I am looking into schooling for paralegals. When I received the information, it was for legal secretary. I thought it was the same thing, until I saw a reference to being an assistant to a paralegal as a job option. What is the difference and is it worth it to go for legal secretary as a career option, as opposed to a paralegal? Thanks!
2006-08-25 16:19:59 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Careers & Employment
a paralegal is allowed to prepare a legal brief but a legal secretary is only allowed to type them. the legal secretary must know the inner workings of running a law office but the paralegal gets to do a lot of the leg work for the lawyers by research.
2006-08-25 16:24:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was a legal secretary until I remarried and moved to another state. Being a legal secretary is an interesting job but it can get stressful too. A Paralegal does some secretarial work but they do a lot of research too. They are usually the ones to contact the expert witnesses. They are often allowed to depo someone too.(take a deposition). The best part is a paralegal is paid more money than a legal secretary. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!
2006-08-25 16:26:11 · answer #2 · answered by buzzbait0u812 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Usually Paralegals have training in the field, and sometimes even a certificate. Their role is a lot like a lawyer's role in the sense of writing briefs, researching, writing memos, etc. They know a lot about the law, but they don't have a license to practice, so they can't sign any legal documents like lawyers can. Legal secretaries are like any other secretary except they are familiar with legal terms, deadlines, and client confidentiality issues. Legal assistants are often law students who are interning or training to be a lawyer (or sometimes training to become a paralegal). Their role varies tremendously with the firm they work for. It can be more similar to that of the lawyer, paralegal or legal secretary. A lot of times they research, but some unfortunate souls get stuck in law firms that make they do mundane work, like answering phones or getting coffee.
2016-03-27 06:23:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
go for the paralegal. They are qualified to assist attorney's in court, they understand and know how to interpret legal briefs, can write them and understand them more. A legal secretary is just that a secretary that handles a little more of the administrative processes for the attorney.
The paralegals can make 80 ro 100k a yr. A secretary can go to about 50-60k a yr.
2006-08-25 16:24:41 · answer #4 · answered by jv1104 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
In short a paralegal helps prepare for the case. The Secretary just answers calls, takes notes and files the paper work. The biggest difference is in the pay. The Secretary gets approximately ten dollars and hour and the paralegal gets twenty five to thirty five dollars an hour.
2006-08-25 16:22:37 · answer #5 · answered by Kewl__Kat 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's true that paralegals do more of the research that an attorney has no time for. As a former legal secretary, I did all the typical secretarial stuff, plus stuff related to my boss's political campaign. The bastards even made me clean the office because they were too cheap to hire somebody. I was young and naive, fresh out of school, so what did I know at the time. You need to be careful which attorney you work for. I worked for two that were cheapskates. They were so cheap, they never gave me a raise when they promised they would and always bounced me back and forth between them when I asked. They figured I was just some dumb female and kept lying to me. I even heard them talking behind my back a few times, even though I was a damn good secretary. Just naive at 18. At any rate, the cheapskates were still paying me a total of $145 a week, even after five years of working there. So, by all means, become a paralegal. You can always have your own business on the side. A former landlord of mine used one to type up his rental contracts, etc. You can do all sorts of legal sidelines as a paralegal without having to deal with lying, cheapskate attorneys.
2006-08-25 16:38:51 · answer #6 · answered by aurora777 1 · 1⤊ 2⤋
okay it has been some time since I been asked this question so,
the difference between a Legal secretary and a paralegal is:
the Legal secretary - is a cross between the Bald American Legal and the secretary bird.
and
the paralegal - is a cross between a parrot and the Bald American Legal
for poeple who think I mis-spelled no it was a play on words ( Legal - Eagle)
Legal Secretary only takes notes and answers phones no case work what so ever
Paralegal - involved in prreparing cases and looks for answer as well
2006-08-25 16:35:31 · answer #7 · answered by Paul G 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think a true paralegal does legal research for the lawyers and assists with their cases. I have seen legal secretarys do much more than just typing, etc. i have seen legal secretarys handle their bosses cases from beginning to end, with their boss only adding his signature to the paperwork. It depends on who you work for. A legal secretary does not require as much education as a paralegal. But nowadays, administrative assistants do not like being called "secretarys." They want to be called something sounding more professional, like "paralegal." I think as long as you know how to type fast and can prepare a letter by yourself, you can get your foot in the door, and its all up to you, where you go from there.
2006-08-25 16:27:27 · answer #8 · answered by gloria123445566 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
Paralegals earn more money...alot more and they need a stronger knowledge of the law.
2006-08-25 16:24:22 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋