We are not secretaries
Meet the paralegals. They play an important role in law firms. But what exactly do they do?
Thu, Jul 31, 2008
The New Paper
By Liew Hanqing
PERSONAL assistants? Failed lawyers? That's what some people mistake paralegals for.
That, or glamorised legal secretaries.
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DIPLOMA IN LAW AND MANAGEMENT Duration: 3 years full-time Minimum Entry Requirements:
To be eligibile for selection, candidates must also have sat for one of the following: |
But Mr Nigel Pereira and Mr Mohammad Noor, both in their early 30s, believe that paralegals are far more than just that.
Their alma mater, Temasek Polytechnic (TP) held a forum last week to discuss the role of paralegals in law firms and in the legal department of companies.
Employers who attended the forum also discussed ways to design fulfilling job scopes and career paths for paralegals.
Both Mr Pereira and Mr Noor were in TP's pioneer batch of Paralegal Studies students.
The course is now called the Diploma in Law and Management.
Mr Pereira, now a lawyer with Rajah & Tann LLP, spent a few years working as a paralegal before becoming a lawyer.
Mr Noor is a paralegal with Toyota Motor Asia Pacific.
In interviews with The New Paper, Mr Pereira and Mr Noor shared snippets of their legal career, and what some of the most common misconceptions are about paralegals.
This article was first published in The New Paper on Jul 29.