What do I think the life of a paralegal looks like - Essay Example

The life of a paralegal is challenging due to the demanding tasks, strict deadlines, work overloads and long working hours. A day in the life of a paralegal often starts at 9.00 am on arrival at the office where the paralegal must go through his e-mail and check for any letters at his or her desk. The individual must first finish with any administrative duties such as filling the paperwork and responding to e-mails from clients and his or her boss. The individual is expected to interview clients and attend meetings the boss and life can be stressful especially when the individual is not aware of the current status of the ongoing cases.

The opportunity to display well-honed practical legal skills presents itself when the boss calls the paralegal to prepare a legal research on a certain case. A paralegal is tasked with legal research and is one of the tasks that occupies most of the paralegal’s time since it entails looking for details of past court rulings on similar cases, court decisions, verdicts of trials and relevant statutes that support the lawyer’s case arguments. The work is tedious and time-consuming since a paralegal is expected to have the current writings and documents that uncover the facts about a case in an organized and concise manner.

The individual will be required to draft and write legal documents and attorneys expect one to have top-notch writing skills. In a day, a paralegal can draft, review and write several pleadings, case findings and legal memorandums and this requires one to remain attentive to details and present the ideas coherently in the writings. The paralegal will have to prepare court memos and briefs or write minutes during meetings. Depending on the field specialization, the paralegal will assist the attorney in filing tax returns or drafting contract documents.

In short, a paralegal writes many documents during his or work and advises clients on