The Paralegal Occupation

The Law Office
Stepping into the posh reception area of the law firm, I had expected the entire office to be as severe and elegant as how it looks from the outside. I was wrong, though.

The cold, forbidding exterior only extended to the receptionist's and waiting area. The meeting rooms were warmly-decorated in oak panelling, expensive paintings and comfortable chairs (ergonomic, could it be?) and shelves lined with many thick volumes of law books and antique ornaments.

The office area was hectic. All the office staff- Paralegals, legal secretaries, law clerks, accountants and IT guys all had their own cubicles, but one could see that they were constantly running around to each other's desks or the photocopiers. Either that, or the staff were always chattering away on the phones (for business purpose) or shouting across to each other for information. I hadn't expected this at all.

Lining the sides of the hustle-bustling office were rooms with glass or wooden doors. Reading the name plates hanging outside the doors, I noted the names of the legal assistants, senior counsels and partners. Their names were printed on company brochures and letterheads, of course, but I had no access to these before I joined the company, and bear in mind that in the past, there was no internet websites for me to check the information out.

Starting the Work
If one expected as much drama and fun as being portrayed in books or movies such as "The Rainmaker" etc, they would be in for a great disappointment.

While criminal cases were the most exciting cases of all, most law firms actually survive largely on matrimonial or litigation cases (out of which, probably 50% are accident claims). I had already learned that during my short stint as a law intern back in college during summer vacations.

I was shown to my desk, where the computer was already blinking at me, as though waiting for me to start caressing it. Stationery were stacked neatly on the desk, along with a telephone. My direct supervisor was a senior counsel and he assigned the HR Manager to show me around the office as part of my first-day orientation.

I was then shown around the office across various floors, introduced to the different departments before she brought me to the office pantry where I could catch a break if necessary.

At the end of the tour I was befuddled by names and faces, and wondered if I could manage to remember the names of the important people at least.

Jobscope of a Paralegal
My supervisor handed me files to peruse and research on. He handled mostly litigation cases, hence I had to read through the details of the case files.

The file consisted of correspondences and documents exchanged between involved, such as emails, phone memos, meeting minutes, invoices, contracts and agreements. There were also photographs and reports containing details of the conflicts, as well as interview notes between my supervisor and his represented clients.

I tabbed the various documents so that it would make it easier to refer back.

Then I had to draft legal documents according to the stage at which the case was at, currently. I enjoyed this part, especially creating the Affidavits (a document outlining the events that occured, and containing exhibits of evidence to be enclosed) because this allowed me to show my meticulous, detailed and creative side.

Other documents such as Writs, Summons and Memorandums were rather mundane and brainless - there were templates to follow so all I had to do was to input in the individual case's details.

I enjoyed research work though the rest found it a boring task. I liked reading older cases, enjoyed finding the links between the relevant cases to my cases on hand so I could cite them as precedents and my supervisor could use them to argue his clients' stands.

Other times, I could even go to sites to interview potential witnesses or obtain sworn-ins for affidavits of Professional / Expert Witnesses. Once or twice, I headed down to sites and governmental boards to gather evidence in the course of our own investigations into some cases.

Best of all, I enjoyed conducting interviews for smaller cases, and attending trials with my lawyers. The former made me feel important and I never bothered to correct the Plaintiffs / Complainants / Defendants / Respondents even if they had mistakenly thought I was one of the solicitors representing them. The latter role make me feel like I was part of the real action, watching the debate between lawyers, and taking minutes of the exchange.

Handling the Workload
Sometimes, I had to juggle doing multiple tasks at one go - documents for a case, research for another case, and the interview a new client in the meeting room as scheduled. It could get very hectic and stressful at times, especially when there were tight deadlines to meet.

There were times I even mixed up the details of different cases.

During trials it was worse as we had to stay back to prepare Bundles of Documents for the upcoming court sessions. Make copies, bind them, ensure that everything was intact; ensure that the legal pads and reference materials were in the lawyers' briefcases and all supporting documents were sent out (for exchange or for the Court's perusal). For these, we worked closely with the lawyers' secretaries of course.

Then we had to attend court with the lawyers to help them set out the documents, remind them of certain relevant facts or cases, and make the dash back to office if we left out something. I thrived on the action, and sometimes imagined how I would've presented the case if I were in their shoes.

Every victory was a happy event of course, and I would receive compliments at having done a good job. It made me feel both proud and sad - proud that I had done a good piece of research indeed, and saddened that though some of the cases were actually cracked by us, it would always be the lawyers who would get the credit for everything.

It made me contemplate if I should go take a law degree and practise law myself.

Leaving the Occupation
Anyway, as much as I enjoyed the job, as stable as it was, and as glamorous as it sounded to my family that I was actually "working in law", I was disillusioned after one and a half years.

I was too young to be bound in a job as such. I did not want to be stuck in a deskbound job. I did not see any career advancement as a Paralegal except to be Office Manager perhaps twenty years later? And I did not think that I would get the Degree after all.

Anyway, who said lawyers were all glamorous? On TV, the actresses and actors always portrayed the lawyers to be sophisticated, intelligent and sharp, but in reality some lawyers were rude, loud, mumsy or even vulgar. Some of them were middle-aged nerds and some led such frugal lives that no one could've guessed they were practicing members of the Bar.

To me, it was simply just another profession, another job.

I wanted to do something more.