Paralegals play a critical role in the legal world, and are an essential and important part of any legal team.

Their core duties revolve around assisting solicitors with their day to day duties. This makes this job a good stepping stone for anyone who wants to become an attorney, solicitor or lawyer. It’s a complex role that includes working in a demanding environment and in close proximity with other people. Apart from carrying out mundane administrative duties and conducting legal research, Paralegals must also provide excellent client service and have a good understanding of relevant laws. Another key requirement of the job is the ability to be able to quickly understand complex situations, and comprehend, analyse and make sense of many different facts.

Much of your work time is spent autonomously reading through case files and organized documents, this makes it suitable for individuals who are comfortable with working on their own with minimum supervision.

A Paralegals job description, including their routine daily duties:

  • Putting together trial paperwork and bundles.
  • Preparing witness statements.
  • Undertaking legal research.
  • Reviewing invoices for payments.
  • Making contact with law firms.
  • Managing caseloads.
  • Keeping records up to date as cases progress.
  • Organising information into a manageable format for solicitors.
  • Preparing letters and documents for court cases.
  • Giving preliminary advice and guidance to clients.
  • Organising travel itineraries for solicitors.
  • Document management.
  • Legal Research.
  • Drafting legal correspondence.
  • Taking messages from clients and legal professionals.
  • Carrying out administrative duties such as filing, photocopying, scanning and binding.
  • Dealing with post completion matters.
  • Assisting with instructions to counsel.
  • Reviewing legal files and documentation.
  • Communicating with clients and keeping them up-to-date.

Key skills required

  • Ability to deliver accurate information and details.
  • Good research and investigative skills.
  • Attention to detail
  • Ability to prioritise work.
  • Good analytical skills.
  • Good organisational skills.
  • Ability to strictly adhere to guidelines and procedures.
  • Ability to influence and negotiate.

The personal skills that are required for the job:

  • Being honest, methodical and meticulous.
  • Having an inquisitive nature.
  • Having a sociable personality and a high level of professionalism.
  • Being enthusiastic and having a willingness to learn and develop.
  • Having excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • You must be an effective communicator with rounded client service skills.
  • Ability to work under pressure to tight deadlines.
  • Appearing confident and well presented.
  • Ability to work with minimum supervision.
  • Having and using common sense.
  • Being a Team player.
  • Being flexible and able to quickly adapt to changing tasks and needs of clients.

 

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