A Day in the Life of a Paralegal

We recently caught up with Bright Network member, Bethany, to chat about how her career is going. Bethany has been working as a paralegal and told us about her personal experience of what a day in the life of a paralegal is really like. Read on to learn what a paralegal does and whether it’s the career path for you.

What does a paralegal do?

Paralegals are an integral part of any law firm. They assist lawyers with important tasks like drawing up and drafting contracts, meeting with clients to discuss their legal issues and requirements and going to court with barristers. It’s Bethany’s job to make sure the cases she’s working on are in good form and ready to be won!

We started by asking Bethany to reflect on working as a paralegal.

What is the most important thing you’ve learned since starting?

Communication is key! Even just four years in, the amount my communication has developed is crazy. When you’re learning and you’re fee earning and taking tasks on, you want to impress everyone, but that doesn’t work if you spread yourself too thin. I think it’s really healthy and important to communicate your capacity and what you know and don’t know. Being open and honest is important in a big firm. You could be working with 20, 30, 40 people across offices and they don’t know what your capacity is or what you’re stuck on. It’s no benefit to the firm or you to keep quiet – no one’s going to guess because no one’s keeping tabs!

The working conditions of a paralegal

Paralegals work in law firms in conjunction with barristers, solicitors and legal secretaries. Since much of your work will be delegated to you by the lawyers, having good communication with them is important so they know a timeline for when tasks will be done and your capacity.

We asked Bethany about what it’s like working as a paralegal in her law firm.

What’s the culture like in the firm you work for?

Brilliant! It’s very ‘open door’ and approachable. There definitely are the ‘scary’ partners, but they’re the exception rather than the rule. I have partners who I’m friends with outside of work! They take an interest in our lives and want to support us.

In such a big firm, you have to network to find the support and guidance which is there and waiting. It is, of course, a corporate environment and we have a lot to do but having a good working culture makes it easier because you get to work with your friends.

What’s one thing you didn’t expect?

How friendly everyone is! I’m working for an international company which is very corporate in the way we conduct business and dress, but when you actually look inside you realise that these people are humans!

A typical day in the life of a paralegal

The type of work you do as a paralegal depends on the size of the firm, the area of law and the team. Some law firms will have big workloads, and this may mean you have long working days and a busy schedule. We asked Bethany to take us through what a typical day in the life of a digital media planner is like, from the tasks she completes to her suggestions for making yourself heard in a big city law firm.

What does a typical day involve?

Knowing that you’re going to dedicate about 6 to 10 hours per day on average per day if you want to get the most out of the role. This is specifically if you want to qualify, which hopefully I will be doing this year.

Working as a trainee is different to being a qualified paralegal because you get a lot of involvement with further items than you would as a paralegal. For example, I come into work, check if there is anything urgent that needs actioning, which there always is, and get another few people asking for you to do tasks throughout the day. This might be helping on an extended project, nipping out to deliver something to a client or council, being involved in mediation to take notes, or jumping into a call.

The typical day is chaotic but it’s healthy pressure and helps you develop in the role and prepare for qualification. If you’re treating this role as a step to qualification, you go in with the mindset that you probably won’t finish working at 5pm. As I like the people I’m working with and find the cases I’m working on interesting, I don’t mind dedicating myself to it.

Typically, a day is full of healthy chaos!

As there are so many people in a big city firm, it’s easy to get lost. To get the most out of the role and to get the most experience, you need to almost shout from the rooftops but in an approachable way. Network with your colleague and establish relationships.

What are the main tasks you do?

Lots of drafting. This could be something simple like instructions to barristers. I get asked to attend meetings with clients, barristers. I get asked to do legal research so someone more senior will need some research done for them so they can draft something. I do content exercises to understand the position we’re in. I’m currently collating lots of data for a specific case. I get asked to do a variety of things.

How you could become a paralegal

Being a paralegal involves having an in-depth understanding of the law. To become one, you’ll need to either have a law degree or go on a more vocational paralegal training course. Generally, paralegals typically specialise in a particular area of law. For example, you might be most interested in commercial law, or human rights law, and you’d work in a law firm that matches your specialisation or has a department which does. Therefore, having training in that particular area is very important. This might change the modules you choose during your degree or training course.

We asked Bethany for her advice on how you can break into the paralegal profession.

What top tips would you give Bright Network members wanting to follow in your footsteps?

If you want to get the most out of a role like this, network! Go for it. It’s changed my life and my career. Making those healthy connections is great. Don’t just know the partners, know the caterers and the cleaners and the concierge because, believe me, when you’ve got an urgent task from a partner and you’re stressed out and you need something printing, or delivering, it’s everyone else who will help! Show up at events, go and have a coffee with a senior associate, ask for a mentor, get involved with the clubs. It’s so important because you become known.

Prepare to put in the hours. If you apply for a big city or Magic Circle firm, there are long hours. It might say 9am-5pm on the contract, but it’s not always like that! If you want to make the most out of it, be open minded. The reward that you get from this is next to none – yes, you’re spending all your time at work, but you’re surrounded by amazing people, and you work with your friends. You get the lovely lifestyle, the lunches, the support, the dinners. It’s not all bad!

Don’t overstretch and don’t rush. Everyone seems to be in such a rush to land a training contract and land a vacation scheme and get a distinction and get an LPC, but I’ve got so many friends who I know from law school and only one of them got a training contract. I went to a Top Ten law school as well. It’s really stressful and the amount of pressure people put on themselves is unnecessary because there are so many routes to qualification. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you don’t have the training contract! Don’t rush with it. Get experience, intern somewhere, volunteer in a pro bono clinic, reach out to firms and say they want a few weeks of experience!

Have you been inspired by Bethany? Are you considering working life as a paralegal? Explore the current jobs in law and read our paralegal job profile to get the facts on the career. Want to know more about law? Read our law career path guide to learn everything you need to know about the sector and how to enter it, and complete our commercial law Academy course to learn more.