What is the difference between law clerk and paralegal

The option of "reading law" has been abolished in most states in favor of attendance at accredited three-year law school programs.

As law students, law clerks often take temporary summer positions as researchers for attorneys or work as aides to judges for one or two years after graduating from law school. The law clerk vs. Current law students compete intensely for summer law clerk positions — also known as summer associate jobs — and post-law school positions as temporary law clerks for judges.

Law clerks who work as summer associates are well-paid for their work because law firms use these temporary worker slots to fill their future attorney job openings. Summer associates deemed satisfactory by law firms may receive job offers at the end of their summer stint, dependent upon completion of law school with high grades.

Law firms often give higher salaries and added job seniority to recently hired new law school graduates who have previously worked as judges' law clerks because of their added "behind the scenes" court system experience and contacts. Legal assistants and paralegals are new within the field of law, explains Duke University.

The essential fields that need to be covered during the course of law school include Constitutional law, Criminal law, Family law, Civil procedure, Ethics, and Evidence. In addition, law clerks have completed courses that focus on legal research and writing.

In general, their education provides elaborate teachings of law, which gives law clerks more than just the basic scope of the legal industry. In contrast to a law clerk, a paralegal is not required to attend law school nor take part in any college course for that matter. Paralegals are obligated to take up at least a one to two year certification program that covers the complete details of the administrative tasks and duties they will be performing in a legal setting.

This type of program aims to educate students on the principal points of a paralegal, such as complaint drafts, responses, and motions. They will most likely also be taught how to effectively manage the schedule of an attorney, liaise with court personnel regarding court dates, handle correspondence, communicate with clients, and take care of billing.

Regardless of the fact that most paralegals do not possess a degree in law, they are still highly crucial assets to law firms and attorneys. The biggest difference between a law clerk and a paralegal can be found in the extent of legal advice they are able to provide.

If an occasion arises wherein the clients have queries regarding the merits of the case or would like to know how to proceed with a specific matter, it would be the duty of the supervising attorney to answer these questions. In comparison, law clerks are qualified to confer legal advice to clients. In fact, it is one of their main purposes to provide summaries of law to judges in order to help in deciding the ruling for court cases.

However, even if the extensive education of law clerks put them in the position to offer legal advice, there are quite a number of jurisdictions that find it illegal for law clerks to dispense legal advice.

In most places, this consequential task is usually reserved for law school graduates who have passed the Bar exam. They have completed the basic course load required in law school, which comprises the following areas: Criminal law, Constitutional law, Civil procedure, Family law, Ethics, Evidence.

Law clerks also have completed courses on legal research and writing. They know how to provide case law research to judges. In fact, when judges are presented with unique or complex cases, their law clerk is usually the person who does all the case law research. They summarize their research in a brief and provide it to the judge with a recommendation on how the judge should rule in a particular case.

Paralegals , on the other hand, have not attended law school. Most paralegals complete a one to two-year certification program in which they learn how to complete the administrative tasks required in a legal setting. For example, they learn how to complete the following tasks: Draft complaints, motions, responses, etc.

Paralegals, while they do not have a law degree, do have specialized training that make them invaluable assets to law firms and solo attorneys.

The biggest difference between a paralegal and a law clerk is the ability to dispense legal advice. Although paralegals often meet with clients, they are not allowed to give that client legal advice. They can answer procedural questions and help clients fill out forms such as a case information statement but they cannot tell a client how to proceed.