Corporate paralegals support attorneys in a corporation’s legal department with specialized duties, requiring education and experience. They draft corporate documents, proofread and understand corporate laws, but cannot give legal advice or perform attorney duties.
A corporate paralegal supports attorneys in a corporation’s legal department. This position differs from law firm paralegal jobs because it deals specifically with commercial legal matters. The duties of this job are very specialized and usually require a lot of education and experience to perform. A paralegal within a corporation has many responsibilities but still cannot perform the duties of an attorney.
The duties of a corporate paralegal require a highly technical skill set that can only be acquired through years of work and education. Most positions require a bachelor’s degree, usually in pre-law, political science, history, or another focus that requires research skills and an understanding of the law. Additionally, individuals in this position often need several years of corporate legal experience, often as paralegals.
A corporate paralegal’s primary responsibility is to support the team’s attorneys. This often includes drafting corporate documents relating to contracts, real estate and business partnerships. A paralegal should also have a keen eye for proofreading, because attorneys will often ask the paralegal to look closely at other documents to check for spelling and reference errors and to ensure that the legal terminology is correct. This requires an understanding of corporate laws and commonly used terms. The paralegal does not have to be an expert in the law, as an attorney would, but the paralegal must still be familiar with the law and frequently used legal terms.
The corporate paralegal must also be strong in understanding corporations and partnerships. It takes a lot of documentation and research to create or dissolve these relationships, and lawyers rarely have time to focus on them. Not all companies deal with this area of corporate law, but those that do often ask a paralegal to create and file all the appropriate documentation.
A corporate paralegal is given a large responsibility in the corporation’s legal department. However, there are limits to what the paralegal can do. The biggest restriction is that a paralegal cannot give legal advice, even if he is versed in the law, because only lawyers can give legal advice. Additionally, many of the paralegal’s jobs, such as filling out paperwork, still need to be signed off by a supervising attorney to ensure that everything is up to legal standards. Failure to comply with these rules can result in heavy fines or legal action if violations are discovered.
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