Reliable information from real paralegals.

I have been reading about paralegals or legal assistants. I have a few questions for actual professionals currently employed in the field. Do professionals call themselves paralegals or legal assistants? What is the differences if there any? Is there an official "paralegal committee" or is there a website or list that would identify accredited schools degrees? I currently live in VA and plan on moving to WA in a few years and I am curious if a paralegal associates degree in VA would be recognized in WA? Where would I find this kind of information?

Your title is whatever your employer says it is.

The terms "legal assistant" and "paralegal" used to be interchangeable in my area. In the last 10-12 years though, I would say that things have changed such that "legal assistant" is the new name for legal secretary and "legal assistant" and "paralegal" no longer mean the same thing.

Your associates degree will be recognized in Washington.

Check with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools for VA. If your degree was issued from one of its accredited schools, you should have no problem using it in other states like Washington.

If I remember correctly, Washington passed some form of legislature regarding using a false academic credential, so it might be against the law to use one. Best to research it beforehand to make sure your degree is the real deal.

Decades ago, the terms "paralegal" and "legal assistant" were synonymous. Then about 10-12 years ago, the ALA put out a white paper on the shortage of quality legal secretaries and called for changing their title to legal assistants. Firm administrator have by and large adopted this practice and these days the title "legal assistant" usually denotes other non-paralegal support staff. (see: www.osbar.org/_docs/sections/lpm/newsletters/LPM9906.pdf)

If you obtain your degree from a program that is ABA approved or that is in substantial compliance with ABA guidelines AND accredited by a regional/national accrediting agency recognized by the US DOE, then it should be recognized wherever you move. However, there are some proprietary schools that are ABA approved or accredited, and while a degree from these institutions may be recognized in any state, the credits most likely will not transfer to a public institution should you want to pursue further education.

You can search for ABA approved programs here: apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/paralegals/directory/home.html

And you can search for other programs that are in substantial compliance with ABA guidelines and accredited by a US DOE recognized accrediting agency here: www.aafpe.org/Directory/index.asp

There is no one official paralegal committee; however, the 2 most prominent voluntary paralegal associations are NALA (www.nala.org) and NFPA (www.paralegals.org).

There are two distinct paralegal factions that emerged around the same time
starting around the late 1960s –- one was the legal assistant or schlepped for a lawyer or law firm (nobody knew much about them) -- and the other was paralegals who mostly worked freelance and propelled the name to the forefront. Even the early ABA programs were called the "Guidelines and Procedures for Approval of Legal Assistant Education Programs." Same goes for magazines like "Legal Assistant Today," which eventually changed to "Paralegal Today."

Many of the early paralegal organizations also later changed over like the
San Francisco Association of Legal Assistants (San Francisco Paralegal Association);
Atlanta Association of Legal Assistants (Georgia Association of Paralegals); Minnesota Association of Legal Assistants (Minnesota Paralegal Association); and Rocky Mountain Legal Assistants Association (Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association).

California, New York and Florida is where the paralegal name emerged. The only organization that had a clue about paralegals from the get go was the National Federation of Paralegal Associations.

Few if any paralegal programs (ABA or otherwise) will transfer as credit for the simple reason that they are considered terminal degrees and useless for credit; unlike general studies subjects, which can transfer over.

Taylor - any community college that is accredited and provides a paralegal degree program will suffice. Not only will you save money, but you can then put the money to better use. Throwing money at expensive paralegal programs is not a good idea in this economy.

^What BG said. As long as the program itself is approved by the ABA, it does not matter if it is taught at a four year private college, or at a community college. Due to the job market being tight, and the fact that the legal field itself is in turmoil (many small law offices are closing up shop, and big law reducing its staff), I would caution in how much money is spent. I so happened to obtain my certificate through NYU in 1999, however what got me through the door for my first paralegal job was my experience working as a legal assistant at a mid size firm.

If you do not have a job lined up after graduation, you will still be responsible in paying that student loan, or credit card. Honestly there was a time I would have told people to go for it, however being in this field for nearly 14 years now, it has changed for the worse. Paralegals are now competing against one another for jobs, and now JD's (non admitted attorneys) are even encourage to apply for senior paralegal positions in some of the ads I have spotted. Just be careful with your costs, and make sure you either intern, or volunteer to gain some experience.

Hope this helps. All the best to you.

I concur with tfm in that paralegals are now competing with eachother for jobs. Even lawyers are applying for legal support jobs, so they can keep their foot in the door.

With the legal software that keeps coming out it is replacing many of the routine legal tasks being performed by paralegals and lawyers. Factor in the outsourcing of legal work to common law English speaking countries and the prospects of a successful career as a paralegal, is rapidly diminishing and will be next to nil.

The best bet for unemployed paralegals is to open up a virtual paralegal office and work on contract. Should you land a contract, you can then outsource the work to someone else, which will free up your time to earn a degree in a more prosperous field like nursing, hair stylist, dog grooming or mobile secretarial service. The home health aid field is booming too.

If you absolutely must have a paralegal credential, look for the least expensive accredited paralegal program, because without experience your chances of being hired is next to nil.

It certainly will be a rough ride even if one gets a certificate. If you have no experience, it's very hard to land that first paralegal job. It always has been. If you have too much experience and are not employed, it is also very hard to land another paralegal job. Take a look at the ridiculous ad posted on CL that I'll quote below. I don't know what the sweet spot is for paralegals as far as experience, of if there even is one considering the state of the legal industry.

CL paralegal ad:

"Temp. to perm (3 months) litigation paralegal position for a growing law firm, Assisting 2 paralegal with heavy litigation case load, summation, busy desk.
Requirements: minimum of 4 years litigation paralegal experience with trial experience (helpful to touch on corporate, I.P. and real estate).
Summation or Concordance
strong interpersonal skills, communication skills, listening skills, paralegal certified, college degree
professional image, superior references
Do not apply if you have over 10 years of experience"
_______________

Seriously? Who wrote this ad? I meet it all, except I have over 10 years of experience. The salary if hired perm is $40-45K. Wow.

Parafreegal - they probably figure that someone with ten years experience is burned out or will want too many benefits.

Imagine if we applied the same flawed criteria to the medical profession and eliminated any physician with 10 years experience.

Cry Baby Obama in Springville, California said:
The most common route to becoming a paralegal involves the attainment of an associate's degree in paralegal studies through a community college or vocational institution, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

This is the most affordable approach to obtaining a paralegal credential, especially in an economy where money is very tight.

Parafreegal in Chicago, Illinois said: It certainly will be a rough ride even if one gets a certificate. If you have no experience, it's very hard to land that first paralegal job. It always has been. If you have too much experience and are not employed, it is also very hard to land another paralegal job. Take a look at the ridiculous ad posted on CL that I'll quote below. I don't know what the sweet spot is for paralegals as far as experience, of if there even is one considering the state of the legal industry.

CL paralegal ad:

"Temp. to perm (3 months) litigation paralegal position for a growing law firm, Assisting 2 paralegal with heavy litigation case load, summation, busy desk.
Requirements: minimum of 4 years litigation paralegal experience with trial experience (helpful to touch on corporate, I.P. and real estate).
Summation or Concordance
strong interpersonal skills, communication skills, listening skills, paralegal certified, college degree
professional image, superior references
Do not apply if you have over 10 years of experience"
_______________

Seriously? Who wrote this ad? I meet it all, except I have over 10 years of experience. The salary if hired perm is $40-45K. Wow.

I can't help wondering if anyone responded to this ad stating they had 9 years and 11 months experience.

Now that is funny FlFam! I believe I came across that same advert a month ago and thought the same thing! I would caution anyone regardless of experience in applying to a law office with an advert like that.

On another note, I've noticed the comments cautioning people to be careful with their costs are being voted down. No one here is trying to talk someone out of pursuing their goals. All some of us are saying is be careful in how much debt you accrue in pursuing your studies, that is all. Student loan debt is a real issue. I've taken classes at my local community college and NYU and honestly there was little difference between the course work and lectures between both schools. I would also recommend that people enroll in a program which offers the opportunity to intern, or if the school has a high post-graduate success rate. However don't just rely on what the school tells you. Go to Linked-In and join the paralegal discussion groups and pick people's brains as well and see where they graduated from and how they landed their first jobs.

All the best :-)