Working as a paralegal is a great way to take the first step into your legal career. I worked as a paralegal at B P Collins and it put me in the best position to start my training contract at the firm. In this latest trainee blog, I provide an insight into what’s involved as a paralegal and why it’s important to grab every opportunity that comes your way.
Type of work
As a paralegal, you are tasked with a mixture of legal and administrative work. The legal work is a great way to get a taster of what life would be like as a solicitor and is a good opportunity to practise your drafting skills, which are key to being a trainee.
The administrative work will help you to understand the amount of time and effort it takes to complete transactions, prepare for meetings and send documents to court. You will also be developing organisational and time management skills whilst improving your attention to detail.
The work will differ in each department, but whichever one you work in, you will gain invaluable skills.
Dealing with clients and fee earners
As a paralegal, you may be asked to take attendance notes at meetings and will undoubtedly be calling clients. This is a great way to prepare you for becoming a trainee. You can learn from fee earners interacting with clients and explaining the law and you will deal with all kinds of clients who will have different questions, issues that need to be resolved and goals to be achieved. Each time you will be learning something new that you can bring to the table as a trainee.
You will also deal with multiple fee earners at the same time, all of whom will have different demands and priorities. This will be a good opportunity to practise key skills including prioritisation, teamwork and communication.
If you are drafting emails and letters for fee earners, you will learn how their styles differ and how they present their advice and arguments. As a result you can start to work out the best style for you, well in advance of becoming a trainee.
Starting your training contract
Having worked as a paralegal at B P Collins, when I started my training contract with the firm I felt far more confident in my abilities. I already knew most of my colleagues from work social events and seeing them around the office, plus I had practised a lot of the skills required to be a trainee during my time as a paralegal so was able to take on tasks straight away.
Although I worked as a paralegal in the property practice, I started my training contract in the dispute resolution department. The type of work, law and documents did differ, however, with the skills I learned as a paralegal, I was able to pick up things faster and became a useful addition to the team quickly.
I am now almost at the end of my first seat and the time has flown by. I have gained so many skills and enjoyed new experiences, which will benefit my development and skill set for my next seat and beyond.
For those interested in a paralegal or trainee role at B P Collins, please contact our HR team at HRadmin@bpcollins.co.uk or call 01753 889995.
