Personal injury

Paralegals conduct most of their work in an office or law library. In recent years, paralegals have started completing more tasks that were traditionally done by attorneys. The caveat is criminal law paralegals aren’t authorized to practice law so their work is done under the supervision of an attorney.

Criminal law paralegals need to be familiar with the basic classification of crimes, as well as the legal procedures surrounding search and seizure, arrest, bail and probation.

In criminal law, a paralegal may:

• Conduct witness interviews

• Pursue legal research for a case

• Prepare documents

• Assist a lawyer in preparing for a trial

• Draft complaints, motions, or briefs in criminal proceedings

Family law paralegals are involved in all aspects of family law, completing job duties as assigned by a family law attorney. The job duties and responsibilities of paralegals in family law include:

Preparing and drafting motions, pleadings, judgments, statements, documents, and other correspondence (e.g., debt and asset lists, witness affidavits, child support worksheets, responsive pleadings, etc.)

• Performing legal research

• Maintaining attorney calendars and case files

• Scheduling appointments, court appearances, and mediation/deposition hearings

• Serving as a liaison between the client and attorney, conducting client interviews

• Preparing trial notebooks and providing assistance in trial settings

• Preparing and reviewing discovery packages, including disclosure statements, answers to interrogatories, and production requests

Maintaining effective communication with clients is a major responsibility of family law paralegals. In fact, much of their day is spent communicating with clients. Because family law often involves emotionally charged issues such as child custody, child support and division of assets, family law paralegals must have excellent interpersonal communication skills and must be capable of handling clients who may be anxious, upset, or distressed. Paralegals in family law must also communicate well with other professionals, such as bank personnel, healthcare providers, accountants, and financial officers.

Ideas, tangible or not, are the most important things to protect in today’s competitive creative market. With so many channels and constantly replenishing feeds to watch out for, tracing the ownership and originality of a design, brand name, or invention needs the laser-focused eye of a trained attorney. We’ll handle the search, application, and filing process of trademarks, copyrights, and patents. And if your idea has been infringed upon, our litigation team will negotiate the best possible licensing and settlement agreements.

A trust estate paralegal is a paralegal who works in the area of trusts and estates law. Trusts and estates law involves laws as they affect individuals and heirs, and includes wills, estate planning, estate taxes, and aspects of family and probate law, among others. A trust estate paralegal generally works for a law firm or law firm department that specializes in trusts and estates law. Trust estate paralegals handle a wide variety of tasks to assist attorneys in their practices, including drafting trust and estate documents and communicating with clients. However, because trust estate paralegals are not attorneys and have not been admitted to the bars of any state, they must always work under the direction of a practicing attorney.

While paralegals are forbidden from performing tasks that are considered practicing law, such as administering advice or setting fees, they can complete a variety of tasks under the supervision of lawyers, and the scope of their work is growing.

Under supervision of a lawyer, a litigation paralegal may do the following:

• Gather facts and investigate for a case

• Answer discovery questions

• Summarize depositions

• Conduct legal research

• Search files for legal research on similar cases

• Locate and interview witnesses

• Manage documents

• Help with many other aspects of trial preparation

In typical real estate transactions, it is the job of the paralegal to:

• Review and prepare general correspondence, trust letters, mortgages, and statements of adjustment

• Review purchase and sale contracts

• Review, request, and order:

• Real property reports

• Certificates of title

• Title insurance

• Due diligence searches

• Record important dates and maintain files

• Organize closing funds

• Calendar all critical dates and contingencies

• Prepare a closing checklist, which includes outlining critical dates and the responsibilities of all parties

• Coordinate closing with all parties in the transaction, including the buyer, sellers, title insurance company, opposing counsel, and lender

• Prepare transfers/affidavits of transferees, closing documents, closing reports, and accounts

• Due diligence activities are an important part of a real estate transaction; therefore, it is often the duty of the paralegal to:

• Conduct or arrange for a title search (or order a title commitment from the title insurance company is not representing the title company)

• Review and analyze the survey

• Draft objection letters in the event of any survey and title issues

• Draft complaint challenging a property assessment

• Coordinate a formal property appraisal report and, if necessary, prepare a notice of appeal on the valuation of the property

After the closing has taken place, paralegals record all required real estate documents and financial statements. When the recorded documents have been returned, they prepare a closing binder the contains copies of all documents.

Paralegals in commercial real estate transactions have additional duties and responsibilities:

• Review contracts and leases for assignment and prepare abstracts for contracts and leases (commercial real estate)

• Obtain and prepare corporate documents, including authorization of the applicable parties to purchase/sell

• Conduct public record searches of parties, including judgment, tax liens, and UCC filings

• Order environmental assessment and address any issues

• Obtain closing figures from the bank and prorate amounts for real and property taxes, utilities, and rent