Internal promotion, external application, and occasionally government appointment are all options for becoming a paralegal manager. In most cases, paralegal managers are part of the mid-level management team. As a result, the position is rarely entry-level. To be considered for a position as a paralegal manager, you must have extensive paralegal experience or a thorough understanding of how the field operates from a human resources standpoint.
To become a paralegal manager, you’ll need to put in a lot of time and effort. The main responsibility of a paralegal manager is to supervise a department or team of paralegals. Discipline, work allocation, team building, and task management are common examples. To be effective, a paralegal manager must have a thorough understanding of how paralegals work, what the job entails, and the company’s overall culture.
A person with the right skills can typically learn the skills required to become a paralegal manager for a specific organization on the job. Many companies, however, look first to their own paralegal pools when making a hiring decision because so much of what makes a good paralegal manager depends on the specific organization. A paralegal who excels at all required tasks, knows the staff well, and understands the department’s needs and inner workings is often viewed as a good candidate for paralegal manager.
Internal competition, on the other hand, can be fierce. If you’re a paralegal now and want to advance to paralegal manager in the future, it’s a good idea to speak with someone in your organization who is more senior about what the job entails. You might be able to gain some skills or training now that will help you land a job as a paralegal manager in the future. Learning about the various types of work you could do as a paralegal manager could also be beneficial. After working for a while where you are, you can apply to become a paralegal manager at another company or in a different discipline entirely once you have gained some experience.
The paralegal profession is broad, and paralegals work in a variety of settings. The majority work in law firms, but many also work in corporate legal departments or government legal divisions in most countries. Each of these environments has its own set of requirements for becoming a paralegal manager. The only way to figure out what kind of paralegal manager you want to be is to do some research, which should include asking people who work as paralegal managers what they do on a daily basis.
Most paralegal managers have one thing in common, regardless of the setting: experience. The vast majority of paralegal management staff have worked as paralegals for a number of years, usually at least five. Others were human resources professionals with experience in the legal field who were hired as paralegal managers based on their expertise in the field. Paralegal managers usually do not perform paralegal work themselves, but instead supervise paralegals.
The experience of working as a paralegal is desirable, but not required. When hiring paralegal managers, employers typically look for experience as well as drive, motivation, and long-term management potential. The best way to succeed as a paralegal manager — and to thrive in the role once you’ve got it — is to prepare for the job well before you apply, and to understand what you’ll be doing.