I don’t know. If someone knows please help. SOS SOS

Dont think there is any formal position of para legal in india.

I know for sure that in companies and even some law firms, the Company Secretaries (CS) who do substantial legal work are known as para legals.

But then again, in law firms even the librarian is known as a para legal..lol

Paralegals do not exist in India. Formally that is. Informally, everyone who starts out at a law firm or under a lawyer, starts as a para legal. They just draft stuff, research on cases and such stuff.

Paralegals are very active in the US and the UK. They get paid quite a lot too. Few people there pass the bar exam as it is tough and so they all end up working as para legals.

They do exist informally. I work for an IPR firm and all our trademark,patent, copyright applications are prepared and filed by paralegals. The advocates to the advisory, drafting, researching part. Even trademark searches are done by paralegals!!!

hi members,

well as far i know paralegal means lawyer’s assistant: somebody with specialist legal training who assists a fully qualified lawyer or a person trained in subsidiary legal matters but not fully qualified as a lawyer. A student can be a paralegal if he doesn’t clear Bar exam. And a Student who clear the Bar exam can also called paralegal. it depends on the nature of work. And feel free to let me know if i am wrong.

They’re pretty common in Bombay - many many GLC students start out as paralegals. They attend early morning lectures and spend the rest of their time working at firms. The nature of the their work begins from intern level and surpasses associate level by the time they receive their law degree. Although they are paid very little, being a paralegal helps them build relationships with partners at firms and even clients…so they are at a significant advantage by the time they make Associate.

Full time dedicated paralegals are highly unheard of in the strictest form of the term. But then again many court clerks and stenos perform quasi-legal works close to that of a lawyer. The firm I worked with, the Partners asked the court clerks whether we could file a specific Application and in my later non-litigation firm Associates relied on the stenos and typists for clauses in agreements. So in a way these guys are paralegals but the term in itself has not caught on.

And @ Bombay Lawyer. What you are referring to is an intern not a paralegal.

[quote=“sushant” post=2232]Full time dedicated paralegals are highly unheard of in the strictest form of the term. But then again many court clerks and stenos perform quasi-legal works close to that of a lawyer. The firm I worked with, the Partners asked the court clerks whether we could file a specific Application and in my later non-litigation firm Associates relied on the stenos and typists for clauses in agreements. So in a way these guys are paralegals but the term in itself has not caught on.

And @ Bombay Lawyer. What you are referring to is an intern not a paralegal.[/quote]

Agree! Munshis are as close as it gets if you don’t count interns and some first year associates who mostly do the same job. Some Munshis who have been working for years can handle all of the small drafting for instance, insurance cases and such like pros!

Its said that an advocate is as good as his munshi at age old chambers!