| Paralegal or legal assistant?

Paralegal or legal assistant?

Amanda asked:


Im a senior and totally and completely stressing out about college. I wanted to get into something with the legal field but i don’t wanna be a lawyer i was looking into paralegal and a legal secretary. I would like a bachelor’s degree i guess but does it really matter between that and an associates when becoming one or the other? I find it like impossible to find a university that offers a bachelor’s in paralegal. With all the research i have been doing a lot of people say the paralegals pretty much just do all the lawyers work so its kind of discouraging me and im thinking that legal secretary would be better…PLEASE help. I’m pretty much lost here any and all help with this matter would be great!
Well i would like a degree…a degree is more likely to get me hired…right? So just an associates in paralegal would be fine so i could just be a legal secretary because that would work for me i love the idea of secreatrial work for some reason lol.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Paralegal or legal assistant?”

  1. maxmom56 on May 17th, 2009 11:55 am

    Neither a paralegal nor a legal secretary need degrees. You can get a para certificate. It will get you the same job - or not - in my area, there are so many out of work lawyers, no one hires paralegals. Go take a secretarial course if you want to be a legal secretary.

    College is a lot of money. Put it off until you have a clue about what you want to be when you grow up.

  2. KC on May 18th, 2009 9:17 pm

    I have been both a legal secretary and paralegal and there really isn’t much difference besides pay. I was a legal secretary for 14 years and a lot of my job was performing paralegal tasks. I am now a paralegal and I do handle a lot of ground work for my attorney. I absolutely love being a paralegal! I think a lot of it has to do with whether or not you have a great boss (which I do). A lot of attorneys look down on paralegals and legal secretaries. My boss treats me as an equal. It makes a big difference!

  3. bird is the word on May 19th, 2009 12:23 pm

    Ok, do not strive to be just a secretary! Paralegal job duties may seem scary now but once you are a paralegal it becomes what you were taught and trained to do, not scary. Plus, there still are some administrative tasks that you will have to do.

    Here’s what you can do. Find an ABA approved paralegal associates degree program and enroll. Then start looking for an entry level position at a law office (legal secretary, clerk, etc). Begin your law office experience while you are still in school. By the time you graduate, after being a legal secretary for 2 years you will be ready to move up to paralegal.

    Follow this link to find ABA approved schools in your area:

    If you have any other questions or whatever please e-mail me.