Paralegals are legal assistants who help attorneys with their everyday needs. They often assist attorneys with any tasks for cases that the attorney may be in charge of. Most paralegals or legal assistants are often tasked with extensive research for attorneys and even do interviews of clients for them. They have the power to do just about everything for the attorneys except give legal advice and try the case in court (or litigate, in legal terminology).

The paralegal is the first person the client speaks with in most cases before officially speaking to the attorney. He or she will obtain all the information pertaining to the new client’s case, and this must be very detailed; it is relevant as the attorney will have access to and have complete knowledge of the client’s situation when the attorney is reviewing the paralegal’s paperwork for the case.

Paralegals also draft legal documents for cases that need to be filed in the court system or write memorandums for the department as needed. These tasks may seem trivial but are essential to the smooth running of any reputable legal firm. The paralegal is there to ensure that the office runs efficiently and functions professionally. The research that the paralegal does for an attorney is critical to how the attorney proceeds with any case.

When it comes to being an assistant, paralegals are responsible for making sure that the attorney he or she is supporting has a clear idea of the daily cases or appointments on his or her calendar. This is necessary as the attorney may not able to keep or remember all schedules like clockwork, so the paralegal is there to make sure that all these appointments are met and that cases are reviewed and closed. If changes to the daily schedules are to be made, it is the job of the paralegal to see that these changes are documented and followed through.

In addition to administrative duties, the paralegal also has to prepare cases for the attorney and make critical notes on cases that will always be available to the attorney for his many days in court. The paralegal has to do extensive legal research and close reading on corresponding cases that the attorney may need to reference for a case. The paralegal has to make sure the attorney has any and all of the information that is crucial to the case available to him or her so that the attorney may be able to use it in court at any given moment. Without these necessary notes and documents the attorney cannot be prepared to bring the case to court.

The paralegal profession generally includes a varied set of duties. It is the paralegal’s job to make sure all relevant persons are interviewed and any information needed is gotten for the attorney’s use in the case. Any searches needed to be done at the court’s office or information needed from any outside source is the responsibility of the paralegal to obtain. Document filings must be on time, in order, and be available for the attorney at any moment. In addition to the legal services a paralegal provides, he or she is also responsible for the administrative support that an attorney needs. Due to the highly demanding and supportive nature of this profession, being a paralegal takes a lot of concentration and focus on details.

^{Adapted from What Is The Role Of A Paralegal And What They Do For The Attorneys by John Ford, 2013}
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