The Brogue Hog

Licensing Requirements:
As of now, there are no licensing or certification requirements in the state of California to practice the legal assistant profession. Become a Paralegal in California do not need particular requirements but you surely could take a great advantage earning a professional degree like the California Advance Specialist (CAS) or the Registered Paralegal (RP).

Prior to using the CLA title, one must take and receive a passing mark on a exam given over the course of two days given by the Certifying Board of Legal Assistance, and meet the requirements of the National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA). Certification must then be renewed after 5 years. One should satisfactorily finish 50 hours of approved continuing legal education credits within a five year period to allow for renewal. You can become certified as a California Advance Specialist (CAS).

Prior to becoming a Registered Paralegal (RP) individuals must enter and be successful in the completion of a test developed by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) known as the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE). In order to refresh your license every two years you are required to show evidence of finishing 12 credit hours of legal education during those two years.

Career planning while you are still in college has many advantages. Ideally, you should start your career planning by choosing the right kind major suitable for the career that you have chosen. So, we start this discussion by identifying the job that is best for you.

Identifying The Job That Suits You

This first step calls for organized thinking on your part. Basically, at this stage, you will be full of ideas and have a wide range of fields to choose from, making your choice more difficult. Here are some crucial steps you must take to identify your ideal career:

1. Most people make the mistake of thinking about all of their options at the same time. As a consequence, all of them appear attractive. But you should consider whether you possess the right attitude and what subjects you were best in when you are in college.

2. Evaluate each option one at a time, discarding those that may not be financially or personally rewarding. Have clarity of thought by assigning the most weight to those that match your attitude and flair.

3. Give serious thought to how you want to spend the rest of your life. For example, a teacher’s job entails the least physical work and lots of vacation time, while a traveling salesman’s job requires you to travel for long stretches at a time.

4. Consult campus career counselors who will help you identify and improve your aptitude in your weak areas.

5. Setting priorities in life is important. You may find that your parents are your best resource in this area.

Acquiring And Honing Your Skills

Your next step is to arm yourself with appropriate skill sets:

1. Choose a major which will best prepare you for the career that you have chosen. For example, a career as an accountant calls for formal education in those subjects. You may want to start with accounting subjects for careers such as Financial Controller or CPA.

2. Subscribe to industry journals to keep abreast with current events in your field. Many associations have student chapters and enrolling in these gives you many opportunities to interact with industry leaders.

3. Submit an article to industry journals or participate in seminars. Take a part time job that will add to your experience.

4. Studying hard and getting top grades are a must.

Getting Ready For The Final Step

It is when you are in your final year or semester in college that you begin the real quest for a job. Now is the time that you will find out where you really stand in the job market.

1. Gather job advertisements in your focus area; separate the ‘must-have’ and ‘preferable’ skills within them. This shows whether you are lacking skills, and if yes, in what areas.

2. Only a good resume gets interviews. An HR professional, student counselor and Internet resources can help you develop one. Nevertheless, creating a good resume is about successfully presenting and highlighting your skills, abilities and experience.

3. Attending interviews is another major test. Learn interview etiquette, be crystal clear in your thoughts and speech and if at all possible attend mock interviews conducted by your college career office.

I have 5 degrees. Yes, you read it right. It certainly makes me feel very educated but not wiser or richer than the next high school dropout. I know of many people who did very badly in school and still have the greatest common sense and/or great wealth. However, a higher education is one of the greatest assets a person has and so, everyone should strive to have a college degree.

I think college courses are very important, especially the ones belonging to general education. Those are the ones that will prevent us from being skewed in our education and hence, deal only with engineering or chemistry or history. A complete education must require that all students have a round and complete body of knowledge.

Most students hate to take the GE courses; they think it is a waste of time. I say that it this set of courses that will make everyone know a little of everything and give rise to a hidden talent or at least make one knowledgeable enough to carry a conversation in some cocktail party. One never knows when we will be required to talk about philosophy or Russian literature. God forbid we have nothing to say!

Among the great basic courses that every college offers for its GE program, there are 3 that should be mandatory: Ethnic Studies or Diversity; Finances, and Marketing.

The anthropological aspects of our different racial and ethnic make-up are of great importance, especially nowadays, in this global world of ours. One must learn that everyone single one of us, regardless of our religion, background, social economic status, race, ethnicity, marital status, etc., have three basic needs in life: we want to be healthy, wealthy, and happy. We all want our relationships to be loving and harmonious; we all have a sense a humor and laugh at the laughable; we all applaud the beautiful or the moving. We are also all one, interconnected in this web of life.

Learning about Finances is a must for those who want to survive in the global world. Our students are leaving high school and college without the basics of writing a budget, balancing a checkbook, knowing about the risks of credit cards, or knowing how to use and invest money to be able to retire at a decent age with a decent income. I know all of this only very well.

Finally, marketing, being the great art of selling to our emotions, is perhaps the most important of them all. We are constantly selling, even though we think we are not, even though we despise the activity or we think we are not good at it. We sell our ideas or our justifications to our superiors, we sell our values to our relations; we sell our wants and needs to those who can fulfill them; not to mention our selling of ourselves. Who has not gone through some interview and had to sell yourself to get the job? Who has not barter in life, giving something to get something back?

Of course, there are other bodies of knowledge that one must possess to have a balanced lifestyle, but let’s talk about them some other time.

© Maria Moratto 2006

Dr. Maria Moratto is the author of “The Inner Cure: Healing Your Body, Mind, and Soul.” Visit Prescription For Bliss at http://www.rx4bliss.com, sign up for the newsletter and receive a free report.

You may reprint this article in its entirety as long as you add this resource box.