applying for a job as paralegal

[neolla 1]

Hi everybody

I just received my work permit and the next step for me is to find a job. i am planning to seek employment as paralegal.

i've been reading ads for employment and most employers require that an applicant should submit a sample of his/her own writing. Can anybody give me an idea as to what kind of writing should this be, or what topic should i write about? any advice will be appreciated. thanks in advance

[Jasman0717 8]

Normally, a true paralegal has a formal education in the field with a degree. My daughter works for her Mother and does paralegal work to an extent. She doesn't do much of the legal research but does do all the document preparation. About all the attorney does is sign the paperwork and show up to court

[Jenn! 918]

I'm not an expert on the subject (or on any subject for that matter ), but I would think that a university research paper would do well.

[rebeccajo 14]

Normally, a true paralegal has a formal education in the field with a degree. My daughter works for her Mother and does paralegal work to an extent. She doesn't do much of the legal research but does do all the document preparation. About all the attorney does is sign the paperwork and show up to court

Not necessarily so. There are MANY in this town with no formal certification other than TONS OF EXPERIENCE.

Do you have any examples of what you did in your home country?

[neolla 1]

Normally, a true paralegal has a formal education in the field with a degree. My daughter works for her Mother and does paralegal work to an extent. She doesn't do much of the legal research but does do all the document preparation. About all the attorney does is sign the paperwork and show up to court

Not necessarily so. There are MANY in this town with no formal certification other than TONS OF EXPERIENCE.

Do you have any examples of what you did in your home country?

_________________

actually, im a lawyer in my home country and have been for 8 years already. and im planning to take the NY bar maybe next year. at present im doing volunteer work for an NGO (specializing in immigration, special ed, domestic violence, etc) in NY.

i have a lot of papers written in my home country of course, in and out of court, i am just nor sure what this employer are asking for a paper though. whew

[rebeccajo 14]

Send 'em your best Motion for Summary Judgment!

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Send 'em your best Motion for Summary Judgment!

Agreed. If you have any legal writing from your practice back home in english, definately submit that. A motion or a brief would look impressive. But then again, you might want to check with them about what they're looking for. Paralegal duties vary widely firm to firm. They could just be looking for something that shows you can write a decent letter. Heck, to cover both, you might want to include a fake letter to the court and a motion, to show skills in both areas.

At our firm, paralegals will often write up the letters that accompany legal documents, but we don't have much of an opportunity to actually produce anything meaty. That work mainly goes to the associates. I've worked some places where paralegals are no more than glorified paper shufflers

[mychelle 1]

Hi everybody

I just received my work permit and the next step for me is to find a job. i am planning to seek employment as paralegal.

i've been reading ads for employment and most employers require that an applicant should submit a sample of his/her own writing. Can anybody give me an idea as to what kind of writing should this be, or what topic should i write about? any advice will be appreciated. thanks in advance

hi neolla,

i'm a paralegal in the los angeles area. i suggest since you're going to challenge the bar in a few months, to seek out legal recruiters/agency for assistance. they'll have temporary paralegal positions available in your area. just do a search...you can try lapa.org or legalstaff.com (there are many others).

writing samples can range from motions that you filed, briefs that you wrote or even a simple correspondence between opposing counsel and/or clients. as for me, i used my writing projects in school as a writing sample.

[neolla 1]

thanks a lot for the reply guys

good luck everyone