Paralegal Career For Dummies

by Scott A. Hatch, Lisa Zimmer Hatch

Your career as a top-notch paralegal starts here

The demand for paralegal professionals is exploding, and Paralegal Career For Dummies, 2nd Edition explains the skills and requirements needed to pursue this rewarding career. Inside, you'll discover the ins and outs of paralegal skills, from preparing documents and performing legal research to obtaining certification, job hunting, and understanding legal concepts.

Use this hands-on guide to help in your career considerations, bolster your paralegal training, or as an everyday on-the-job reference. Paralegal Career For Dummies will be your trusty assistant through all phases of your life as a paralegal, taking you forward with tips on networking and joining professional organizations that will enhance your career.

Discover the job skills required for success as a paralegal Learn important legal concepts you'll need on the job Access forms, templates, and examples on the companion website Develop strategies to manage time and advance your career Complete with a companion website containing a wealth of valuable information, this book covers everything you need to become a top-notch paralegal.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 31, 2006

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this "Dummies" book I want to read more about a career in Paralegal duties.

This book opened a new world for me! It is loaded with good information if you are thinking about a career in the law!

It is a good start and opening to a wonderful career and helps you decide what you would like to do in a law career.

My daughter, Cathryn, was in a very bad accident when she was in High School. She was looking for a lawyer to help her get back on her feet. We found a lawyer in our town who was in the same office space as the Real Estate office where she worked part time. So we made an appointment and when we got there, the lawyer had been called out on an important call from one of his patients. But his father who is his Paralegal in his office talked to us and we decided to go with his firm.

We never talked or saw the lawyer in her case, but the paralegal was able to get her $20000.00 as a settlement and she was very happy with the money which she needed to get back on her feet and get her ready to get to College. She has graduated from College, I thought she would go to school and become a paralegal because of her experience with the accident. She is now a Realtor and she is studying to take her Brokers license test in the next two weeks. Pray with me that she will pass.

This book was full of knowledge and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the career and possibly go into the field!

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not having gone through any paralegal certification program, this book has been an indispensable resource to my on-the-job learning. It’s basically the only paralegal textbook that isn’t costly and overly wordy, and its easy-to-read format makes sifting through for needed information a quick endeavor. I’ve learned so much about the function of different pleadings and their places in the process of litigation. Everything has made a lot more sense since I started reading this book. That being said, some bits about the discovery process and rules of evidence are repetitive, and the legal research and software sections could use updating, but other than that, this book definitely deserves its place in the paralegal canon.

[Adela Staines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and covers the basics that any paralegal should know

If you are just beginning this kind of job this is a great overview to start your new career. Gives you answers to be able to have the main knowledge and tools to understand the roll of a paralegal in any kind of Law Office.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for those looking into a Paralegal career.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott and Lisa Hatch wrote Paralegals for Dummies as an introduction to the career of becoming a paralegal. I read the 2nd edition of the book which was published in 2019. I read the book on my Kindle. The book has an index. The Hatches book was a wonderful introduction to the career of paralegals. In the Author’s note, the book says the Hatches “have prepared students for careers in the legal field” (Hatch & Hatch 363). The Hatches’ book has twenty-one chapters. The book covers a lot of ground. The book has five sections and two appendixes. Section 1 is an introduction to the career of being a paralegal. Section 2 is on legal concepts a successful paralegal can understand. Section 3 is on “the paralegal in the Civil Litigation Process” (Hatch & Hatch 143). Section 4 is on the skill set to become a successful paralegal. Section 5 is on concepts such as ethics to follow to become a successful paralegal. Appendix 1 is a “glossary of important legal terms” (Hatch & Hach 315). Appendix 2 is about what readers will find online. I found Scott and Lisa Hatch’s book Paralegals for Dummies to be an excellent overview of how the reader can become a successful paralegal in the United States and Canada.

[Adrienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was simplified for any type of reader. I enjoyed refreshing myself with why I went back to college and received a graduate certificate in the legal field. I still will see how I can use it in the near future. I may purchase a copy to keep on hand for future notice.

Leisure read 2018 and refresher.

[Priscilla Quiñones Ferreira · Rating 3 out of 5]

It did exactly what was promised- gave a general description of what it would be like to be a paralegal. My only recommendation to make it better would be to add a section on needed education and what options there are in that field.

[Heather Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, interesting and practical information supporting my paralegal certification - it wouldn't be enough on its own but a great toe dip into the world without much background knowledge to start with beforehand.

[BERNARD HILTON · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding

[Katie Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems to be a helpful resource but is geared towards law office paralegals and not corporate paralegals so wasn’t particularly useful to me.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a textbook in my Paralegal Certificate course, which I took through the BARBRI Center for Legal Studies. Very informative.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

IVE finished this for now, plan to read it when I have a little more time and energy to give to it

[Alexandra Scarborough · Rating 3 out of 5]

I completed an ABA-accredited paralegal program in 2019 and am currently building an independent paralegal business. I wanted to read this for two reasons: a.) to see if there were any gaps in my education that might be covered; b.) to review things I had already learned in order to help me move forward with building my business.

I was certainly impressed with how comprehensive the book is, in terms of covering the basic concepts one needs to understand for being a successful paralegal. However, it is just that--an overview. It shouldn't be misconstrued as a guiding text for someone who *wants* to work as a paralegal but doesn't want to put in the time to train how to be one. But, as a text that serves as a reference for a trained paralegal who needs a refresher on areas of practice or process, it is invaluable.

I would have loved a bit more information and guidance on developing an independent biz, but in all, I enjoyed its approach and information.

[Erendira Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book particularly helpful in giving detailed information about what to expect as a paralegal. The reason why I gave it four stars is because I live in Canada and the information about the USA legal system or courts isn't really applicable to me, and I had to look online for supplementary and equivalent information that was relevant to me. However, overall, this book gave me the information I wanted and answered a lot of the questions I had about a paralegal career. I mainly focused on reading the parts that I thought would be pertinent to a career as a Legal Assistant, but I did enjoy reading about what a paralegal's job entailed as that is what I'm striving for in the future.

[Aurelia Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would suggest to others to take this book one chapter at a time. I hurried through and some of the chapters left my eyes glazed over because I didn't take time to individually digest the information.

[Think-On-It]

If you'd like to know what I thought of this book, please contact me directly and I'd be happy to discuss it with you.

All the best,

- TB

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little tongue in cheek for a legal text but it succeeded it reinforcing the learning.

[Susan Mabry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed, easy to understand and helpful! Well done💪😊