Domestic Paralegal Duties
By Tamara D. Blankenship
What is a paralegal? A paralegal is a person, qualified through education, training or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts. A paralegal assists the supervising attorney with day-to-day tasks, file organization, hearing/trial preparation and acts as a communication liaison between the attorney and client when the attorney is in conference or trial.
When you find yourself in need of legal advice for a separation, divorce, child custody, child support or alimony a domestic or family law paralegal will be assisting your attorney with your case. While lawyers assume the ultimate responsibility regarding your case, they often supervise delegated tasks to the domestic paralegal. Specific tasks and duties differ with each specific law firm. At our firm, they range from setting your initial consultation to trial preparation, one on one communication, correspondence, meetings with the attorney and file organization. Many paralegals meet with the attorney and client to help get facts and figures regarding the details of your domestic case.
Paralegals cannot give you legal advice. They can however be a bridge of communication between you and your attorney to expedite the time to gain answers to your questions. Everything said to your paralegal is in confidence and blanketed by attorney/client privilege. We are here to assist you with your case and emotional issues that arise. Our goal is to help you and put you at ease regarding difficult situations that may come up on a day to day basis. You may speak openly with your paralegal and know that everything said is confidential.
In family law especially, emergencies arise. If your attorney is not available at that moment to speak with, please leave a detailed message with their paralegal. This will save you time in getting a response. If the attorney is unavailable to speak with you directly due to other hearings or courtroom obligations, they can sometimes relay the answer through their paralegal and she can pass the information along to you. Please keep in mind that a paralegal CANNOT give you legal advice. They also cannot quote a retainer fee for representation nor can they make an appearance in court on your behalf.
Upon calling our firm and requesting information regarding a consultation for a domestic or family situation you may be transferred to a paralegal if the attorney is in a conference or court. At this stage the only information required from you is your name, a telephone number and the opposing party name so that we may check our system for a conflict. We then work together to find a convenient time for you to set up this initial consultation to meet with the attorney. Be sure to inquire about the location address of office, initial consultation fees and length of consult. The paralegal will be able to answer these questions for you.
Preparation and organization are two main responsibilities of a family law paralegal. Domestic law requires a lot of paper trailing. You, the client, will need to gather and produce for us the information regarding your finances including but not limited to paycheck stubs, bank statements and tax returns and any and all assets and debts regarding the marital estate. The paralegal will organize your file and keep all the information up to date so that the attorney working on your case can find any supporting documents that may be needed.
A domestic paralegal will assist your attorney and you in keeping up with deadlines regarding document production, hearing dates, court appearances and deposition dates. Calendaring and scheduling are major portions of domestic paralegal duties. Domestic paralegals communicate with the family court office to schedule hearings and develop a system that works for both clients and attorneys regarding reminders of these important dates.
Paralegals are here to assist both you and your attorneys but always keep in mind, while they work directly on your case, they can not advise you on how to proceed legally. We are however, here to help you in all ways we can with this difficult, emotional process.
Tamara D. Blankenship is a Certified Legal Assistant through the National Association of Legal Assistants and a North Carolina State Bar Certified Paralegal. She has been employed with Knox Brotherton Knox & Godfrey for 8 years. You can reach Knox, Brotherton Knox & Godfrey at 704-315-2363 or 866-704-9059 (Toll free) (Charlotte) or at 704-827-6667 in our new Denver office.
