LAWCrossing EMPLOYMENTCROSSING | BUSINESSDEVELOPMENTCROSSING The most jobs jobs— — anywhere
Feature
Asbestos Paralegals — A More Highly Paid Professional This article talks about Asbestos Paralegals working in a field of Law that has been consistently busy for the last 30 years. Asbestos Attorneys are busy and need support in their mass torte cases where attorneys carry a group of clients. Asbestos Paralegals perform much of the attorney’s job with the exception of advising clients and arguing client cases in court.
The career path of Asbestos Paralegals requires some special knowledge of asbestos that is not taught as a course in the paralegal certification. There are some good online courses that bring paralegals up to speed with asbestos law. The Asbestos Paralegals should have a special knowledge of asbestos that can be learned from working in the field of asbestos law or by taking an additional certification course. Here are some asbestos areas in which a paralegal needs to be informed and kept current: •
• • • •
• • • • • •
PAGE
Know about asbestos conditions and diseases of the pulmonary system associated with asbestos and the fatal cancer, mesothelioma. How are people exposed to asbestos fibers and how do the fibers get into the lungs? What does asbestos do to the lungs? Preparing Experts for Trial, know the admissibility elements Learn the guidelines used in Daubert and Kelly/Frye which established “gate keeping” rules for admissibility of experts in asbestos cases. Where are the guidelines used in proceedings? Which experts fall under the guidelines of Daubert and Kelly/Frye? What are the considerations for both direct and cross examination? Which document will you need to prepare for expert admissibility hearings? Which experts are useful to the asbestos cases? Research available experts Keep good correspondence and records with the experts.
• • • • • • •
Which documents will you need to prepare to admit the expert witnesses? What are the pretrial procedures for asbestos cases? Client interviews to conduct Gather all medical records and know what to look for in the records. Depositions for the case - what you need to discover and who needs to be deposed. Understanding damages that are incurred in the asbestos cases Keep up with the trends in secondary exposure and premises of accountability for asbestos?
The above knowledge and research requirements are specific to Asbestos Paralegals in addition to any regular paralegal responsibilities that might be required by the firm. The work environment for Asbestos Paralegals is a comfortable office environment but some travel might be required for depositions. In many times the cases Asbestos Paralegals may be working on are high-stress. There are always deadlines in case research and preparing documents. Asbestos Paralegals may be asked to put in a good amount of overtime. The education and experience for Asbestos Paralegals differs in almost every instance of employers seeking an applicant. They have everything in common besides a degree there must be experience at the very least in litigation. The smallest amount of experience required is one year with a 4 year degree. Other employers are looking for 3 to 5 years in litigation and occasionally they are seeking paralegals with previous work in asbestos litigation. One employer was looking for a paralegal with a doctorates degree and 1 to 2 years experience.
www.lawcrossing.com
continued on back
LAWCrossing EMPLOYMENTCROSSING | BUSINESSDEVELOPMENTCROSSING The most jobs jobs— — anywhere
Feature The salaries vary greatly no doubt for the degree work done, paralegal 2 year certification or a 4 year degree and even up
to doctorate. Also, salaries vary with the amount and type of experience as a paralegal. Salaries range from $40 K to 100K.
EmploymentCrossing is the largest collection of active jobs in the world. We continuously monitor the hiring needs of more than 250,000 employers, including virtually every corporation and organization in the United States. We do not charge employers to post their jobs and we aggressively contact and investigate thousands of employers each day to learn of new positions. No one works harder than EmploymentCrossing. Let EmploymentCrossing go to work for you.
PAGE
www.lawcrossing.com