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With new inventions, discoveries, advancements and technological involvement, people have tremendous career options for pursuing. Paralegal is a popular choice for people who have law as their passion. Due to the increasing demand for legal services, paralegals have a variety of work. Learning about the reasons for being a Paralegal in India can help you understand if it is a good option for you to pursue it as a career and become a Paralegal.
Generally in India, law interns and graduates work as paralegals to lawyers. Unlike US and Canada, a paralegal is not a separate recognised profession. There are no laws governing paralegals in India. Since the number of amendments and case laws has increased tremendously over the period, lawyers in India recognised the role of paralegal. Lawyers began to understand that paralegal is cost-effective as well as a great legal sub-ordinate. In this article, we discuss the top reasons for being a Paralegal in India, how to become a Paralegal as well as Paralegal course to be pursued.
Here are the reasons for being a Paralegal in India and consider before deciding to become a Paralegal in India.
1. Education
In India, generally, to become a Paralegal there are no specific educational qualification requirements. There are various ways to become a Paralegal in India. Firstly and most commonly, the person pursuing law graduation undergoes an internship with a law firm and works as a Paralegal. Secondly, a qualified lawyer works as a sub-ordinate on an assignment basis with another law firm or lawyer. Thirdly, a person without having or pursuing any law degree, work under some prominent law firm and gain legal experience.
For becoming a lawyer, either 5 years of integrated LLB or 2 years of LLB after graduation are the options available. While Paralegal courses are offered by various institutes. One can pursue the course and become a Paralegal.
2. Opportunity for work
Paralegals work on the back end of the law firm. They are most probably responsible for legal research, case study, processing documentation, investigation of the case, etc. This work demands lots of time as well as patience. Therefore, this is one of the reasons for being a Paralegal in India for a law-passionate person.
3. Opportunity in other industries
Paralegals are not limited to working in law firms only. For instance, big corporations, financial companies, government organisations, armed agencies, banks, insurance and others use paralegals in their in-house legal departments.
4. Self-employed
Paralegals can work as freelance rather than work for one organisation or law firm. On a contract basis, paralegals work under the direct supervision of the employer. This opportunity is very indeed favourable to those Paralegals who want to be their boss and set their own schedule.
5. Specialisation
As a paralegal, you can choose to specialise in a specific subject of law.
For instance, Intellectual Property Rights, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Laws, legal documentation, Company Law, etc. Paralegals specialise in some subjects and thereafter market themselves. Firms or organisations hire them for special subjects on case to case basis.
6. Communication Skills
Good communication skill development is also one of the reasons for being a Paralegal in India. Paralegals coordinate with the witnesses, police, government departments and others. For example, Paralegal working on a murder case on the defence side need to perform the tasks as under:
- Review and break down the appropriate documents
- Help in initiating as well as engaging in criminal prosecutions
- Investigating as well as analysing facts
- Planning trial strategy
- Meeting with parties, witnesses as well as experts
- Prepare criminal trials
- Legal research and drafting motions, opinions, petitions, demands, and disclosures
- Handle large volumes of cases
7. Age no bar
To become a Paralegal, age is just a number. At any age, a person can become a Paralegal, provided he is passionate to learn and explore the legal procedure. Even if a person is of non-legal background, he can pursue Paralegal work.
8. Always in demand
Lawyer and Paralegal are like two peas in a pod. Moreover, the legal profession is deeply rooted. With the increasing number of legal matters, lawyers are in great demand. Just as the birds of a feather flock together, lawyers and paralegals go together.
9. Good remuneration
Initially as an intern, in India, a person cannot get good remuneration. But when you specialise in a subject and work on a contract, the sky is the limit. Even in employment, once a person gets the grip, a flourishing career is ahead.
10. Location does not matter
At this time, law firms are available in every part of India. Location is not a bar to getting paralegal work at the present time. Further, location is not a hurdle for learning a paralegal course. Various online and distance learning courses are available. Big firms are generally located in metro cities in India. A paralegal located in a small town can work for big firms on local matters as associates. There is a boom in LPO ie. Legal Process Outsourcing. Paralegals can provide their services from India to foreign law firms. Hence, this merit is very important among all the reasons for being a Paralegal in India.
11. Always learning
The thirst for learning is a quality of a good Paralegal. Paralegals get in-depth knowledge of the case. Each case teaches new things.
12. Updated
By and large, the legal field keeps on amending. Paralegals should be updated in the subject he works.
13. Problem fixer
The paralegals know the case from scratch. Since they have worked on every detail, somethings they become troubleshooters for the experienced lawyer even. This opportunity is outstanding among all the reasons for being a Paralegal in India.
14. Paralegals are in a good position to join a law school
Paralegals grab practical knowledge of the legal field. If they decided to pursue further study of legal graduation from law school, they will be in a better position. Since they are practically ahead of others. Even there is a chance that the law firm or organisation where you worked, finance your studies.
15. Diversified experience
Paralegals work from the grass-roots. They witness a variety of cases. For instance, they experienced office management, client management, documentation process, handling government departments, etc. This diversified experience increases their knowledge as well as provides intensive learning.
Paralegal course:
If you are excited to pursue a career path in the Paralegal field, take the first step towards joining Henry Harvin’s Paralegal course.
Other courses offered by Henry Harvin:
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