Paralegal Employment Agreements

Paralegal employment agreements are often used when companies hire contract, or freelance, paralegals. These are temporary legal assistants hired to work on cases for law firms.

Purpose

Paralegal employment agreements are used to establish the relationship of employment between a legal or law firm and a paralegal. They state the terms, obligations and conditions of the relationship between the two parties.

Details

When companies hire temporary paralegals, they are offering no guarantee of the amount of work or time frame of the work. Temporary paralegals must have the same educational background as traditional paralegals. They work for an organization on an as-needed basis and offer benefits to law firms.

Benefits

Temporary paralegals require less training and workspace and operate on an hourly rate. Companies do not pay federal, Social Security or unemployment taxes for these individuals. They also do not offer them vacation or sick pay. All details of the job are outlined in the employment agreement.

Duties

A paralegal employment agreement states all duties required of the paralegal. These include performing legal and records research, coordinating research, checking legal forms for accuracy and preparing reports and correspondence.

References

• Law Crossing: Contract Paralegal Jobs
• Paralegal Secrets: Paralegal Job Description