As millennium nears, job outlook for paralegals is rosy.

Paralegals--once thought of primarily as lawyers-in-training--have come into their own in the past decade. So much so, in fact, that Susan Kaiser, immediate past president of the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, describes today's paralegals as "professionals in their own right."

According to Kaiser, the expected migration of paralegals to law schools after four or five years on the job ended in the mid- to late 1980s. The rapid expansion and growth of law firms generally--and specialty boutiques in particular--contributed mightily to a renewed sense of satisfaction among many paralegals, who no longer felt they were stuck in dead-end jobs and relegated to second-class status in the eyes of their bosses.

"In the 1980s, boutiques began to spring up, and these smaller offices generally specialized in intellectual property, real estate, and securities law," Kaiser said. "Boutiques were some of the first to use paralegals in a more creative, expansive way.

According to Kaiser, paralegals cannot give legal advice, take depositions, accept fees from a client, or try cases. She said there are currently "three tiers" of paralegal practice: traditional, contract, and independent.

Traditional paralegals are hired full-time by many law firms and corporations to assist in various practice areas. Contract paralegals are hired by lawyers on a case-by-case basis. Their tasks vary in the same way.

Independents provide services directly to the public. According to Kaiser, the Social Security Administration and other agencies routinely allow independent paralegals to represent clients in the administrative appeals process. A spokesman for the Administration confirmed this, adding that anyone--lawyer, paralegal, or private citizen--may provide representation in the administrative appeals process.

"Not surprisingly, paralegals are joining millions of other people in the United States who are working at home or on a contractual basis as an alternative to full-time employment," Kaiser said.

Range of employers

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in 1994, the most recent year for which figures are available, paralegals held about 111,000 jobs nationwide. Private law firms employed the vast majority, while the remainder worked primarily in various levels of government.

Paralegals are found in nearly every federal agency, but the Departments of Justice, Treasury, Interior, and Health and Human Services and the General Services Administration are the largest employers. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Social Scientists and Legal Occupations, Bulletin 2470-5 (Feb. 1996).)

State and local governments and publicly funded legal service, projects employ paralegals as well. Banks, real estate development companies, and insurance companies also hire a small number of them, BLS reports. Some paralegals own their own businesses. Freelance paralegals contract their services to attorneys or corporate legal departments.

Job opportunities

The job outlook for paralegals is rosy, according to BLS. Employment opportunities for these professionals is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2005.

Perhaps most significant, BLS notes that although the number of job openings for paralegals is expected to increase significantly through the year 2005, so will the number of people who are pursuing this career goal.

Private law firms will continue to be the largest employers, according to BLS. Even in the public sector, growth will continue as community legal services programs--which provide assistance to the poor, aged, minorities, and middle-income families--operate on limited budgets. These programs will seek to employ additional paralegals to minimize their expenses and serve the most people.

Earnings

Paralegals earned an average annual salary of about $31,700 in 1993, according to BLS. Kaiser said that figure increased slightly to about $33,000 in 1995. The average annual salary of paralegals who worked for the federal government that year was about $39,800.

Copies of the BLS bulletin are in limited supply. Call the Bureau of Labor Statistics press office at [phone] for more information.