t’s a whole new world
world for paralegals.
If you are not paying attention to the latest trends, you are going to be left behind and can be out of a job.
Whether you are seek- ing a new position, looking to expand your present role or merely suiting up and showing up (let’s be honest), staying complacent and ignoring trends is, well, death to your career.
Here are just a few of the most recent trends to be on the watch for:
1. Hottest, most requested software package for litiga- tion paralegals: Relativity.
Employers can’t get enough litigation paralegals with solid Relativity skills. Even if your firm doesn’t use it, you may be required to oversee a vendor and supervise their work.
2. Most requested skills - Real Estate transactional:
Real estate is heating up. Law firms are seeking the experienced paralegal who can review title reports, surveys, prepare lease summaries, purchase and sale agreements, participate in closings and due diligence.
Biggest mistake you can make: Pushing your real estate license. I know you’re proud of it. But, in fact, law firms hate to hear about it. Yes, you did learn about easements, title reports, and escrow accounts in your real estate license course and you’ve sold a lot of houses.
But law firms don’t want that skill. Why? It’s not transaction paralegal work. They discount the real estate license big time. It’s a huge turnoff and doesn’t help in most cases.
3. Biggest, newest step-down or step-up? The Paralegal hybrid job called the Paralegal/Legal Assistant:
No longer do attorneys need a full-time secretary, so by combining the paralegal with the legal assistant, they think they save money. However, they lose billable time paralegals generate.
You must have great typing skills, know the court system and be able to tolerate clerical duties such as greeting clients, getting coffee, booking travel, typing correspondence, and answering phones. If you can do that, you might make a very decent salary. Good legal secretaries can earn upper $70’s to as hihg as $95 major metropolitan areas. We actually just placed a Real Estate Paralegal/Legal Assistant in Los Angeles for $95,000 plus bonus. Who knew?
The Newest Latest Trends for Paralegals
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