Paralegal: Career Choice, Not Stepping Stone

"So, when are you going to law school?" Someone will ask me that, inadvertently mistaking a loaded question for a compliment of the highest caliber. That someone will look surprised when I say, "Never. I've chosen to be a paralegal." That someone also doesn't know how that question will follow me home, pop open a cold diet Coke, and flop down on the couch with me to nag me during commercials. Am I missing something? Did I make the wrong career decision? Did I settle for less? I'm left with nagging doubts about my career choice, and the well-meaning interrogator thought that he was complimenting me. As someone said on a paralegal message board I frequent, I wonder if good veterinarians get told that they should have gone to medical school.

The well-meaning folks who ask that question are very indicative of the general perception of paralegals. There are plenty of people who think that paralegals are either on their way to law school and using their paralegal job experience as a foot in the door, or just "can't cut it" in law school. There are lawyers who look down on the profession as a dead-end job, as one lawyer indicated when I told him what kind of classes I was taking. This lawyer then urged me to go to law school.

I like being a legal assistant/paralegal/whatever moniker you choose for it. I like working normal (for the most part) hours. I enjoy the time I spend with clients, and I'm actually relieved not to be giving them legal advice or representing in court. After over two years in the profession, this is where I want to be, not law school. As a paralegal, I can still have time for the rest of my life while having a challenging legal career.

Contrary to some beliefs, being a paralegal is not a dead-end job at all. At large firms, such as Goodwin Proctor LLP in Boston, new paralegals start out as "case assistants," performing basic tasks for two years, until they can handle more complicated assignments as "legal assistants." From there, it's definitely not a dead end. At the top tier, "specialists" perform tasks usually done by associates, with the exception of advanced legal research, counseling clients, appearing in court, and directly practicing law. These specialists also mentor and train new paralegals, as well as working with new associates in the effective use of paralegals. At Goodwin Proctor, being a paralegal is a career move, not a "stepping stone" to law school.

Goodwin Proctor isn't unique in providing a tiered legal assistant program. Arent Fox LLP, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., offers a similar four-tier career path for its paralegals. Baker Botts L.L.P., an international law firm with offices in New York and London, among other cities, hires legal assistants on three levels. Baker Botts boasts a low attorney to legal assistant ratio to allow its legal assistants to develop expertise in different areas of law.

The trend in larger firms is to provide efficient, economic legal services to clients and save the "heavy lifting" for the attorneys. A good paralegal can start out in a firm that may not have a structured legal assistant program and move into tasks traditionally performed by associates. As more firms realize the value of using paralegals to complete routine legal tasks, the career opportunities can only grow. During my professional job search, I interviewed at a firm that did not have a legal assistant program, but was planning to start one because the firm realized the importance of paralegals. By adding a structured paralegal program, firms reap the benefits of new and seasoned paralegals.

What I want to ask is, "Why would I want to go to law school?" I've encountered enough new lawyers to know that law school would only teach me how to read cases and argue them. I've corrected enough grammar in outgoing material to know that law school wouldn't sharpen my writing skills at all. I've had to instruct some new lawyers in the rudiments of civil procedure. These are all things that apparently were not learned in law school by past and present colleagues. At the end of three years (if I was fortunate enough to be able to go full-time, which is unlikely), I'd have a shiny new J.D. to hang on my wall and just a little more knowledge than I have now.

"If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have gone the route you're taking," said my lawyer buddy Jill, referring to my paralegal career choice. "You probably know just as much, if not more, than I do. I just have a piece of paper on the wall and had to sit for a test, which doesn't mean you'll be a good lawyer."

Also at the end of those three years (most likely four or five for me, because I would need to work to support myself through law school), I would also have a mountain of debt. Tuition, books, bar prep courses, and the bar exam would all drain my finances. I would be broke and most likely searching in vain for a job upon graduation. Right now, attorney positions are hard to find. There are plenty of law school graduates working as paralegals because the job market was so tight. So in addition to knowing a little more than I do now, I would also be putting my Chapter 7 knowledge (which I've gained through a previous job) to use if I didn't find a job right away, or I would be working as a paralegal anyway.

Hypothetically, let's assume that I do get a job as an attorney after I graduate and pass the bar. Then what? From what I've seen, new lawyers work ridiculously long hours learning the ropes. New lawyers expend a great deal of energy winning the partners' favor, in hopes that they, too, will be partners someday. Once they make partner, the long hours don't stop, either. I've seen fairly young partners working ten-hour days. While this lifestyle may work for some people, it is definitely not for me. I need time for myself, for my family and friends.

All these factors have greatly influenced my decision to be a paralegal and not a lawyer. Yes, I could go to law school. I'm sure I could do well on my LSATs, have stellar letters of recommendation, and make law review after my first year. I'm sure I could pass the bar on my first try. And I'm sure I'd make a great attorney. But the sacrifices I'd have to make far outweigh the benefits of being a paralegal, which still offers me a chance to exercise my mind on a daily basis.

Being a paralegal is a career choice, not a stepping stone to law school, for many. Paralegals are bright, intelligent, hardworking individuals who are just as qualified to be lawyers as most attorneys, but for whatever reasons, have chosen to be paralegals. Now if only more people would realize that, then "the question" wouldn't have a chance to get comfortable on the couch.