It is said that paralegal is the fastest growing occupations in today's America. By "the American Work Force: 1992-2005", the number of paralegal is expected to increase by 81 percent from 1992 to 2005. The professional status of paralegals has its roots in the 1960s. Since then, attorneys have begun to realize how the use of paralegals in the law firm can help them provide quality legal services at lower cost to client. Generally, paralegal, or legal assistant, can be defined as a person sufficiently trained in law and legal procedures to assist attorneys in the delivery of legal service to the public. Paralegal employers fall into three broad categoreis: law firms, corporations and other business organiations, and government agencies. Paralegals perform many of the tasks that have traditionally been handled by attorneys: for example, drafting legal documents, interviewing clients and witnesses, and conducting legal research. However, paralegal may not give legal advice, set legal fees, or represent a client in court. Paralegals perform the same functions as an attorney except those prohibited by unauthorized practice of law statutes. Basically, there are three categories of the paralegal profession as the following: traditional paralegal, who works with supervision by a lawyer: freelance paralegal, who works as an independent contractor with supervision by a lawyer: and independent paralegal, who practice independently, that is, are not under an attorney's supervision, and provides routine legal services direclty to consumers. Recognizing the need to make lega services more widely available to the public, paralegals have expanded their practice into many broad and diverse specialities.
