Where Do I Go From Here? Leveraging Your Background Is the Smartest Career Move You Can Make – Just Ask Chuck Smith

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your paralegal career is to not leverage your background. In fact, when faced with either entering the field or changing positions, the words "transferable skills" sometime seem to make a beeline for the exit as candidates get it into their heads that obscure skills in their past are not related to current positions. What am I telling you to...

Are you calling yourself certified? Chances are you’re mistaken.

Here we go. One more time! I know I’ve written about this a few months back. However, the topic keeps coming up: certification vs. certificate.  There is a difference and at some point, if you are declaring yourself “certified” when you only have a certificate, trouble is coming. Guaranteed. A few weeks ago, a Bar Association contacted me to represent the Organization of Legal...

Are you a “Certified Paralegal”? Maybe not.

I'm on my soapbox today with a pet peeve. I noticed that some paralegals are putting "ABA Certified Paralegal" on their resumes, social media or announcing it to friends and employers. Here's a suggestion: Stop now while you still can! Save yourself some embarrassment or even keep yourself from getting rejected from a job!The ABA does not offer certification. Certification is a...

The Paralegal World According to Sara Youngers

  Sara Youngers has a unique position.  In addition to working in litigation, Youngers also works on legal billing fee analyses.  In other words, she may be auditing the time your law firm bills to its clients.  In an exclusive Q&A, Youngers talks about her career, her duties, her future. How long have you been a paralegal? Since April 2003, for approximately 7 years....