The Real Paralegals of Miami (and Broward and Palm Beach too…)
Welcome to The Real Housewives Paralegals of Miami …
As we all know, because there is no set requirement on what “makes” a paralegal in Florida (or pretty much anywhere else) it can be kind of hard to figure out what employers are REALLY looking for… It might be no experience or it might be 3-5 years of experience, it might be a certificate, it might be a degree, maybe they want a CP, an ACP, an RP, a CRP, an FRP, an FCP… (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, please read: ABC’s of Paralegal Designations in Florida)… maybe they want a complete newbie with no experience and no education because they want to build a super paralegal from the ground up…
The only thing that is more fluid than the requirements to BE a paralegal, are the job duties of a paralegal… maybe you deal with clients, maybe not, maybe you do calendaring, maybe not, maybe you schedule hearings or depositions, maybe not… maybe you do complex legal research on critical issues, maybe you aren’t even allowed to logon to Westlaw… maybe you work 80 hours a week or maybe, like a banker, you work an easy 35… the function of a paralegal varies in every office… maybe you bill your time, maybe not…
So, if someone is interested in becoming a paralegal in South Florida, whether they are a young college student or a late career changer, how can they have ANY clue what do expect? The same goes for people who have been in their paralegal position long term and want to make a move, but don’t really know what is realistic for the job market. This is where The Real Paralegals of Miami (and Broward and Palm Beach) come into play… I would like to show people how real working paralegals got where they are today and what their situation is like…
I am putting together a questionnaire, kind of an interview, for paralegals. There will be a variety of questions dealing with education, duties, working conditions, experience, salary and more. (Salary is touchy, I know, it is completely voluntary – don’t worry)… Do you have a particular issue you are curious about? If so, let me know and I’ll include it. If you are willing to fill out the questionnaire, PLEASE let me know. You can choose to remain completely anonymous if you want the freedom to be brutally honest!
Stay tuned!
“Brutally honest” LOL! My middle name!
I feel like there might be a lot of anonymous profiles, lol.
Well needed information! Count me in!
Hi, Linda —
I will be happy to participate in your questionnaire.
With a couple of “notable exceptions”, I’ve truly enjoyed my paralegal career.
Karin Zimmerman
karinannzimmerman@gmailcom
PH : (954) 643-9656
Thanks Chere and Karin!! Stay tuned for the Questionnaire!!
Count me in!
I will do the questionnaire.
I will gladly participate!
If you are interested in including information from SWFL (Lee / Collier / Charlotte) please count me in.
Thanks Janna, stay tuned and perhaps we will!!
Count me in too!
I’ll do it!
Just wanted to say to Linda, you certainly hit the nail on the head with this article. I know you are really busy at the moment but I too would love to read the responses from the paralegals in the community. As a newly graduated paralegal (Certificate in Plg studies) I am finding the search to actually break into the field to be a little daunting as I have no experience and employers seem to only want 2 things LOTS of experience or just someone to remain their secretary and not be involved so much on the paralegal side. I am personally really eager to learn and grow and I fear that taking the first available job will not lead to learning opportunities and thus growth in the long term. So I could really use some tips!!
Thank you Lola, I’m going to repost the surveys and hope that we get some more responses and then I will post the results in a week or so.
I’ll complete the survey
Thanks everyone, you can find the suveys here: https://miamifrp.com/the-real-paralegals-of-south-florida-litigation-edition-survey-reminder/ Right now the surveys are focused on the litigation field because honestly there didn’t seem to be a lot of interest in the other fields and the surveys are costly and time consuming to set up. BUT, you can always do the survey and skip questions which don’t apply.