Becoming a Paralegal

Legal Secretaries wishing to move up the career ladder can undertake relevant legal training in order to become paralegals - often the path chosen by law graduates with no specific contracts in place. Paralegals - a member of staff who has some form of official qualification in the law but who is not a solicitor or legal executive lawyer - carry out varying tasks, but some people are more suited to the position than others.

The National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) suggests that certain characteristics are important when considering potential effectiveness in such a role. Firstly, it states that honesty and integrity are paramount and that people within the industry need to ensure they are putting the client's needs first. Secondly, it emphasises a level of competence among employees, decreeing that those that are not able to do their jobs very often lead uncomfortable and stressful lives. Taking responsibility for the work that has to be done is also of importance to the institute as those who tend to leave problems unresolved rarely succeed in the profession.
 

Becoming a paralegal is one way for legal secretaries to progress within the legal sector but they also have the option of becoming a legal executive lawyer, although this path does require a few more qualifications. Unlike legal secretaries, legal executives may perform the work of qualified lawyers. Typically, legal executives are trained in a specialist area, the most common of which are civil and criminal litigation, family law, conveyancing, public law work, private clients, corporate and legal practice.

Courses put on by the ILEX are available to many people from different walks of life, necessitating a minimum of four GCSEs at grade C or above, including either English language or literature, or other equivalent qualifications. For people that have obtained these certificates, one of the primary benefits of the ILEX training programme is that they are able to earn and learn - working within a legal environment offers rewards in terms of money and valuable experience.

Comments

[Aviti Sharma]

Hi,

I was doing internet search on work oppurtunities in the legal field in Australia for overseas residents and came across your post. The information here is very useful and I'll continue reading more to get a better understanding.

However, I was thinking if you could help me with a few queries that I have, at this point in time, I am a Lawyer in India and will be migrating to Australia in Feb' 2011 post my marriage with my fiancee, who's an Australian Citizen.

Now, I had applied to Council of Legal Education (COLE) to assess my appplication to practise Law in Victoria as an Overseas Applicant and the council reverted with a letter suggesting that I need to further complete my study by completing the "Priestley 11" subjects and 12 months of work experience, in order to get the right to practise in Australia.

Accordingly, I did my reasearch on the universities and while doing so, it occured to me to consider the alternatives other than pursuing further studies. In that regard I have a few questions could you please help me in finding an answer to themy queries :-
1. What are the job oppurtunities available for applicants like myself that have a law degree from a country other than Australia?
2. In case of paralegals, what is the eligibility requirement?
3. What is the career path of a "paralegal" in Australia?

Your help is highly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance,
Aviti Sharma