Paralegal Career For Dummies

Introduction 1 Part 1: A Snapshot of the Exciting and Lucrative Paralegal Profession 5 Chapter 1: Discovering the Paralegal Profession 7 Chapter 2: Membership Has Its Privileges: Paralegal Associations and Their Certification Exams 21 Chapter 3: The Hunt Is On: Securing a Paralegal Position 27 Part 2: Important Legal Concepts Every Paralegal Should Know 37 Chapter 4: “All Rise”: The American Judicial System 39 Chapter 5: The Big Three: Categories of Law 57 Chapter 6: Taking a Case to Trial: The Litigation Process 79 Chapter 7: How It’s Done: Important Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence 101 Chapter 8: Because I Said So: The Categories of Legal Authority 119 Chapter 9: The Substantive Law Areas Most Commonly Practiced by Paralegals 127 Part 3: Putting It into Practice: The Paralegal in the Civil Litigation Process 147 Chapter 10: The Paper Chase: Preparing Documents 149 Chapter 11: Elementary My Dear Watson: Legal Investigation 179 Chapter 12: Chewing the Fat: Legal Interviewing 191 Chapter 13: Burning the Midnight Oil: Legal Research 205 Chapter 14: Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Trial Performance 225 Chapter 15: The Official Word: Ethical Codes for Legal Professionals 241 Part 4: Identifying the Skills Paralegals Need to Soar 255 Chapter 16: Presenting a Clear, Concise Legal Writing Style 257 Chapter 17: Using Technology in Law 275 Chapter 18: Law Office Management 101 291 Part 5: The Part of Tens 305 Chapter 19: The Ten Most Important Rules of Ethics 307 Chapter 20: Ten Things Every Paralegal Should Know 311 Chapter 21: Ten Survival Tips to Thrive in the Legal Environment 315 Appendix: What You’ll Find Online 319 Index 327