What is a Paralegal?

As a paralegal (legal assistant), you might work in a variety of settings under the supervision of attorneys - in law firms, corporations or government agencies. Your tasks might include interviewing, investigation, legal research, real estate closings, preparation of legal documents, and a variety of other activities in the modern law office.

If you are interested in this field, you must:

• have good organizational skills
• be detail oriented (e.g., you may spend hours doing legal research or ensuring the accuracy of information you include in legal forms)
• have good communication skills (both oral and written)
• be able to work independently as well as part of a team to solve problems

To be a paralegal, you will need to master:

• legal terminology
• computer skills including word processing and formatting
• legal writing (appropriate content and format as well as correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation)
• critical and analytical thinking

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