Where the Big Bucks are for Paralegals – and it can make you leave the field.

Show me an employee who says the money doesn't matter and I'll show you someone whose nose is growing.  Paralegals are now facing a tremendous game changer - the advent of technology plays a significant factor in whether or not you make good money. Statistics show that paralegals without technology know-how earn fewer dollars than those that have the skills. That doesn't mean...

The Number One Secret Strategy to Get Promoted

Sometimes it’s hard to fathom that a paralegal can get promoted. Law firms generally offer a horizontal career path for paralegals rather than vertical. In other words, your assignments get more sophisticated by moving outward, not upward. But let’s face it: you are not exactly going to move up to partner. There’s a lot of new movement going on these days that can allow you to move up....

How Much of a Career Risk Should You Take Switching Specialties?

It's a sure-footed, absolute and positive, no mistakin' it gamble. Switching specialties, that is. Bored with what you're doing? Fed up with a paltry salary? Peeking over the fence to see who makes more money? Seeking that enigma: better challenge? Tonya Pierce addresses the topic today. She's making some good points. The main one being: THINK before you leap (and other relevant...

An Oh So Different Effective Approach to Strong Cover Letters

Cover letters are usually boring. About 98% of the time it’s entirely possible that your cover letter is just like the last one that the employer read. In fact, while not word-for-word, I'll bet it goes something like:     To whom it may concern: “I noticed your ad for a litigation paralegal. I am an experienced paralegal with 10 years of experience. I have attached my resume...

Ten Top Reasons Midsize Law Firms are Disappearing

Oh, for heaven's sake! First we read for years how the major firms are going to go under, disband or simply disappear and now we're reading out go the midsize firms. What's going to be left? Teeny, tiny little firms or solos? What does this mean for the paralegal?Probably a lot. Already, a new trend is sweeping the country: the combining of the paralegal with the legal secretarial...

When to Say Oh-No-Absolutely-Not to Your Dream Job

Have you ever wondered what might have happened in your life if you had chosen one road over another? I mean, what really might have happened? I don't make a habit of writing about my own experiences but....several years ago while minding my own business (literally). I was approached by a major corporation (big players - cool $5+ billion a year in revenue) to head up their $50 million...

Facing maniacal, steamrolling, panic pushing bosses – how the heck do you respond?

Our guest blogger today is Katherine Giacolone, The Corporate Nanny All too often we have conflicting work priorities.  We're all working managers with daily tasks that have to get done and new assignments that come and go.  We don't have a whole lot of room for organizational emergencies or pop-up projects!  But the emergencies and pop-ups are going to come, and the...

What Attorneys Really Think About Paralegals – The Inside Scoop

Have you ever been curious, even just a tiny bit, about what attorneys really think about paralegals? You can use a little emotional intelligence that might help. You know the new science:  interpreting expressions, analyzing perceptions and evaluating emotions. Or, you can go right to the source and just ask - which is exactly what I did. Why wait? The world goes around fast enough these...