Should paralegals have a specialty? Finding your niche
In the legal industry, niche specialization can enable professionals to distinguish themselves as leading experts and make it easier for clients to decide who to work with. This is why some of the most successful law firms in the country are the ones that practice in a specific area of law. But it’s not just the attorneys who can specialize. How can a paralegal or legal secretary find and hone their specialty, […]
Maximizing the power of your legal support staff
According to the American Bar Association (ABA), “Rare is the law firm that fully leverages its paralegal team.” While law schools may provide attorneys with a solid legal education, many successful lawyers don’t have the faintest idea how to best utilize their support staff. When attorneys don’t consider their staff a part of the legal […]
7 myths and misconceptions about the PDF
In the legal industry, and just about everywhere else, the Portable Document Format (PDF) is the gold standard of file formats, used globally to carry the permanence of a paper document into the digital space. Developed in 1992 by Adobe, the goal was to make the PDF a secure digital document that removed the need […]
Networking for paralegals and legal support staff: How and why
We may think of ‘networking’ as a very modern concept, but according to a Harvard Business Review article, networking has existed for the past 2000 years and is essential to our survival. But for many people, including legal professionals, networking doesn’t come easy and trying to connect with others in the industry can push them […]
The best free/low-cost CLE for legal support professionals
For legal professionals, part of the job is to keep up with changes in the industry, and education doesn’t stop after you get your first job. Continuing legal education (CLE) — which could cover anything from regulatory mandates, legal technology, practice management, and the law itself — will help you stay on top of new […]
5 key skills attorneys look for when hiring a paralegal
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Outlook Handbook, the employment of paralegals is expected to grow about eight percent from 2014 to 2024. That means competition for jobs is expected to be strong, with experienced, formally trained paralegals having the best prospects for employment. To stand out in a crowded market like this, […]