A paralegal is an individual, certified by schooling, training or work expertise, who’s employed or retained by a lawyer, regulation office, company, governmental agency, or different entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. However, this definition can differ relying on the jurisdiction, for example in Ontario, Canadian paralegals are independent legal practitioners, licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada to provide legal companies inside their scope of observe to members of the general public. Licensed paralegals in Ontario might handle their very own legal firm or be appointed as a justice of the peace and have the opportunity to seek employment as a municipal or provincial prosecutor.
The time period legal secretary was as soon as synonymous with the term paralegal, but over time the occupations have change into differentiated. While paralegals carry out legal professional help tasks reminiscent of legal …