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mellifera33

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Posts posted by mellifera33

    Are there any paralegals here?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

     

    I do think times have changed and without prior legal assistant experience or training you would be hard pressed to get a legal secretary job. I know for sure my city it is nearly impossible to get a legal assistant job without a two year diploma program. In fact the main 6 big law firms in my city hold at least 2-3 recruiting events a year and ours generally hires 8 students every year. They wouldn't bother looking at someone with no background knowledge.

     

    Yeah, I just looked at an ad for an "entry-level legal assistant" and it stated that only "qualified and experienced" applicants would be considered. So I'm assuming that "entry-level" either means just graduated from a program, or experienced with no certification? 

    Are there any paralegals here?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

      I have never understood why anyone would pay to get paralegal training, or honestly, why a firm would hire someone with a certificate over someone with practical legal experience.  

    Hmm...I don't have any legal experience, and don't know how to get hired without some sort of credential to show that I have some idea what I am doing. When I went to a temp agency a few years ago I was told that they couldn't help me because I wasn't even qualified to be a receptionist. At that point I just gave up and worked a few really crummy jobs. I quit work when I had kids, homeschooled for a couple of years, discovered I have no talent for it, and now am looking for a field that won't require years and years of education before I can work. I was hoping that paralegal certification would be a way to get a foot in the door.

    Are there any paralegals here?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Now I've seen your addition. In our firm, I believe only one paralegal has a certificate, and she was hired 25 years ago. It depends on the particular firm, of course, but some would rather hire a person with strong computer and communication skills (and one who has a hard time lying!) and teach them the job as they go, rather than hire a schmuck who got a general certificate but can't think or prioritize or be willing to do whatever task is assigned without whining. Since you already have a BA, I would think you have a leg up on some of the competition.

    Hmm, the strong computer and communication skills might be a problem. And not being able to lie means that my resume gets round-filed immediately and if I do get an interview, it goes nowhere. I need to have some concrete, specific credential that I can point to and say, see? This piece of paper says I can do this set of skills.

    Are there any paralegals here?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    Have you seen ads for paralegal jobs in your area?  It might be good to check, for two reasons: 1) as NoPlace suggests, you can confirm demand first, before you start the certificate program; and 2) you can call those particular firms and ask whether a certificate is necessary, and if so, must it be ABA approved, whether you can work while earning the certificate, etc.

     

     

     

    Here's a silly question--what is the best way to look for job ads? There are a bunch on Craigslist, but is CL the most common way to advertise for legit jobs? I have to admit, I've never had a real job. I don't even know how to look for a job other than handing in an application for retail. 

     

    Regarding item 2--Do firms really hire schmucks off the street with no relevant education to do legal work? I can't imagine interviewing for a position doing something that I've never done before. I really feel out of my element when it comes to employment. I have a hard time lying, which I know is a major disadvantage when job hunting. 

    Are there any paralegals here?

    in The Chat Board

    Posted

    I have a few questions. I have an "expired" degree (finished long ago and never used it) and I need to get up and running with some type of training fairly quickly so I can get a job. I am looking at post-BA paralegal certification programs--most of them can be finished in about a year. So.....questions.

     

    Did you complete an ABA approved course? There are several available programs in my area, and the most attractive to me is not an ABA approved course. Is this important? Will I have more opportunities if I do an ABA course?

     

    How long did you have to do unpaid interning? I was mentioning to my dh that it might take a while to get up and running and making money, and he was skeptical. He seems to think that certificate=instant money. lol

     

    I don't have any sort of passion for law-related things. I like jobs where expectations are laid out and I can dot my i's and cross my t's and do a good job and go home at night and not think about it. Is this a reasonable expectation? Do you take work home? I want to be 100% available to my kids when I'm home, because my dh's job takes up every minute of every day. 

     

    Thank you! 

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