The Paralegal Profession - Essay Example

Lawyers who handle high profile, media-friendly cases gain the distinct advantage of demanding higher pay and accolades, particularly those who win more cases than their peers. Becoming a lawyer involves a lot of hard work and preparation for students who wish to pursue this career. To begin with, prospective law students must take up a pre-law course, majoring in any field of their choice, before they can proceed to their law degree. Law schools do not require any prerequisite courses for admission.

However, most students choose among accounting, economics, philosophy, history, composition and literature, psychology, sociology, political science, religion and logic as their pre-law courses (Abernethy. 1996). Potential law students have many options at their disposal that will enable them to make an informed decision on whether or not to proceed with their desire to pursue a law degree or not. For example, they can sit in on a class or two to get a feel for what is expected from students in a typical law class.

They may also join a tour of any law school of their choice or meet with current law students, if they are interested. Abernethy, A. J.D. Ph.D. mentions another option, which is, to “shadow” a lawyer, following him around for a day or two, just to have an idea of what a typical day for a legal professional is like. It is vital to remember that a lawyer’s daily schedule differs from one day to the next, ranging from a day in court to a long day at the library researching for a case. It is also important to note that the legal profession offers a wide range of fields—from commercial law to tax law to human rights law—so it would help the student considerably if he or she can shadow more than one lawyer (1996).

Some students also get the chance to work as “runners” in a law office before they begin law school. “Runners offer general clerical assistance but their function usually entails filing papers at the