Ok, I want to become a Paralegal and help prepare files for murder cases.....?

Question

I live in Indiana.......would this be a criminal paralegal? Anyone work in this field? Pro's and con's? Serious answers only...

Answer 1

Yes, you would be a criminal paralegal. Fascinating work. The hours can be very long, especially when your firm is involved in a trial. In the paralegal field, you can be a general practitioner, or you can specialize in criminal law, or estate work, or several other areas. Here's some good information on the subject.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos114.htm

Answer 2

I am a paralegal in medical malpractice (civil law). What you are looking at is criminal law. I find it a very interesting field - would you be looking at defense or working with the DA? If you are considering defense work. . .one word of caution, these people (most likely) are criminals. You have to be extremely cautious, I mean like they may find out where you live, watch you when you leave to your vehicle. . .it can become a dangerous profession. It is one of the main reasons why I didn't get involved in criminal law.

I do find it very interesting though. But your clientele are - well - kinda - bottom of the barrel ? if I can say that.

Just continue with your schooling and start putting out your resumes. Maybe do some internships at larger law firms.
Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

I went to San Francisco State and got my paralegal certificate. I worked with a law firm that did death penalty appeals. We also did some criminal work. You would need to get your certificate, and add to that a few classes in criminal justice. This will give you a real good base to start with. Then, after you are done with school, apply to law firms that practice criminal law.

Good luck. I was a paralegal for 14 years and loved it. But I love to do research.. so it was a good fit for me.

Answer 4

When you become a paralegal, you have little to no control over the types of cases you get. And think about it hard - do you really want to think and talk about murder 40+ hours per week? There is nothing exciting nor glamorous about it. It is sad, upsetting and sometime dangerous. (Legal teams sometimes attacked in murder cases.)

If you want an education, go to a real 4-year college instead of those programs you see advertised during daytime TV.

Answer 5

no, thats just a regular paralegal, you will prepare files for other cases besides murder cases.Pros-good pay, get to hear all the crazy stories..Cons-gets boring fast, get yelled at by clients for things you didn't do, run errands..blah blah blah.