Of Matriculation and Minefields

Well, there was a little flap in the legal twitterverse and blogosphere last week with what was widely perceived to be a quite ill-informed attack on paralegals over at ATL. A number of my colleagues have responded to this admirably in their own blogs here, here and here, as well as in a large number of comments to the post, and I don’t want to rehash what’s already been very well said.

In fact, I hesitated to weigh in at all, as the post has probably already gotten more traffic than it deserves, except now that I'm teaching in one of the very degree programs the post is ridiculing, I guess I took the whole thing a little personally.

So . . . . I want to comment on two aspects of “paralegaldom”: education and appreciation.

The slender excuse for the slam on paralegals was an alleged question to ATL about the utility of an A.A. degree in Paralegal Studies. (I say alleged because who really seeks career advice from the notoriously snarky ATL? I've always assumed these “Pls hndle Thx” queries were made up – which if true, actually makes the meanness toward paralegals that much more gratuitous.)

So how about it? Exactly what kind of education does one need to be a good paralegal? All sorts of education plus a healthy dose of life experience might fit the bill, in my view.

Granted, there are some law firms and corporate legal departments that would not consider hiring a paralegal candidate who lacked a 4 year college degree.

However, that hiring stringency is by no means universal. There are lots of law firms out there who care more about law firm experience than educational credentials, and are hiring (when they hire, anyway . . . whole 'nother issue, that) candidates with Associate of Arts (i.e., A.A.) degrees, or even no post high school degrees at all.

In fact, I even see the occasional paralegal job posting insisting on a paralegal certificate (i.e., that same maligned A.A. degree) which suggests that my B.A. plus over 20 years' paralegal experience wouldn't be enough for them.

Which is just weird.

The point is, law firms evaluate their staffing needs, their clients and their firm culture, and make decisions about what sort of training they're looking for in their paralegal candidates.

In fact, in my state of California, the only state so far to legislate mandatory educational standards for paralegal*, an A.A. degree in an accredited paralegal program satisfies the statute’s requirements. As an instructor in an A.A. paralegal program, I can attest that when my students graduate, they will certainly know more about the legal system and the job skills needed by paralegals than I did when I entered the field and started my on-the-job training.

Don’t get me wrong. I have a BA myself (plus a few years of grad school to boot – I just couldn’t let go of being a student for a while.) I loved my field of study, and I believe my college education taught me how to research, how to write, and how to think critically – all necessary skills for a good litigation paralegal. But does anybody really think that my philosophy and literature courses actually directly prepared me for work as a paralegal?

I'm also in huge favor of paralegals gaining all the training and continuing legal education they can pack in, and taking advantage of the superb professional development and certification resources available to them.

That said, it seems there is this elitist view that a Bachelor’s Degree is inherently superior to any type of vocational training, and my question is, superior for what? This ridiculing of paralegal degree students - exactly as if a person actually desiring to pursue a course of study that would prepare her to . . . wait for it . . . be a paralegal is a thing worthy of scorn - makes me tired!

Can we all get along?

And finally, because I did say I would also comment on appreciation, I’d like to add that there are a lot of lawyers and law firms out there who appreciate paralegals and the value we bring to their practices and their clients. People who don’t view us as being at the low end of the law firm pecking order. People who appreciate the fact that we know Minesweeper is just about the lamest game on the planet.

(Oh wait . . . sorry to all you Minesweeper fans out there . . .)

So hats off to the lawyers who appreciate us, and let’s quit giving time, attention and precious RSS feed real estate to those who don’t!

* See Business & Professions Code §6450(c). In addition, the New Mexico Supreme Court, in its Rules Governing Paralegal Services, sets mandatory educational standards for paralegals. (Rule 20-115 NMRA.)

Guest Post: 6 Ways Reading Paralegal Blogs Can Make You a Better Paralegal

Paralegals work in an environment that is constantly changing and knowledge about technology innovations, new areas of opportunity, recent cases, and paralegal industry news can help paralegals stay ahead. Blogs written by experienced paralegals can be an excellent source of useful information that can help you be more effective at your job. Here are a few reasons why reading paralegal blogs can improve your paralegal career.

Learn what is going on inside other law firms

Whether you’re looking for your first gig, a new opportunity, or career development, reading a variety of paralegal blogs can give you an inside scoop on what is going on at law firms. You can learn what skills are in high demand at law firms or what trends are changing the environment or the role of paralegals.

Stay informed with changes in the industry

The latest cases, innovative ways to use technology, or industry news are often covered by the top paralegal blogs.

Learn career enhancing tips

Paralegal blogs can share useful tips on how to become more effective and more productive. For example Practical Paralegalism has the Top 10 Tips for Brand New Paralegals.

Learn from the experiences of other paralegals

Nobody can know the ins and outs of every situation, so what could be better than to become familiar with the many experiences of many different legal professionals? Some paralegal blogs also feature interviews of experienced and successful paralegals. You can find some great paralegal interviews at The Paralegal Mentor.

Get the insights you need to move up the ladder

The ability to show deep knowledge about the inner workings of the industry will put you  ahead of others when it comes time for a promotion or a move to a bigger and better law firm.

Expand your professional network

Paralegal blogs will expand your network of professionals who you can turn to for free consultation and career advice. You can often connect with paralegal bloggers on Twitter or LinkedIn.

This article is a guest post by Charles Sipe from Criminal Justice Degree Schools, a site providing information on paralegal degrees and schools. 

Charles offers some great reasons to read paralegal blogs! I was also interested to learn that Charles lives in Seattle, where I spent ten happy years, and I've enjoyed "chatting" with him via email as we prepared this guest post!

The Law School Controversy Be Damned, Congratulations to New Lawyers!

Some readers might be aware that there have been a lot of blog posts and tweets flying about the blawosphere and twitterverse recently about the wisdom of pursuing a law degree. The argument goes that law school is expensive, the resultant school loan debt is enormous, and there are no jobs! This topic has been batted about for some time now, but the most recent furor was instigated by last weekend’s New York Times piece called Is Law School a Losing Game?

Now, I’m not about to weigh in here on the relative pros and cons of a law school degree. I never wanted to go to law school myself, but I’m certainly glad that many did, or I would never have had a career in the field, and I wouldn't have such great attorney clients now.

No, I’m writing to celebrate those recent grads I know who did decide law school was for them, who passed the bar, and who now are eager to do something worthwhile with their careers.

Last night I attended the Sonoma County Bar Association’s New Admittees’ Reception. Present to be honored were about ten recent admittees to the California Bar. I managed to meet most of them. They attended a variety of (mostly) California law schools, and their ages varied, (in fact, one graduated from Stanford 34 years ago, and practiced for many years in other states), and some have landed jobs and others have not.

But as I mingled around and spoke with them, I was impressed and heartened by two things: First, each of the new lawyers I spoke with is proud of his or her achievement and excited about the law. And second, although there are regions of the state with bigger law firms, presumably higher salaries, and possibly greater job prospects, these folks choose to live and practice here, in slower-paced, somewhat rural Sonoma County.

As blogger and JD candidate Jack Wittington has pointed out, not every law school student is just in it for money, fame and fortune. Many choose this career because they believe they can help others doing it. The brand new lawyers I met last evening all certainly fit into that category, and my figurative hat is off to them!

So congratulations, I say, to new lawyers here in Sonoma County, in California, and everywhere!