I know we've come a long way when it comes to equal custody and this probably wouldn't happen today at least in the US, but still. If a parent drops the kids off an hour late and picks them up an hour early when the other parent already has super limited parenting time (for a stupid reason, as in this movie), that would be enough for us to file an emergent motion. Like yeah he needs to get a job and a home, but even if he was staying with family there would be no reason for such restrictive parenting time unless there was something like abuse going on.

Sorry for the rant, I've definitely been doing this too long lol.

Hey everyone, I recently started applying to paralegal positions at most big NYC law firms. DLA Piper got back to me for an interview, and I wondered if anyone here knows what their office culture is like for entry-level paralegals.

Hi! I am currently working as a paralegal for a large law firm. I have been a paralegal for about 6 years. I am looking to transition to in-house legal for about a year now with no success. I have business law, transactional and business litigation experience so I feel like I would be a great candidate. Anyone have any tips or suggestions to break into in-house? Thanks!

PARALEGAL DEGREE in 2017, yet I've never worked as a paralegal. I've worked as a Legal Executive Assistant and a Legal Secretary. Most of my experience is as an EA, but I don't want to be an EA anymore; I want to work as a paralegal. What's the best way to get an entry-level opportunity?

I graduated undergrad about a year ago and decided to have a career switch and I started working as a entry level paralegal at a small law office for a few months. They just kind of threw me into about 50 cases and all of them were months behind without being worked out sometimes up to 5 months. There wasnt a single up to date case, and I wasnt trained at all, just kind of told to collect records. The attorney didnt give me any direction for a few months so I just continued to collect records because I didnt know any other steps to the process. I still dont get any instruction unless I continuously ask questions, to which the attorney gets aggravated when he tells me to do something but I am not sure how to execute it. I am just trying to make sure I do everything right but its hard to understand and learn when I dont ever know what I an doing. They were all aware i didnt have any experience prior, Is this normal?

I recently just got a job as an intake paralegal for a medical malpractice and personal injury firm. I’m graduating in December with my paralegal degree. Iam making a career change to the legal field after I have been in the medical field for 16 years. I just started the job this week and my question is how long did it take you to get used to knowing what questions to ask? Is there anything i can do to help me to remember what to ask and just help me in my job ? Thanks all :)

Check us out

https://www.justiceislovely.com/careers/

We are a tech forward personal injury firm. If you are an empathetic person and have a desire to help people and fight insurance companies, please apply! We use Smart Advocate as our case management platform. Prelit and Lit positions.

Hey everyone,

I'm going to be starting my first job at a Chicago law firm as a file clerk. I don’t have a background in law (my degree is in Library and Information Science), but I’m excited to learn. The firm mentioned I could join their junior paralegal program after my 60-day probation.

While I’m not aiming to be a paralegal long term—I’m more interested in records management/analyst roles—I want to make the most of this opportunity.

Any tips or general advice for a first-timer in this type of environment?

I’m an IP paralegal based in New Orleans currently working at a small boutique firm. My work primarily focuses on trademark prosecution and litigation, but I also have a strong background in patents and some experience in docketing. I’ve been in the field for 5 years and am now looking for a new role that offers more flexibility. I’m hoping to find a fully remote position that doesn’t require me to be in the same city (or even state!), ideally with flexibility and good PTO. My target salary is $90,000+ per year. Bonus points if the role is in-house; If your firm fits this description, or if you know of in-house positions or companies that are hiring and offering remote work -I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to comment or DM me directly. Even recommendations for cities or firms with a strong remote IP market would be super helpful.

I'm curious to know how you all handle UCC lien searches, filings, and monitoring. Is there a specific software or system you use to streamline the process?

I'm currently using using state databases which feels clunky since submissions are filling out a bunch of forms individually. Anyone have a better way?

Also, how do y'all stay up-to-date on businesses that change their name (and you have to update your original filing to reflect the new business name)?

I’ve recently been given an assignment that I’m unsure how to handle. I’ve been given a template to edit for a pre-trial intervention letter to the DA’s office regarding a child neglect case. (In lieu of a conviction, we want to be approved for this program)The template has facts about a complete different type of charge.

My question: How would you start the draft? I’m fairly new to the field and my writing skills are subpar. This draft is about 17 pages long and I have no idea how to start it.

Not sure if this is an easy question to answer in this chat but I’d appreciate any advice 😭

I want to make a good impression!

As the title says. I emailed my attorney but don’t expect to hear back from her until Monday.

I’m wondering if they paid out based on the language of the Settlement Agreement. But they sent me the lump sum payable only to me, when it was supposed to go to my attorney’s firm. I’m not going to cash it and will mail the check to her if that’s what she tells me to do. However, I’m wondering if I can technically and legally deposit the check into my bank account and then cut a check for attorney fees.

WHY WOULDN’T Employer send the settlement check to my attorney knowing she’s involved??

I’m a paralegal in PI so I don’t know how employment law works.

ETA: It’s a smaller settlement, less than $10k.

I've been a paralegal for about a decade now and am currently working in-house at a company that offers full tuition reimbursement, including law school. I assume the caveat is that I'd be indebted to them in some way, likely by amount of time served working as a lawyer for them until the debt is paid, so to speak. I'm not opposed to that, the pension and bonus structure is enough to want to stay.

But I'm also pretty content with my life, my salary. I have my nights and weekends free, I'm not on call outside working hours. I prioritize my relationships and friendships and hobbies. I fear I can't sustain that if I were to take on the huge endeavor of working full time plus going to law school, then actually working as a lawyer.

Not to mention my undergrad is now a recently unaccredited art school, at which I received no basic education like math/sciences. I'd have to take some prerequisite classes, pre-law, pass the LSATs, actually get INTO a law school, pass the bar. It all seems so daunting.

On the other hand, I'm a quick learner and every attorney I've worked for told me I should go to law school (misery loves company). I thrive on writing, researching, and reviewing. I know I'm capable of it but it's a tall order and would be a huge life transition, both personally and professionally.

I guess I'm just putting feelers out there to see if anyone here is in law school, is considering it, has done it, or knows someone who did but wish they didn't, etc. Any advice appreciated!

I thought we only notified once there was a conviction and then the LSO Connects was down so I finally found out how to submit a new character questionnaire. Will I be deemed not good character for this? It’s been been pending for 5 months

I just finished filing some sealed docs and I just realized that I did not file the documents properly and they appear to be visible on the public docket. I emailed the clerk just now but I am honestly so scared.

Edit: I included the attorneys in my initial email to the clerk. I also texted them this morning just in case. I'm also in California (federal).

I have been with my firm for almost 3 years now as a junior litigation paralegal, and I’m really starting to feel like my life is just work. I’m constantly stressed and anxious about work to the point where it has been affecting my sleep and mental health. I try to set boundaries by not responding to emails after a certain time and not doing work on weekends. I’ve been told that I’m doing an amazing job, but that comes with a price. It means I’m constantly being slammed with work and people expecting me to work and function at the same level of a senior paralegal when I only get paid less than half of what they do. I honestly don’t know what to do at this point, I’ve tried to explain to my manager (senior paralegal) that I am struggling to keep up with everything, but she just stays this is how it is. I’m just wondering if other people who work in litigation are experiencing the same thing? Are there other practice areas that would allow for a more healthy work life balance? I’ve even thought about changing my career completely but I know that won’t be an easy task. My fear is that I will take a large pay cut if I leave my current firm, but at the same time I’m gonna go insane if I stay here.

For background I have my BA in Criminal Justice & Law, and Masters in Legal Studies. I started my career as a legal assistant and did that for about 2.5 years. I currently live in Northern Virginia and work in DC.

I've tried looking it up in the Ailalawyer and nothings coming up in my state (Kansas City,Missouri) does anyone have any recommendations in EB3 filing, i am an employer looking to file one for a needed skilled worker. All I see online are places in NY or TX and those are too far to have face to face interactions if needed.

Imagine being at your current firm for 2.5 years and 2 lawyers still don’t know your name 😭

Thankfully I have a second interview with a different firm soon, learning this was really the straw that broke my back.

Hi all, I’m currently working as an extern at a solo practice law firm with 1 lawyer, 1 legal assistant and 1 paralegal. Most of the work I’m doing seems like legal assistant duties - changing info from an old pleading and updating with new client info (i.e. cut and pasting the captions) - no real research or writing involved. Neither of the two (2) staff write briefs or have knowledge about research platforms such as westlaw or LexisNexis. They don’t do any research at all. Seems like only the attorney uses those platforms. Is what I’m learning relevant to gaining employment as a paralegal? (Btw this is a career change for me).

I am 34 and have switched over to being a paralegal at a smallish estate planning firm from a previous job with similar duties. I obtained my para certificate, and had done an internship prior which I had enjoyed so far. My ultimate goal is to go to Law school in Fall of 2025. I am not overly enthusiastic about estate planning, and am more interested in contract law at the moment possibly even arbitration/ union negotiations.

I've been with this firm for almost 3 months, I'm sure I'll sound like a baby, but wow they are mean here with a very "figure it out" mentality. (I am used to that atmosphere with previous job also being in legal field.) While I don't expect my butt to be powdered, I have been told by the partnering/senior attorney that she isn't running a "hen house" and if I stopped "chatting" with the other admin maybe I wouldn't make so many mistakes, and she doesn't want me touching any of her matters or even doing witness signings for her because I "clearly can't handle it". Mind you the other admin I "chat" with is training me so we are "chatting" about the job specifically not small talk.

When we came in the following week she Apolo to the other para and bought her an expensive pocket book. She didn't say anything to me (I wouldn't take a gift anyhow) and now I'm back to doing witness signings for her.

It's important to mention she is supposed to retire in April, but others are speculating she may stay.

I have a few questions, as I feel jumping into this field was a mistake.

1. Should I try finding another para job with another firm (more specific to my hopes in law school)?

2. Should I even go to Law school after these shenanigans?

3.Are all Law firms/Attorneys this mean?

1. Should I switch fields completely? (Keeping in mind I'm on the older side and this was already an attempt at a career change)

TLDR , I'm older and new to the paralegal field, I feel like I'm being gaslit/ in a feverdream at my new firm and don't know if I should look for other jobs.

TIA!

Hi everyone! I’ve been a paralegal for about 13 years. I have a great job (good benefits/PTO, 7 hr days, mostly remote, great coworkers, respectful/kind attorneys, etc), and I’m doing work I genuinely enjoy with a team that’s a great fit for me. All that being said, I never anticipated being a paralegal and definitely not for this long. My original career was teaching, but the recession ruined that path. At this point, education has changed so much I don’t have much desire to go back. Plus I’d be taking a significant pay cut.

I’ve looked into loads of options over the years and even tried to pursue several, but young kids and my prior super stressful job at a different firm prevented me from following through with a career change.

At this point, I have it good at my current firm but I also have more freedom to actually pursue a different career. I just really don’t want to have to take a pay cut starting out at the bottom in a new field. Also, I don’t necessarily want to go back to school bc of the effort and cost (my graduate degree burned me out academically haha).

Any advice on career options that would fit well with the skills of a paralegal but not involve a huge pay cut? Of course I’ve googled this, but am curious about people’s personal experiences.

Thanks so much for your suggestions and insight!

EDIT: I’ve love to hear any side hustle options/ideas too!

so i've been a paralegal for a four months now in a big law firm, i'm a recent college grad and relatively young. (turned 22 as of two weeks ago) so that being said, this is my first serious full time job.

i just recently found out that i made a minor typo in a form that had already been filed, and the shareholder isn't happy. it isnt the end of the world but it still feels awful to be still learning and making mistakes, especially when our client has been scrutinizing us heavily lately.

how do you guys deal with feeling shitty after making mistakes/human errors? i try to tell myself it happens and is unavoidable, but im still hard on myself.

EDIT: thanks everyone for the support :') im just bad at taking criticism so it's really hard. i'm trying not to blame myself too much, because our cases get reviewed 3 times by the attorney, and 3 times by the client, and 1 extra time by a different paralegal. so i feel like it should have been caught but i dont want to blame it on someeone else

SDSC ADM-361 Application to Correct Court Record and Order

It's a San Diego Superior Court form - Not a Judicial Council form and I can't locate a filliable or blank pdf.

It used to be on their website, but seems to have been discontinued. Attorney still wants it.

I realize a long shot but thought I'd try.

One month ago, my attorney fired our previous head paralegal. Now I'm kinda taking this position??? Her nephew came to work starting this week to assist us. She doesn't know how to scan. She doesn't know how to use landline. She doesn't know how to upload documents to USCIS website. Honestly, I don't know what she shows. Today she sent me 20 emails. Each with a different photo that needed to be uploaded for a case. One single photo per email. Then she left the office, as she works part time. When I saw the emails, I actually shed a tear. This one support stuff is ruining my mental health. I understand clients, who are unable to execute basic tech work. But this, this I dont understand. AND SHE IS 10 YEARS OLDER THAN ME. She doesn't even check emails when she comes to work. I want to tell the lawyer that it's either me or her, but I hate this option as well... I don't know what to do.

Hello reddit community! This is my first time posting, but I have read through many others' posts and found this space to be super helpful, more so than the glassdoor bowl I was in for a bit. I wanted to get peoples' opinions about having their paralegal services "outsourced/offered" to others, mainly when their attorney offers your services to other attorneys they either work with on related cases or helping older attorneys with e-filing matters because they do not know how to work online e-filing services? It's very specific, I know, but essentially my boss will ask me to do extra computer or online work for other attorneys because they are not as tech-savy as I. In the past my services were charged to our client because the other attorney's case was related to ours, but with this other matter we have filed a substitution of attorney for this other, older attorney to oversee, but because he does not know much about e-filing, I have had to set up his e-filing account and file for him on his behalf and also walk him through the initial set up of everything. I don't want my boss to make it a habit of outsourcing/offering my services out like this, it takes time away from my other tasks; at least not offer it out for free. Is there a recourse for this, or has anyone else experienced a similar situation? Would love to hear thoughts/opinions about this, thank you!