The decision to work in litigation offers enormous opportunities for any legal team, and much of the work of making a lawsuit succeed depends on litigation paralegals. By understanding the role of litigation paralegal, you are able to determine if it is the right career for your personal goals and interests.
What is a Litigation Paralegal?
When you are looking at a litigation paralegal job description, it may raise questions about how the role differs from other paralegals. As a general rule, paralegals work to support and assist lawyers with their clients and their court cases. When it comes to clarifying the role of a litigation paralegal, the primary focus of your role is to support trial attorneys with litigation.
What Does a Typical Paralegal Job Description Look Like?
What Does a Litigation Paralegal Do?
What does a litigation paralegal do in his or her career? When it comes to litigation paralegal duties at work, you can expect to spend time working on paperwork for a lawyer or attorney. You may make copies of important documents, file litigation paperwork, and review materials for a court case. Your role in the office may focus on paperwork and maintaining documents, as well as organizing litigation paperwork before a court case.
Litigation paralegal jobs also focus on preparing witnesses for a court case and legal research as it applies to a specific case. Since you may also work on organization, a lawyer may ask you to handle the scheduling to ensure that a client is available for his or her court appearances and a lawyer is available to represent a client in court.
A litigation paralegal may also ensure that paperwork is filed on time. Since legal paperwork must be filed on time to prevent complications to a case or to ensure that a court date is not delayed, a litigation paralegal takes measures to keep up with important legal documents. The role is vital when it comes to complex court cases that may require a large amount of paperwork and documents before reaching a trial.
How Much Can You Expect to Earn?
The litigation paralegal salary expectations are similar to other paralegal roles. The median salary for a litigation paralegal is around $54,000 per year. You can expect to make around the average salary when you are working as a paralegal in litigation.
While the median salary gives you a basic idea of where to start evaluating your income potential, you should expect a lower rate when you do not have work experience. New paralegals may earn slightly less than the average income. You can also expect your income to rise as you gain experience or with a higher level of education.
The location also impacts your salary potential. Expect a higher offer from locations with a high cost of living. Urban areas often offer a higher salary to paralegals due to the high demand for professionals with your skills. You should expect a lower salary potential if you work in a rural environment and have fewer complex cases in your local area. Specific standards differ based on multiple factors, so you should expect your salary to be fair based on your location, education level, and experience working in a law firm. You will notice that your salary increases over time as you gain experience in your field.
Litigation paralegals play a critical role in a law firm. You work to support lawyers or attorneys in your firm by helping with research, important paperwork, organization, and client interactions. You work under the supervision of a lawyer and act as a support to help a law firm move forward with important cases. The role is pivotal for any law firm that specializes in litigation.
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