Lauren Love

ISM- Period 6
Summary for Kim Hill and Melissa Williams

I chose these 2 ladies to interview because I wanted to see how helpful paralegals are to
their lawyers.
When interviewed on the fantasies of being a paralegal they both said they thought being
a paralegal would be less stressful as opposed to being a lawyer.
However, the realities of being a paralegal are that it is equally as stressful to being a
lawyer.
There are a lot of deadlines that must be met for every case.
Stress gets added onto the paralegals when their lawyer takes on a lot of cases because it
increases the number of deadlines they have to obtain all the information.
Hearings can be on the same day and you have to prepare the attorney for them.
Some paralegal jobs require a Bachelors degree and a paralegal certification.
You can get this certification through NALA and NFPA.
The typical day of a paralegal consists of:
Answering phone calls and emails
Checking the calendar to make sure the attorney is ready
Having everything ready in advance
Scheduling hearings
Calling the court
Scheduling mediation
Coordinating deadlines to clients
Drafting motions
Everything a paralegal does is to make the job a lawyer easier.
The paralegal profession is here to stay because there will always be busy lawyers in
need of some help.
Paralegals update the attorney will all new information.
In order to ensure no conflicting schedules the paralegal always checks the calendar for
availability.