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24 Oct, 2020

Traits and Skills of a Successful Paralegal

Estate Lawyer

Successful paralegals share many common traits and skills that not only drew them to the profession but also aid in their success. In general, the Traits and Skills of a Successful Paralegal:

  • Are extremely organized and detail-oriented
  • Enjoy problem-solving and digging into complex issues
  • Work well independently with minimal direction
  • Have excellent communication skills, and the ability to “know their audience,” be it judges, attorneys, other paralegals, clients, insurance representatives, or law enforcement personnel
  • Possess superior writing skills and the ability to draft correspondence, legal documents, memorandums, and various legal forms 
  • Have a good understanding of legal terminology and the process of conducting legal research
  • Are accomplished in the use of technology applications that are common in law offices, including Word, WordPerfect, Excel, PowerPoint, litigation support software, and manual and electronic legal research technology
  • Are good listeners who have the ability to take orders and follow directions
  • Enjoy working with the public and have patience with clients who have continual questions about their case
  • Don’t mind working with relatively large amounts of paperwork on a continual basis
  • Understand the necessity of maintaining confidentiality
  • Conduct themselves in a professional manner
  • Usually have a “thick skin” when it comes to abrupt, short-tempered clients and co-workers under pressure with looming deadlines
  • Are able to anticipate an attorney’s needs and have the ability to solve problems without direct supervision
  • Usually have to perform a certain amount of clerical work along with the substantive legal duties that they find to be more challenging
  • Possess an ability to work well under pressure
  • Are willing to put in overtime, especially when preparing for a trial
  • Have a high level of reading comprehension, and the ability to extract the major points out of their reading quickly and accurately
  • Are seasoned multi-taskers who are capable of doing several things at once
  • Have great analytical ability
  • Are able to “go with the flow” and change their direction and priorities on a moment’s notice
  • Don’t need a great deal of encouragement or positive reinforcement to know that they are doing a good job
  • Are extremely precise, neat and careful, and don’t mind working for someone who is

Traits and Skills of a Successful Paralegal

Backgrounds that may be helpful to a paralegal include business, English, journalism, medical, statistics, economics, real estate, technology, and communications. Employers and recruiters look for paralegals with high academics, strong work or internship experience, and above all, an enthusiasm for law. Paralegal candidates with motivation and initiative and a good attitude are essential to the legal workforce. A good lawyer, like a business lawyer in Montana from Silverman Law Office, PLLC, will appreciate a hardworking paralegal at their practice. 

Tags: Estate Lawyer

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Lu Han

I have worked with three different attorneys and law firms over the years, and I can confidently say that attorney Peter Klenk stands out as the most knowledgeable. He created the most thorough wills and trust documents I've ever had. Mr. Klenk took the time to gather all the necessary details about my current situation and goals. As a result, he put together comprehensive documents that I believe will effectively protect my assets and ensure my children's inheritance is secure.
What truly sets Mr. Klenk apart is his patience and dedication to understanding my questions. He provided detailed explanations that made complex legal concepts much easier to grasp. His team's communication and scheduling were equally impressive, making the entire process smooth and stress-free.
Thank you, Mr. Klenk, and your fantastic team, for your exceptional service!

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Stephanie Sesker

We were extremely pleased with the work done by Peter Klenk and members of the staff at Klenk Law. They were very thorough and did the work in a timely fashion. Peter's explanations of the legal system were very clear and helpful. I highly recommend this firm and Peter.

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Maureen O'Ryan

Peter Klenk was great at explaining complicated issues and making them understandable. He and his team were extremely efficient and I highly recommend them for the creation of wills and trusts.

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CEGM

Peters' firm has prepared and updated our Wills and Trusts for the last 15 to 20 years. They know the law and help with your decision making to use the law to your best advantage. Response time to your requests is very reasonable, and final reviews and signing is executed in a timely manor with a thorough coverage of the documents. Our most recent updates to our Wills & Trusts were somewhat complicated, in our opinion, but Peter and his staff handled them effortlessly. As you can tell from this review Peter Klenk's firm is top notch.

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Joseph Atencio

I've been through the process of creating and revising estate documents several times over the years and it's never been easier than it was with Peter Klenk. Always available and a master at explain arcane tax and legal issues in plain English for "dummies". I recommend the firm without reservation.

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