interpret or enforce the law, and in certain cases advise on it. Additionally, a paralegal’s knowledge will normally also extend to the ethics, risks and regulations associated with the application of law in their area of specialisation.

Not everyone other than lawyers who work with the law is a paralegal - many people work in the legal system are not paralegals, and many paralegals do not work for either for law firms or in the justice system. For instance, a Solicitor’s Receptionist is not a paralegal, neither is a Court Usher although both work within the legal system. Alternatively, others, such as Contracts Manager or Claims Assessor maybe Paralegals but work entirely out with the legal profession.

Indeed, in the US BLS figures suggest 70% of Paralegals work for Law firms, with the other 30% working for government and business. With different regulation in the UK the figures are completely opposite. In the UK it is estimated that of half a million Paralegals, only 10% work for law firms, with the other 90% working in government, both Local and Central; for government related services and institutions such as the Armed Forces, the Police, the Fire Service, and health care; or they may work in Education, Finance, Business, Insurance and the voluntary sector.