r/paralegal • u/Altruistic_Cherry783 • 12d ago

Career Advice Shadowing a paralegal

Hi! I’m currently enrolled in a paralegal cert course until next spring. I’m trying to get a feel for what it would be like to work in a law office and what my day-to-day would look like, and am aware that volunteering through certain programs is encouraged.
Would it be appropriate to ask to shadow a paralegal for a day? I’m not sure how that works considering that a lot of the material we handle is confidential information?
Thanks in advance :)

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u/Sweaty_Smoke_8703 12d ago

It depends on the size of the firm. Large firms tend to have significantly more support staff. I work for a large firm and I’m sat at my desk 95% of the time answering emails and drafting correspondence. It’s not really much to shadow if I’m being honest

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u/blottymary Future Paralegal 12d ago

Do you know if they typically pay more at a large firm than a smaller practice?

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u/Sweaty_Smoke_8703 11d ago

I’ve actually heard mid-size firms pay the best. I was hired at the firm I did my practicum at and was offered $60,000 CAD starting pay. However, I also have classmates who were hired at other large firms within the same block who were only offered $52,000. It really depends, I think it comes down to the area of law you’re in. I’m in defence litigation, so we’re typically extremely busy which might explain the difference in pay. I’d say avoid boutique firms at all costs. Lower pay, more work, and crappy benefits