Litigation Paralegal
(Female, Age 24) from San Francisco, CA
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 24 who works as a Litigation Paralegal in San Francisco, CA. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Litigation Paralegal |
|---|---|
| Salary | $63,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | San Francisco, CA |
| Years Experience | 3 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Mid-size law firm, with multiple offices in California. This is an all purpose firm that provides services such as taxes, land-use/permit law and big firm litigation.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Assist Attorney in researching law and information. File documents with the court and make certain that everything is done in a timely manner in which it is due.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
2 weeks vacation, 2 weeks sick leave, company pay health, employee pay vision and dental, matching 401k
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
yes.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, I like the research and filing documents and subpoenas on people/company. I don’t like how attorney’s expect you to do their stuff right away and a sense of righteousness that the attorney gives the staff.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I work with other secretary and service staff to send out the appropriate copy and document in a timely manner.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 2
Hours: 7
Co-Workers: 5
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 3
The Actual Work: 4
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | |
| 8am to 9am | Bus to work- arrive at work around 8:40 a.m. Turn on computer, coffee and look through email. |
| 9am to 10am | Look through e-mail, set tasks that are due first thing, such as research or noon filings. |
| 10am to 11am | Research cases, speak with attorney about assignment. Revised and research documents. Print project and index. |
| 11am to 12pm | Index and get out any filings that are due. |
| 12pm to 1pm | lunch with co-worker (or work through on rough filing dates) |
| 1pm to 2pm | Get files and put stuff into binders and excel. Review research and project. Speak with attorney about projects that are due. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Re-do index. Start next day pleading or discovery that are due the following day. |
| 3pm to 4pm | Work on project still. Usually attorney request this. Depending on cases involved in, do calendar (input due dates) and send out calendar report. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Review documents for discovery, bates label and keep attorney files for service of discovery documents. |
| 5pm to 6pm | If nothing else is due, get ready to go home, but usually assist attorney doing additional work. |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
craigslist.org
What was the application process?
submitted resume online, than filled an application when called in for interview, also testing via online and in office.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes, I went here for 3 separate interview. The initial interview was with the assistant HR director, at which point, she calls me back for a second interview with the actual attorney’s that I would work for primarily, and the third interview with the Office Manager.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
Do I know the local court rules, how often do I file document, either via fax and file or e-file, etc. What are my strength and weakness, can I list the deadline for a discovery document served on us, how many days to respond if served by mail (answer is 35). Do I know how to research via lexis-nexis and have I had pre-trial experience.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. The training was helpful, but in truth, everything you need to know is something you do and experience. You have to ask for help, and that was one of the key things.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
I was sent to some paralegal seminars and I got on the job training in terms of learning the gist of what being in a law environment entiles. Besides learning new programs, such as imanage, and legal solutions, there really isn’t much else. I learn more advance excel and word through on job class.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, having gone to college, I knew what was expected in the environment, in terms of a social heriarchy, which there is one. You are more relatable in some sense if you have a college degree.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
No. I knew many people who had legal internship and it didn’t really do much to prepare them for the job at hand.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Learn to not take things personally and to always have the person requesting something, do it in writing and if they need you to drop a project, have them contact the other attorney to let them know so it doesn’t come back to you not wanting to do your job.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
You have to be very organize and know how to prioritize. An important part is the social aspect, where you talk and relate with other employees, otherwise, no one will want to jump and help you. Everything else is essentially a learn talent.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
No
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Know your attorney your working with. You need them to move up and get more hours, etc.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
No, the type of work can get very repitive and boring, will want to work in pre-trial on a more daily basis.
What are your current career goals?
Applying to law school next year, and after, take the bar and maybe practice in big law.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Although you start off at the bottom (multiple level of paralegal), you quickly get elevated and the responsiblity can get to you if your not prepared. Attorneys are pretty mean, because they are under alot of stress, but you also run into the one that are just plain mean, and know what to do to avoid conflict.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Litigation Paralegal | 3 years | 60000 | Assist attorney with research and filing. Organize documents for pre-trial. Type beginning of legal documents. |
| Prior Job 2 | Legal Secretary | 2 year | 53000 | Work with attorney, revising documents, setting up conference room, order lunch, process invoice, calendar and file documents. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.8
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.35 | UCSC | Legal Study and Sociology |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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