I should have pointed the friend to a great blog that often profiles paralegals as a resource for learning more about her potential career path. Lynne DeVenny offers tons of helpful information and news items relating to the paralegal world, but my favorite posts on her blog are the paralegal profiles. It’s a great way to show the various choices within the profession that are available to someone who thinks that this is the career for them! Hmmm, think I better go shoot off a follow up email!!

I love the law – the general concepts, the idea of helping people understand their legal issues and finding resolutions to conflicts. I wanted to be a lawyer from junior high school on. Then I grew up and realized that while I would love to be a lawyer, I couldn’t really imagine racking up the insane amount of debt it would take me to get through law school. And that was back when I was single and childless, much less considering how I could not put my family through the expense and hardship of me attending law school now – my estimate is over $35,000 just for tuition and books for the 3 year LLB program at U of A (my local university). I’d personally also need to spend at least 2 years doing some undergrad work, for another $12,000 plus in books and tuition. On top of books and tuition we’d have to pay some childcare expenses, a transit pass or fuel for my car, etc. And where I live apparently a legal education is inexpensive compared to many American law schools. It’s not surprising to know that so many law school graduates have mountains of debt when they are done school.

I believe that legal services should be affordable though – and by affordable I mean that things like divorces should not cost so much that people stay legally married for years after separating because they cannot afford a good divorce lawyer, or worse they divorce but don’t achieve fair distributions because only one party has access to appropriate funds. I think everyone needs a will and should be able to consult a lawyer before buying a house or when there is an employment related concern. Small business should have a lawyer help them draft agreements and documents right away – yet many people skip essential steps like this because the costs of working with a lawyer are so significant. Lawyers though want (and may truly need) pretty high salaries to help compensate for the enormous cost of simply becoming a lawyer. Those two needs are very much at odds with one another.

For what my opinion is worth I’d say that some changes to consider are:

1. 2-3 year Apprenticeship or work experience programs that incorporate both schooling and on the job training (almost like trade schools for electricians/plumbers etc) rather than 3 years of law school, for a greatly reduced tuition fee of course;
2. Here in Canada we already have an articling year, but it seems as if this is not the case in the US. An articling year would be a start for sure.
3. Fewer law schools. Seems obvious to me that if the need for 1st years (or lawyers in general) is reduced then fewer law schools are needed.
4. Shorter time needed to attend law school (only 2 years)
5. Supplementing shorter law school programs with better ongoing education – for example like the awesome (and affordable) Solo Practice University

Any other suggestions or thoughts on this topic? You know how much I love to hear from my readers!!!

It reminded me of when I first decided to go to school to become a paralegal. I took a couple of years off after high school (in my family it was a big deal simply to have graduated high school, there was no expectation to do anything more). I knew that I wanted more out of my life than minimum wage jobs and I’d always had a keen interest in the legal field. I did consider going to university and then law school, but I was well aware that it was going to cost me a LOT of money. I decided paralegal school would be a good option since the program was much shorter, the overall tuition more reasonable and i would still have decent earning potential.

It also reminded me a job I had at a law firm about 3 years after getting my paralegal diploma. I’d worked for a sole practitioner for those three years and gained invaluable experience. Then I went to work for a mid-size law firm. It was a very different experience and my first time working with articling students. They were paid barely more than I was (I made about $30,000 a year at the time). They often seemed ill-prepared for the real work of a law firm. Don’t get me wrong, they were smart and I really enjoyed working with them. It just made it clear to me that law school didn’t bother with practical matters, teaching a lot about theory and research and not much else. These are important things, but my opinion is that all schools should combine theory with practical work. An articling year helps, but it would, in my opinion, probably be worthwhile to incorporate some on the job time in every year of study. Why wait until all the studying part is over?

Thankfully for me, my paralegal program did prepare me quite well for my career in the legal field. The ten years I spent working for lawfirms further enhanced my skills, leaving me feeling particularly prepared for my current career as a self-employed paralegal. I love the work I do and I love helping lawyers meet their business goals. Being a virtual paralegal is a perfect choice for me!

And I have to admit that my first reactions to their business were “cool!” and “trouble” all at the same time.  What can I say? I’m a rule-follower, I like to colour inside the lines most of the time. The idea of running an independent paralegal business and risking being charged with unauthorized practice of law isn’t so appealing to me, although I do think independent paralegals can offer a cost-effective benefit and if they were regulated and insured they would be a viable alternative for some people.

In Alberta, where I live, there is very little that an unsupervised paralegal can do on their own.  In Ontario though, they’ve recently allowed paralegals into the law society on a limited basis.

What are the rules like in your province/state/country? Do you agree? Do you think there are better options? I read a report from 2005 about reform in Alberta’s system which discussed mechanisms that might give litigants more choices (unbundled services, pro bono requirements for lawyers, better information for self-represented litigants) but no solution will be perfect for everyone.

And for the record, personally I provide virtual paralegal services to lawyers – not the general public! This way I get to do work I love but my work is always supervised by a lawyer, and therefore completely “by the rules” so to speak! I do provide general virtual assistance to business owners and entrepreneurs, but not legal assistance!

Of course as a virtual assistant I can still do legal research.  I can access online legal databases like CanLii or NexisLexis.  I can search through decisions on some of the court sites (like the Supreme Court decisions). I just need someone who wants me to do it for them!  I even would enjoy going to the law library if the need ever arises.

Lawyers with concerns about the ethics should be reassured by the ABA’s opinion on the matter.  A couple of points noted in the ABA article:

U.S. lawyers are free to outsource legal work, including to lawyers or nonlawyers outside the country, if they adhere to ethics rules requiring competence, supervision, protection of confidential information, reasonable fees and not assisting unauthorized practice of law.

And this:

Outsourcing can reduce client costs and enable small firms to provide labor intensive services such as large, discovery intense litigation, even though the firms might not maintain sufficient ongoing staff to handle the work, according to a new ethics opinion issued today.   Ethics Opinion 08-451 details ethics obligations of lawyers and firms that do elect to outsource legal work.

With a recognition of the cost benefits to law firms AND approval as to the ethics of legal outsourcing I think more and more lawfirms will start to take advantage of outsourcing arrangements.  2009 may just be a real turning point in the outsourcing field.

Having said that, you’ll understand how pleased I was when my google alert this weekend turned up a notice that of a hit on my name from The Rat Race Rebellion Blog – on a post about how virtual paralegals are a great option but need more media attention to get lawyers to realize the value. Guess that interview with the CT Law Tribune was a great idea!!

I might have been inspired by the contest, but the content of this post is simply inspired by my passion for my work. I LOVE being a virtual assistant. I love the feeling I get when I know my clients’ businesses are growing. I love showing my clients how easy it is to work with a virtual assistant and I love learning from them about their businesses, their lives and their passions! I also love working in my pj’s!!!

I used to enjoy my job in the “real” world, I was a legal assistant and paralegal for over 10 years. I worked in a couple of different places, made friends and worked hard. I went home at the end of the day and usually didn’t think much more about work after that (until the next morning anyway!) I would never have told you I was passionate about my job then though. I was just putting in my time until the next vacation, the next summer picnic, the next baby and maternity leave.

This past year I started my own virtual assistant business, offering virtual assistance to business owners and lawyers from my home office in Alberta. The work isn’t that different from what I did before. I need more clients to be profitable and I work an awful lot of hours! Still the feeling I get from being my own boss, from interacting with other virtual assistants, bloggers and twitterers (my home office water cooler!) is absolutely amazing. I’m using this newfound passion to develop my business and to help my clients improve their businesses! So if your business needs an injection of passion look me up!

Even with in-house staff this is a legitimate concern that must be managed carefully. The ABA had an article that discussed some potential pitfalls in this regard. I think that hiring a virtual legal assistant would actually assist in this aspect, as if you hire a virtual assistant from another state or even another country, she is less likely to have any involvement with the principals of your specific litigation.

Once you have decided to retain a virtual legal assistant you can do a couple of things to protect your interests. First you can have her perform a conflict search of her current client list to see if there is any reason for concern. If there is a conflict she can refer you to another LVA who will be able to assist you. Second, have her sign a non-disclosure agreement as part of her contract. These safeguards should lessen your worries and set you up for a successful partnership.

Fortunately the research I did was pretty helpful and I felt like I knew what I was getting into and that I was making a good career choice for myself. It never ceases to surprise me how many new paralegal graduates are not prepared for the real work they will perform in a law firm though. Many expect to come out of school and do intensive research and work hand-in-hand with the lawyers. It’s a rude awakening then when they are expected to do clerical work and learn the ropes from the ground up. I think that mastering the basics is essential though. I believe I am much better at my job because I know how to do so many things – my first lawyer was a wonderful trainer, he gave me tasks that were progressively more difficult and eventually trusted me completely. But he knew from experience that people need to learn all facets of the job.

If you want to be a paralegal, remember that everything you do on the job is worthwhile and necessary, whether the work is clerical in nature or not. Everything I learned on the job certainly helped me – especially now that I operate my own virtual legal assistance business!