While lawyers often get all the glory or all the blame, the key player in many law offices is a paralegal.

More information Paralegal Association of Rochester P.O. Box 40567 Rochester, NY 14604 (716) 234-5923 National Association of Legal Assistants Inc. 1516 South Boston St. Suite 200 Tulsa, Okla. 74119 (918) 587-6828

Paralegals assist lawyers, with duties such as conducting interviews with witnesses, doing legal research, drafting documents and correspondence, and summarizing depositions and testimony.

"We organize information and get it into a readable form so the attorney can easily digest it,'' says Kelly Reynolds, a paralegal with the law firm of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle and president of the Paralegal Association of Rochester. She says paralegals help prepare legal arguments and are important in helping select and design computer programs used by firms.

Some also handle administrative duties such as keeping financial records or handling scheduling for other employees.

Reynolds likes her job, saying she got into the field because she always had an interest in law. "There's a lot of action. The best part is the computer work.''

Paralegals, however, are limited in what they are allowed to do. They cannot give legal advice, represent a client in court, set legal fees or accept a case. "We cannot have a direct relationship with a client,'' says Reynolds, meaning that the attorney they work for must first be retained.

Besides being found in private law firms, paralegals also work in courts, insurance companies, government offices and banks. Reynolds says she works between 40 and 60 hours per week. The hours increase as preparation and research for a trial is needed.

The National Association of Legal Assistants Inc. says the concept of paralegals developed in the 1960s as law firms looked for ways to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of legal services.

Reynolds says many firms require a four-year degree plus a paralegal certificate from an American Bar Association certified school.

According to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations Inc. the average salary for paralegals was $34,504 in 1997.

This is one of the fastest growing careers in the country according to the 1998-99 online edition of the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook. Demand for paralegals is expected to grow more than 36 percent in the next eight years.