The Ultimate Paralegal (Paperback)

Innovative Solutions It

ISBN 10: 1975850998 / ISBN 13: 9781975850999

Published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017

About this Item

Paperback. This book is a nuts and bolts introduction to a versatile and interesting 21st Century career field. Paralegals are legal professionals who are fully integrated into the practice of law. This is a career field that welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds because all such people are needed for the many diverse areas of law. This book introduces the reader to the paralegal career field and the fundamentals that one should know about the law. There are paralegals in many countries. However, the focus of this book with respect to both the law and the paralegal career field is the United States. I have educated and trained many paralegals over the last thirty years and that includes those who have pursued their careers in many states. There are four general sectors of paralegal employment. First, there is the government sector. There are numerous paralegal jobs in federal, state and local governments. The federal government and state governments employ paralegals in their court systems and their many government agencies. Local governments employ paralegals in county attorneys' offices, district attorneys' offices and city attorneys' offices. Common features associated with this sector of paralegal employment are structured hours, solid retirement and benefit plans and educational benefits. Please note that this sector does not describe all paralegal jobs with the word "paralegal", so a paralegal job applicant should look at the job descriptions for the following government job titles: court clerk (do not let this term confuse you - it is an important skilled job), docket clerk, court administrator, court coordinator, court liason officer, investigator, compliance officer, and case manager. Who Can Become A Paralegal? Since the paralegal career field is very broad it needs many different types of people. There are some people who enter a paralegal education program right out of high school. If they are literate and motivated, and complete a good paralegal educational program, as they gain experience in the work place more and more opportunities will come. Some people decide to become paralegals after they have attended some college because they want their education to lead directly to an established career path. Others make such a decision after they have obtained a college degree. There many college degree programs that do not lead to employment beyond teaching. And, as we all know, not everyone is meant to be a teacher. One reality of the 21st Century is that education has become expensive and many people have to borrow to pay for their education. As a result, more people are seeking education that leads to more career opportunities. Do not despair if you have a degree that provides only limited employment opportunities, because your career as a paralegal awaits you. Most of the time, a college graduate can obtain the necessary education to become a paralegal in less time than someone who does not have a college degree. Further, there are some employers who prefer that their paralegals have a college degree. One feature of the 21st Century is that more and more people are changing careers. There are variety of reasons offered as to why this is occurring, including (1) instability with respect to their existing career; (2) "burnout"; (3) the desire to move into a career that is more enjoyable or meaningful and so on and so forth. What makes the paralegal career field attractive to this particular group is that their previous career skills are to varying degrees transferable and hence provide greater choices and opportunities to them as paralegals. Consider some examples: nurses (healthcare law and personal injury law); police officers, prison guards and probation officers (criminal law); engineers (intellectual property); real estate agents (real estate law); oilfield workers (oil and gas law); construction Shipping may be from our Sydney, NSW warehouse or from our UK or US warehouse, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781975850999

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Ultimate Paralegal (Paperback)
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1975850998
• ISBN 13: 9781975850999
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

This book is a nuts and bolts introduction to a versatile and interesting 21st Century career field. Paralegals are legal professionals who are fully integrated into the practice of law. This is a career field that welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds because all such people are needed for the many diverse areas of law. This book introduces the reader to the paralegal career field and the fundamentals that one should know about the law. There are paralegals in many countries. However, the focus of this book with respect to both the law and the paralegal career field is the United States. I have educated and trained many paralegals over the last thirty years and that includes those who have pursued their careers in many states. There are four general sectors of paralegal employment. First, there is the government sector. There are numerous paralegal jobs in federal, state and local governments. The federal government and state governments employ paralegals in their court systems and their many government agencies. Local governments employ paralegals in county attorneys’ offices, district attorneys’ offices and city attorneys’ offices. Common features associated with this sector of paralegal employment are structured hours, solid retirement and benefit plans and educational benefits. Please note that this sector does not describe all paralegal jobs with the word “paralegal”, so a paralegal job applicant should look at the job descriptions for the following government job titles: court clerk (do not let this term confuse you – it is an important skilled job), docket clerk, court administrator, court coordinator, court liason officer, investigator, compliance officer, and case manager. Who Can Become A Paralegal? Since the paralegal career field is very broad it needs many different types of people. There are some people who enter a paralegal education program right out of high school. If they are literate and motivated, and complete a good paralegal educational program, as they gain experience in the work place more and more opportunities will come. Some people decide to become paralegals after they have attended some college because they want their education to lead directly to an established career path. Others make such a decision after they have obtained a college degree. There many college degree programs that do not lead to employment beyond teaching. And, as we all know, not everyone is meant to be a teacher. One reality of the 21st Century is that education has become expensive and many people have to borrow to pay for their education. As a result, more people are seeking education that leads to more career opportunities. Do not despair if you have a degree that provides only limited employment opportunities, because your career as a paralegal awaits you. Most of the time, a college graduate can obtain the necessary education to become a paralegal in less time than someone who does not have a college degree. Further, there are some employers who prefer that their paralegals have a college degree. One feature of the 21st Century is that more and more people are changing careers. There are variety of reasons offered as to why this is occurring, including (1) instability with respect to their existing career; (2) “burnout”; (3) the desire to move into a career that is more enjoyable or meaningful and so on and so forth. What makes the paralegal career field attractive to this particular group is that their previous career skills are to varying degrees transferable and hence provide greater choices and opportunities to them as paralegals. Consider some examples: nurses (healthcare law and personal injury law); police officers, prison guards and probation officers (criminal law); engineers (intellectual property); real estate agents (real estate law); oilfield workers (oil and gas law); construction workers (construction law, labor law and personal injury law).

About the Author

Thomas B. Swanson received paralegal, law enforcement, counter-terrorism and investigative training in the United States Air Force. During his initial period of training, he served as a military court bailiff and worked in military court administration. From 1973 to 1976, he was the investigator for the United States Foreign Claims Commission based in Taipei, Taiwan. While serving overseas, he investigated matters ranging from motor vehicle accidents to complex fraud and murder. In 1976, he received the Air Force Commendation Medal for outstanding service. After receiving his B.A. from the University of Florida in 1978, Swanson migrated to Houston, Texas to attend law school. While in law school, he resumed conducting both criminal and civil investigations for local law firms. Swanson graduated from the South Texas College of Law and became a licensed Texas attorney in May, 1981. In 1986, he founded his own law firm. In 1988, Swanson began educating and training paralegals, which included a course in investigations. For several years during the 1980’s, Swanson served as a member and vice-chairman of the Houston area Committee On Admissions, which investigated certain applicants seeking admission to the Texas bar. As of the date of this book, Swanson has been a Texas trial lawyer for over thirty-five years. He has tried numerous civil cases in both the federal courts and the Texas state courts. In addition, he has also tried cases in the criminal courts in Texas and authored numerous books on litigation. For almost thirty years, Swanson has served as an instructor of paralegals in a variety of subjects, including general civil and family law litigation. He has been an invited speaker on litigation related matters to numerous groups, including a variety of professional organizations.