There is very stiff competition among corporate employers and law firms when it comes to attracting and retaining the best and most skilled legal support staff.
They not only compete for lawyers but also paralegals, who have some years’ experience and talent.
About Corporate Paralegal Careers
There are several skills that corporate paralegals need to accomplish their duties. Most of the hard skills that paralegal employees list include 12.2% legal advice, 6.2% legal department, and 6.2% governance.
When they get the job, they work for 40 hours weekly from Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. However, sometimes when there are tight deadlines to meet and tough cases to solve, they might work for extra hours.
One of the main things people do not know about paralegal careers is the salary they make. The average paralegal salary is $30.52 hourly, which sums up to around $63,485 annually.
Before 2028, experts expect that the career will grow by 12% and offer over 39,000 new opportunities in the United States.
What Does A Corporate Paralegal Do?
Corporate paralegals are trained professionals who help companies’ legal departments with their legal issues. They help the companies’ lawyers research, prepare, and gather materials and information concerning different hearings and cases.
They work closely not only with the legal team but also with professionals from other departments. They can specialize in areas like intellectual property, corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions.
If you are looking for a paralegal job, it will help if you do that by industry because you may be missing opportunities you may never have thought about.
How To Become a Corporate Paralegal
If you are looking into becoming a corporate paralegal, the first and most important thing to consider is how much education you need. According to research done, 49.5% of the people looking for corporate paralegal jobs have bachelors’ degrees, and around 5.7% have master’s degrees.
Selecting the right major is important when you want to get a job. Some of the best majors to pursue include law, business administration, or any related programs that the American Bar Association recognizes.
While that is a requirement for a lot of law firms, some might give you a job with a GED or high school degree.
The next thing you need to do is attain your certification that summarizes your experience and knowledge in corporate law.
Some of the bodies you can approach for certification are the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA), the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, and the Association of Legal Professionals (NALS).
To ensure that you have a competitive advantage in the market, you should consider completing an internship to increase your experience. It helps you know how to work on confidential information and cases.
To identify the right internships for you, have informal interviews with some corporate paralegals around your area.
Some of the additional skills that you need to increase your chances include:
- Organizational skills
- Proofreading, research skill
- Attention to details
- Technical skills
- Written and verbal communication skills
- Contracts knowledge
- Securities law
- Intellectual property law
- UCC law
You need to maximize all the requirements and meet most of the qualifications listed on the requirements list because that increases your chances of getting the job.
