 There is a difference between a paralegal and legal assistant. Both these professions demand special training but such person has not earned a law degree. A paralegal is work under supervision of a lawyer. A paralegal or legal assistant may be employed by your attorney to fulfill fundamental legal tasks and/or ease conversation between you and your attorney.
A paralegal works in the legal profession, typically responsible for researching, analyzing and managing the daily tasks for cases.
Legal assistants and paralegals help lawyers in the delivery of legal services. They are not able to give advice to consumers of legal services. Attorneys are required to be licensed and most have statutes imposing penalties for the unauthorized practice of law.
Assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the system and substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature under the supervision of an attorney.
In July 2001, the NALA membership approved a resolution to adopt the definition of the American Bar Association as well. And the ABA definition reads as follows:
An assistant or paralegal is a person qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible. (Adopted by the ABA in 1997).
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