Is being a paralegal a bad job? My mom says that paralegals are slaves to the attorneys. Is it really....?

Question

all that bad????

Answer 1

Well, put it this way. The paralegal does at least as much work as many of their attorneys and put in close to the same amount of hours, but they aren't getting paid the big bucks the way the attorneys are. I wouldn't say it's a bad job though.

Answer 2

No, for a few reasons, but think about learning to be a court reporter. Paralegal jobs are very hard to acquire, and, in my experience, go primarily to college graduates who have worked their way up in a law firm or law school graduates who cannot find an attorney position. A paralegal certification will not get you a paralegal postion. Also, the salary statistics on paralegals/legal assistants are greatly inflated. More likely than not, you would start in the $10-12/hour range, presuming you could find a position. While there are lucrative paralegal positions, these positions require long hours and are very demanding. Attorneys are extremely busy at certain times and will often require a paralegal to work late, work weekends, etc. On the other hand, court reporters are paid pretty well, and the work is very flexible. Court reporters attend depositions, hearings, public meetings, etc. and prepare transcripts based on their notes and the recordings. Since transcript preparation comprises a substantial portion of the work duties and can be done at home, this position seems to fit your desires for a work-life balance fairly well. Plus, the job involves observing the most interesting parts of the legal field.

Answer 3

Only if you wind up working for a terrible person. Being a paralegal is a perfectly respectable job and they are in high demand. Keep your options open when you're looking for a job as a paralegal. Do several interviews at once so that you can choose who you would like to work for. There is a tendency for attorneys with big cases (i.e. criminal, litigation, divorce, etc.) to be a little high strung due to the nature of the job. No one is slave unless they put themselves in that position. Paralegals are responsible for most of the paperwork, calendar arrangements, etc. but if you are a well organized and professional person then it should be a great job for you.

Answer 4

NO: A paralegal is like any other job, if you get along well with the people you work for then all is well. Many people think that they deserve to be paid more because what they understand about the job that the co-worker or boss does is not much harder than what they do.

What we don't know is that the other may be able to do our job, but there is somethings we are not trained for that we could not do their job if we have too.

Answer 5

she`s partially correct in that while they are learning the trade, they have to put up with all of the dirty work in the firms they work for or at, its a good way to get experiance, on the job training if you are really serious about being a lawyer. a really great paralegal make their superiors sparkle in the courts and board rooms and should be compensated accordingly, but often are not, at least not until they pass their own bar exams.

Answer 6

Paralegals probably report to attorneys, will never make as much, and probably have to do the work that attorneys assign them.

However, the same is true for most any other job too - you report to someone who makes more money and assigns you your work.

Answer 7

Let me put it to you this way. If you are interested in being an attorney. I would go into this and really see if you like it. If you do not. Well you still have a good knowledge-base to fall back onto if you ever needed.

Go for it, give it a shot.

Best of Luck

Genesis

Answer 8

No, it really isn't all that bad, just a more professional environment. They do however do most of the work for the attorney's, but they get paid very very well.

Answer 9

i wouldn't say its a bad job. its a good job, u will work just as hard as an attorney. lots of research and long work hours.

Answer 10

good profession to go into...........and yeah they work just as hard if not harder than the attorneys.