What Paralegals Can and Cannot Do (and what they shouldn’t)

Paralegals have a large role in the efficiency of law firms. Their responsibilities have gradually increased over the years and they are now responsible for duties that were once only handled by an attorney. Although paralegals are not allowed by law to give legal advice, they are able to assist the attorney with all types of legal work and essentially have the same duties as an attorney.

There are certain do’s and don’t when it comes to being a paralegal. There are certain things that the paralegal is responsible for and certain things that the lawyer is responsible for. For reasons of legality, a paralegal is limited in the duties that they can perform while working at a law firm. Even though there are limitations to what a paralegal is allowed to work on, the truth is that many paralegals do a lot of the attorney’s work. The attorneys trust the legal assistants to understand the law and understand the types of documents being prepared.