What’s hot, what’s not: Experts weigh in on the trends paralegals should be watching in 2011
By DIANA SMITH, CPN Managing Editor
diana.smith@nc.lawyersweekly.com
The job market dried up, layoffs loomed and bonuses bit the dust.
That may be the gloomy legacy of 2010 when it comes to happenings in the legal industry. The recession left no one immune from the threat of job loss in what some referred to as a bloodbath of layoffs for both attorneys and non-lawyers alike.
The good news, however, is “many of us are still employed. We made it,” said Marge Dover, executive director of the National Association of Legal Assistants.
Sure, the industry had its share of horror stories. North Carolina paralegal Lynne DeVenny remembers sitting down to lunch at a CLE and hearing corporate paralegals talk about their impending layoffs, their last days falling right before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Still, the paralegal profession remains one of the fastest growing occupations in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Vicki Voisin, a nationally known paralegal consultant and former NALA president, said the key to netting the best legal jobs in a rebounding economy is simple – paralegals must make themselves competitive.
To do that, they need to have their eyes and ears open to the biggest trends going into 2011.
No. 1:
Talk ‘techie’
Regardless of practice area, being tech-savvy is a requirement of the job for today’s paralegals due to the massive amounts of information they review in both paper and electronic format.
Being proficient with e-mail is practically a given, but “we can’t keep our heads in the sand regarding e-discovery,” said Voisin.
Nor can you ignore the other “e’s” coming to an office or courthouse near you, such as e-signatures or e-filing, added DeVenny.
And in an economy that is still licking its wounds, attorneys expect their paralegals – and the ones they might hire one day – to be knowledgeable about new software or case management programs, or at least be able to pick up on them quickly.
Social media is also growing as a networking and learning tool.
”No online presence [is] definitely not hot,” DeVenny said.
Computer competency also widens career possibilities for paralegals by giving them the opportunity to work virtually.
Instead of working in a traditional brick and mortar office, being tech-oriented gives paralegals more flexibility in their own lives and keeps them active in an industry often criticized for not cultivating a healthy work/life balance.
Also, virtual paralegals aren’t limited by the boundaries of their city or state in order to get work. A South Carolina paralegal might get work from an attorney in North Dakota one day, while simultaneously tackling a case for a lawyer out of Chicago.
Voisin, of Michigan, recently retired from working day-to-day in a law firm in order to work from home and focus on some of her other work as a paralegal writer and consultant.
“I do have three attorneys that I work for here in town,” she said. “I’ll just e-mail my work to them. And because I do that, I can still work under the supervision of an attorney and have the time to do the writing and courses I want to do, plus support my high-maintenance habit. A girl’s gotta get her hair done.”
No. 2:
Certification’s still popular
Certification and paralegal regulation remain some of the most talked about developments in the industry, both nationally and in the Carolinas.
The Florida Bar recently formed a committee to study whether to create a mandatory registration program for paralegals. A voluntary program was established in 2007.
Although discussion is only in the introductory phases, “the goal would be that anyone using the title ‘paralegal’ would need to be licensed,” said Lori Holcomb, Florida Registered Paralegal counsel.
Although the South Carolina Bar continues to reject the establishment of some sort of paralegal regulation program, the North Carolina State Bar Board of Paralegal Certification still sees a healthy number of applicants to take its exam.
Last September, 171 paralegals sat for the N.C. certification exam. Of that number, 131 passed, bringing the total number of N.C.-certified paralegals up to 4,343, according to Tara Wilder, assistant director of the Board for Paralegal Certification.
Regardless of state certification, Voisin advocates for paralegals to obtain some sort of national certification through organizations like NALA, NALS or the National Federation of Paralegal Association.
“I still think that’s why having a portable certification is very important,” she explained. “The state-specific certifications are wonderful and certainly great to get, but when you move from Florida to Oklahoma and have a state certification, nobody’s going to really care.”
No. 3:
Practice area trends
It may not the greatest time to be a real estate paralegal, but the market is plentiful in the bankruptcy and foreclosure arenas.
Intellectual property is on the hot list, too, and a good area for paralegals to consider because there aren’t a lot with IP experience out there, suggested DeVenny.
For example, North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park has an abundance of pharmaceutical and computer companies that could give paralegals with knowledge of patents and copyright a leg-up in the job market.
“As long as invention and innovation exist, intellectual property lawyers, paralegals and other professionals will be needed to procure the rights to new ideas and protect the ownership of existing creations,” wrote Sally Kane, editor-in-chief of Paralegal Today, in an online article.
Other areas that still aren’t bouncing back yet: probate and estate planning, said Voisin.
“When the economy is down, people will tend to not spend the money on estate plans, so there has been a downturn, but I do think it’s a valuable skill to have,” she explained.
No. 4:
New job titles
Beyond straight-out legal work, paralegals are also taking on new positions in law firms that allow them not only to utilize their legal expertise, but also enables them to take on stronger leadership roles as project managers.
Rather than just execute the legal work required for a matter, paralegal project managers oversee that particular project from inception through conclusion.
That means they communicate directly with clients and the firm to make sure expectations are clear, deadlines are being met and money is being saved.
Through a project manager, “the firm better understands the resources needed, the questions to be answered and what is to be produced – they spend less time chasing rabbits – and productivity is increased,” said Voisin.
