For courses in Paralegal Studies. Build a strong foundation in Paralegal Studies Since the publication of the First Edition of The Paralegal Professional : The Essentials , the paralegal profession plays an increasingly more important role in the delivery of legal services. The Paralegal Professional : The Essentials provides students with the conceptual knowledge, analytical skills, and firm understanding of ethical issues they need to succeed as paralegals in today’s legal environment. The book is shaped by insights of real legal professionals with whom paralegals work to offer relevant information for use in the workplace. The text illuminates specific tasks and roles paralegals will play in the workplace to fully prepare them to enter the field. The Fifth Edition builds a foundation of knowledge which students can augment as they work towards a profession in the field of law.
This book has a lot of information about the paralegal profession, the skills needed to be successful, and tips for managing the work of a paralegal. It is chock FULL of information like sample forms and other documents so that students can see concrete examples of the types of documents they will encounter. It also includes video case studies and profiles of paralegals who are already successfully employed in the profession. It provides the reader with a lot of opportunity to apply the knowledge in the book through review questions, critical thinking questions, and other skill-building activities. In addition to the NALA and NFPL exams, it discusses the different licensure in various states. Truly, this is a textbook about paralegal rather than a study guide for the exam.
With all of that being said, I found the organization of the book to be too cluttered to follow easily. There are so many sidebars and boxes and embedded lists that IMO, it was hard to follow the book. Literally, every single page has something "extra" on it. There is so much information here that, no one could get through all of it-- EVER. For someone studying on their own, it might be overwhelming. People with ADHD might have a hard time focusing on one part of the text and completing it.
Without this overly busy formatting I would give it a 5, but because it does have the formatting, a 4 is more accurate.
The book was for school. I finished reading it. I learned so much. I keep this book to read it again and retain the information. There are many legal terms to review and stay knowledgable about. I enjoy it enough to keep it even though classes have ended.