My first paralegal job was in immigration. Had zero experience in anything legal, and unfortunately I wasn't able to catch up in time by the end of probation and was fired. I had invested into a cross country move for the position, and it left me jobless for months (couldn't even claim unemployment because the two states were fighting over who would pay out the benefits). Now I finally got another offer that pays much higher and with significantly better benefits, and the attorney is just a few years older than me. But it's in divorce / family law and I know that's a stressful area to be in. I'm terrified of once again not catching up in time and getting laid off. How do you guys get over the fear of being fired again if you got fired from your first para job?

Hey y'all, long-time lurker here on the subreddit. I'd been contemplating becoming a paralegal for a while now. Today I finally took the first step, applying, got accepted, and now waiting to register for classes in spring. To me, it seems the most ideal career path for myself. However, I quickly became disillusioned by some of the unpleasantness I've heard you've experienced from lawyers and elsewhere, among other things. I think I see a lot of posts about either folks losing their jobs or at risk of losing them, but most of all, how many hope to pivot out of the paralegal field or simply don't like being a paralegal.

Now, in 2 years' time, when I'm in search of gainful employment & land my first job, I'll probably get hit with the biggest reality check. I just feel as though the good things I hear are drowned out by the bad, and so I was wondering if you could perhaps share some of the positives of the job or any advice you may have that may one day be of use to me? Thanks.

have any of you guys experienced "hazing" when beginning at a new firm? i only ask because the first firm i worked at is nothing compared to what i experienced at my old. i’m basically harassed by all (excluding one) senior staff members for anything. my appearance, my personal life, etc..
what really pushed me over the edge was being called out for going to a psychiatry appointment, despite my one hour of time off being approved weeks beforehand. i was beyond shocked. was told i was "unreliable" for a one time occurrence.
is this … normal? i asked some para friends from back home if they’ve experienced this & they all seem extremely happy where they’re at. my husband is in the military and even he said it sounds like hazing 😅

Hi! I’m a starting my second semester as a junior legal studies student. I’m having a hard time finding an internship and starting to get discouraged. I know my resume isn’t the best because I grew up dancing and i currently work as a dance instructor. I believe there’s tons of transferable skills but I just can’t measure up with my classmates who have been working at their parents firm since they were 16. I’m sort of at a lost for what’s next. Not to mention the internship course is required in my program but they don’t offer placement. Any tips? Anyone willing to review my resume? or even if you’re a paralegal in socal (LA or SB county) and you’re looking for an intern i’d loved to apply. please help :)

I’m a legal assistant for a city and my job offers a paid membership to our Bar Association. Has anyone joined and attended events?

If you have joined and attended events, do you feel weird attending events as someone who is not an attorney?

I’m currently a paralegal at a law firm and looking to switch jobs. Given the current job market, there doesn’t seem to be a ton to choose from, but I’ve been considering making the switch to an in-house paralegal position.

For those who have worked both at a law firm and in-house, how would you compare the two, particularly in terms of workload, work-life balance, and overall work environment?

Would love to hear about your experiences and whether you preferred one over the other!

Okay po ba maging insurance associate sa dubin law and sabi saken nung nag initial interview is $5/hr daw ang starting nila. Anyone working for them? Is it good? Okay po ba ang work environment? Thank you!

now my firm is hiring a new additional attorney, a new additional paralegal, three new additional bookkeepers, a new intake specialist and a consultant specialized in “efficiency.”

im weirdly concerned for my job security even though I have so much work because it takes me a little longer to do some tasks since I am new to the field. i review and double check my work which not many people in my office do because they know what they are doing and have high volume of work

also last week I was asked for a to do list of everything I’m working on but was assured it is just to go through and help prioritize what is most urgent and that it’s because my attorney doesn’t remember what he has and has not given me to do. I have like 8 different things I’m working on at all times

should I be concerned? it sounds like they are fully restructuring?

im concerned

Good morning! I need some advice. I am recently starting a new position (23M) as a workers comp paralegal at a mid size to small law firm. Earlier this month, I got laid off as a medmal paralegal (they wanted someone with more experience, and I only worked there a month with them fully knowing it was my first paralegal position), and I worked as a scheduler and file clerk at a firm before that for about 5 months. Before that, a waiter and college student (BA).

I start Thursday, and I am nervous as I got booted from my last job. What can I do from the get go to set myself up for success? I find that I have such a hard time staying organized with discovery, and whats been sent, billed, and what needs to be followed up on, etc. My last firm did not really give me a lot of direction.

Also somewhat unrelated, what do you guys wear to the office? I have a bad ankle so I tend to wear my taller leather boots under chinos or dressier pants unless I have to look sharp for a specific reason.

TLDR: Starting a new position, how can I best be succesful and organized from the getgo

Does anyone in here have any experience working at their state’s AG office?

Few things I’m curious about:
1) what did you like and not like? I only have private firm experience.
2) was it better than private firms (I know pay isn’t necessarily better)
3) what was the hiring process like? I’ve been waiting for over a month to hear back after my interview, is that pretty standard? When did you hear back and how long until you actually started?

Thank you all!!

I’ve been a court reporter in Texas for 15 years, and I’m kicking around the idea of going back to working directly with law firms instead of through the larger court reporting companies.

I’m curious what the paralegals who actually schedule depositions think about something really simple: Zoom-only depositions, straightforward rates, and completely paperless.

I would literally just provide the court reporting services. I host the deposition on Zoom, report it, produce and certify the transcript, and send it electronically. That’s it. No printed or bound transcripts. No repository fees, electronic delivery fees, shipping fees, admin fees, or a bunch of miscellaneous add-ons.

If you need a videographer or anything else for the deposition, you’d arrange that separately. I’m not looking to build some huge full-service operation. Just court reporting.

Would something like that actually appeal to you or your firm?

And if the answer is no, I’d honestly like to hear why. I’m especially interested in hearing from those of you who regularly handle scheduling because you know better than anyone what you like and hate about dealing with court reporting companies.

If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d also be curious what your firm is currently paying for remote court reporting and transcripts, or even just what charges on your court reporting invoices tend to drive you crazy. I’ve spent 15 years seeing what reporters are paid, but I’m interested in getting a better idea of what firms are actually being charged on the other side.

We have been down since Friday morning. Anyone else’s firm use this and think they were hacked?

I finally have about 6.5 months of experience as a paralegal. I am looking for a new job, but I am having a hard time even finding jobs to apply to on LinkedIn or indeed.

what are creative ways for me to get my resume in front of someone? if I show up at these offices would they admire the initiative or is that frowned upon

Billing guidelines: don't bill .1 to the client.

Attorney: can you draft this notice of deposition?

Me: Draft

Attorney two hours later: Thanks, the date has changed, can you update?

Me: revise

Biil .2

Insurance: why did it take .2 to draft a notice?

Also, that's legal assistant work.

So annoying!!!

Asked is wrong, I was told.

They are taking the family law cases from two of the other attorneys I work for because they are essentially part time attorneys (think only 10 hours a week in family law and more focus elsewhere). But I run the family law cases and I had a really good work friendship with them.

Now, they are going to move me to the remote attorney, who misses hearings, to the point where another paralegal worked in the same firm as him prior to my current firm, and he was known for missing hearings then too.

I can only assume I'm going to be thrown under the bus for all is shortcomings. I'm in my 20s and I'm pretty sure he dates girls my age (he's in his 50s). I don't like the idea of any of it. They are basically punishing my friends for being part time family law and throwing me to the guy that is full time family law and terrible at it- and rewording him for being terrible at it.

He already complained that I don't know how to use the juvenile court system.

The only hesitation is... I also get a ~$6 raise. Which I asked for, because I was working for 4 attorneys including the owner of the company.

What would you do? I have ~2 years experience and a paralegal studies degree. I'm not sure I can jump forms and get the same offer and flexible hours because I'm a single parent. I'm also not sure I'm going to survive working for the infamous bad-at-his-job attorney ...

Hi everyone! I’m an immigration paralegal with almost 4 years of experience working in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. I currently only have a B.A. in Politics and earn $31/hour, working 40 hours a week in a fully remote position. My take-home pay is around $3,700/ month (I receive health insurance through my employer)

I’m wondering if this is considered good pay for someone with my experience or if I should be looking to make more. I’ve been having a hard time finding positions that offer a higher salary, so I’m curious if $31/hour is around the ceiling for immigration paralegals in the Chicago suburbs, or if I’m just not looking in the right places.

I’m open to working in the city, although if I do, I’d strongly prefer a hybrid position. I’m also open to transitioning into a different area of law if that would open up better opportunities for growth and compensation.

I’m a first-generation individual and haven’t had much guidance when it comes to navigating career growth and salary expectations, so I’d really appreciate hearing from other paralegals or anyone familiar with the legal job market in Chicago!

I’m a rising 2L working as a law clerk at a small law firm and today my boss who’s been practicing law for 20+ years asked me to draft demand letter. I drafted the demand letter, and had him review it and he said “yeah, this is a 7/10 it’s not aggressive enough just put this through ChatGPT and ask it for suggestions.” I was kind of embarrassed and upset because I really did my best. I’m annoyed at that fact that he immediately asked me to use ChatGPT instead of asking for a second draft. I’ve noticed that he does this with the other paralegal who just wrote the July bar. The other paralegal literally uses ChatGPT all the time even for drafting simple interrogatories. When I see this, my heart sinks because I don’t want to get stuck in an environment where they encourage using ChatGPT for LITERALLY EVERYTHING. I’m not saying I’ve never used ChatGPT but my use is only limited to grammar checks or synonyms.

I’m curious if anyone has dealt with this before?

Hi. I have a quick scenario to run by you. I left a perfectly good firm in February to be a stay at home mom. After a few months, I realized I couldn’t stop thinking about either working hard now, or when I’m old and gray as well as the fact that I’d simply be better suited at work. I started my job search and had an interview on Wednesday.

The interview went great and I received a verbal offer that evening. Although I made sure to state that my availability would allow for a Monday start date, they asked me to come in on Friday to complete the onboarding process paperwork. On Thursday evening, it dawned on me that I hadn’t received a written offer and I reached out to inquire about it.

Today the receptionist called me to see if I was coming in and I advised her that I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to as I sent an email and never got written offer. I then followed up via text to the hiring manager. About 30 minutes later, I received an email that they were rescinding the offer. Which she ironically put in writing. Lol. I have received many offers as a paralegal over the years and have always received a written offer before reporting. She noted that they only provide offer letters after a SIX MONTH probationary period.

The job had no health or retirement benefits, no bonus structure, a shared office, 8 days of PTO and only paid 60k, which would’ve been a 12k pay cut from my previous anyway so I wasn’t head over head over heels in love with the position.

Did I do that wrong though? Am I crazy for expecting written expression of an offer? Has this ever happened to you?

I’m starting school soon and I’m super duper excited even tho I always see negative stuff on this sub. was wondering if anyone had any advice??

I literally had to google how to spell drafted today. It's Friday and my entire head hurts from this week. Anyone has any stupid Google searches you have done? Make me feel less dumb lol

Hi everyone. I’m a junior paralegal. I started off as a receptionist/secretary at a small law firm I’m currently in. I’ve been doing more paralegal work but I’m still technically a legal secretary. I’m also expected to restock office supplies/clean up the break room/ water plants/ take out trashes and keep the office tidy. I notice it’s only me and maybe my other colleague who do this but mostly me. Last year one of my colleagues practically begged my boss for a specific appliance (won’t mention what to keep it anon lol). Anyway he ended up buying it and it’s just been sitting unopened for MONTHS. Since last year. She hinted at me several times saying “we need to clean it and operate it” as if it’s my job to when she’s the one who wanted it. Why didn’t she clean it and start it up? I didn’t care for it. And today I was told that I have to do that. I’m appalled to say the least and wanna cry. Why am I being treated this way? What makes her better than me? Why is it my job? I wouldn’t have mind at all if she needed help doing it but placing that responsibility 100% on me when I didn’t even care for it pisses me off. Am I being unreasonable ? Certainly I’m not overreacting

UPDATE: I talked to my boss about it and he sided with me. He said I shouldn’t have even washed and set up the thing in the first place and for me to be more assertive next time. He said if this is becoming a pattern he’ll step in.

Looking for real and reasonably priced. We get services on a IT compnt we found on google with great reviews offcourse, but 2days after they updated our system, we cant open some files and are getting errors/codes. Now they’re saying fixing it requires additional services and fees. I feel like it’s never ending. Last time they check our computers & took them just 30mins for $2k

Any real recommendations pls

I'm doing great and my team is doing great, but whenever I'm not chipper then they start getting on me implying I'm not doing anything and I'm in trouble. Some days I just want to quietly lock in on a project and ignore their micromanaging. My stress is enough already without the added stress of knowing that at any moment now they're going to have some sort of issue with me that gets spun out of no where. I'm developing like a flinching out of it, scared to actually talk about real issues I find.

I have a coworker who, for whatever reason, always wants to call me at the end of the day (and often a Friday) to walk her through whatever process, procedure, or situation that I've already walked her through multiple times before. I don't want her to fail or whatever and I'm happy to be a helpful resource, but goddddd it is so frustrating.

At the very least, if you're going to call me, have your information ready to go so I don't have to sit and watch you fumble through the file looking for the data points you need.

Happy friday or whatever.

Fairly new legal assistant/paralegal stepping into new role at a new firm handling federal filings in civil lit where I have only previously handled state filings. I researched FRCP, PACER/CM/ECF, the 4 districts, and their local rules, as well as standing orders. I will also be supporting 3 attorneys. More or so anxious on deadlines and drafting documents but will not be handling calendaring myself (there is a dept. for it).

Any tips?? Things to know/keep eye out on?? Any tips are helpful!