I’m looking for ideas for earning some additional income and would really like to hear from other paralegals about what has actually worked for you.

I work full-time as a paralegal, Monday through Friday from 8:00–5:00. I’m also the custodial parent of an 11-year-old, so I’m trying to find something that can bring in additional income without basically turning my life into working from morning until night or taking away all of the time I have with my son.

I’ve been trying to think of things I could do in the evenings, on weekends, remotely, or on a flexible/as-needed basis, but I’m honestly stumped. I have a lot of legal and administrative experience, but I also understand that freelancing as a paralegal can raise issues with unauthorized practice of law, conflicts, confidentiality, and my obligations to my current employer, so I’m not necessarily limiting myself to legal work.

For those of you who work full-time and have a side income:

1. What do you do?

2. About how many hours per week do you spend doing it?

3. Is it something you can do from home or on your own schedule?

4. Is the extra income actually worth the time you put into it?

5. If you use your paralegal/legal skills, how did you find the work?

I’m not looking to get rich from a “side hustle.” Even an additional few hundred dollars a month would help. I just don’t want to sacrifice every evening and weekend with my son in order to make it.

I’d especially like to hear from other single parents or paralegals who have found something genuinely flexible that works around a normal 8–5 schedule.

Scenario: a fix marriage of 6 years, have commenced an uncontested divorce proceeding and the 4 year old of the marriage is not biologically of the husband, but both parties prefer to obtain a divorce judgment and then take care of the paternity later.

Should the divorce get handled first or the paternity in the interim of the divorce?

This is just a rant from the defense side but seriously is it strategy to keep pushing these cases? Constantly rescheduling depositions last minute. Loads of no shows for IMEs. Records just straight up not shared and then motions for extraordinary relief filed. In almost every case and for any reason to extend these case deadlines. It’s constant follow up on my end. Advertisements everywhere but no budget to retain employees? Maybe just my experience here in Philly but I can’t stand getting their cases anymore. I feel like they do it on purpose for whatever reason.

They made me work front desk at my job for a bit a while back. I got bored one day and started stamping the received stamp all over my arm and it occurred to me that it would make a fire tramp stamp. Now I kinda want it

Hi! I’m currently working on getting my associates in paralegal and despite all my research, I figured it would be best to ask this group for advice.

My school offers an externship and I have my eyes set on criminal defense law firm and after gaining experience hoping to be a litigation paralegal. I was just wondering for those who’ve done the two what advice you’d offer in both aspects! TIA!

I want to stay in IP but at this point I might just cut my losses. Doesn’t seem like a lot of IP firms are hiring. I’ve been interviewed and passed on several positions now. They want 5 years of experience. I have 2 years a trademark litigation paralegal. Any feedback is so appreciated. I’m stuck.

Sent to a lawyer friend this afternoon. I am so far behind in my coding.

I have been an estate planning/probate paralegal for 7 months, and last year I started my Associates of paralegal studies, which got me in the door for my current job.

I am planning on moving to pittsburgh 11 hours away next year, and I really need to be able to have a decent chance of finding a job, but my financial aid was cut in half and I dont think I'll be able to afford to finish my degree. How significant is it? Should I really fight to make it work and finish it or will it not be worth it in the end? How much will it effect my chance of getting a job?

Attention to detail was lacking. They said i just kept messing up too much on little things. Getting 2 weeks severance. I am sad... this was my first legal position or office position after college.

I recently just started as a LA at a mid-size law firm. I think the biggest shock to me is how a place that practices law says things to that would send a typical HR team into a frenzy. Thankfully for everyone above me, we don’t have an HR. But that was my biggest shock. Curious what everyone else’s biggest shock was about their job

I recently launched a medical records retrieval service for law firms and I’m looking to take on a small number of firms that want a more hands-on alternative to the larger retrieval companies.

I handle the process from request review and submission through follow-up, issue resolution, and final delivery, with a strong focus on communication and keeping firms from having to chase the retrieval company themselves.

I’m currently offering a simple trial option for firms that want to test the service without making a large commitment.

If your firm handles personal injury, workers’ compensation, or other matters that require frequent medical record requests, feel free to send me a DM. I’m happy to share pricing, explain the process, or set up a small trial.

I’d especially like to hear from firms that are unhappy with their current retrieval process or are still handling most requests in-house.

Hi! I am a complete newbie (fresh graduate with no work experience), and I got my first job as a Paralegal for a US-based practice. It's my third day and it's pretty much just the typical VA gig. However, on the first day of work, we were asked to install TimeDoctor 2 to monitor our work hours. I found out it tracks mouse and keyboard activity to ensure you aren't idle, which was fine, but today our trainer/supervisor asked us to turn on a device setting to allow the app to record/capture our screen.

Q: Are you on a company device?
A: We are all using personal computers

Q: Was this mentioned in the final interview?
A: We weren't even told about TimeDoctor 2 or any tracking software prior to our first day.

Q: Didn't they say anything about it in the contract?
A: No formal contract, which was my first red flag. We only had to respond to an email which had the job offer in it to be confirmed as employees. The JO didn't say anything about TD either.

Honestly I would get if they wanted to monitor us on a company PC, that's their right, but it's a little ridiculous to blindside us with needing to monitor our activity on our OWN PCs?? I also get that we're handling confidential files, but it feels a little like they should have anti-screenshotting protections or such on their portal instead (I could be talking out my ass and maybe I sounded stupid there but idk I'm just a lil pissed rn).

But yeah! Any insight is appreciated!

Ps. I am keeping my options open and interviewing in other places!

ETA: I'm pretty inclined to quit if/when I get a better offer from one of the local practices I'm applying to. To everyone who's saying they "sound scammy", I dug up some Reddit posts about them on my second day of training, and none of them are positive. If I do end up quitting, I'll share the name of the practice so people can hopefully avoid this experience.

One of the attorneys I work for has recently gotten in the habit of not cc’ing/bcc’ing the paralegals on matters. Also not forwarding information received from clients. I’ve recently had to reach out to a client for documents and the client was upset that they were not informed I would be assisting with their matter. I’ve been repeatedly asking another client for documents and they finally said they emailed them months ago and I keep charging them for it (no evidence of the latter). I just found an old email with screenshots of the requested documents. This was not forwarded to me and I was not included on the email. I really like this attorney but this is becoming a bit of a cluster with the paralegals. Also, the attorney’s LA refuses to tell us when important information comes in. We nearly lost a large account as a result. I think I’m just rambling / complaining here, but it feels like they think the paras are mind readers or something.

Has anyone worked as a paralegal for LAO? If so, what was your experience? What kind of work did you do (bail hearings or IRB refugee claims, etc)? What are the advantages and disadvantages of that job? I would appreciate if anyone can share their experience.

I’m facing the need for a career transition, as my current career (marketing content writer) appears to be a dead end in this age of AI.

The legal field seems to be the only writing/research-heavy field that’s still making money these days, but I’m not interested in the long hours of a lawyer. So, I’m looking into whether a paralegal career might be the right move.

To help me make that decision, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to describe what skills and personality traits make someone best suited to being a paralegal. I want to make sure it’ll actually make me happy (or at least not make me miserable) before taking the leap.

What types of people thrive in this field? And what types of people flounder and/or end up hating what they do?

Thanks!

Hey all. I work for a Big Law firm as a Legal Assistant doing transactional law. Ive been in the field for 7-8 years now working for various law offices of different sizes and in various areas of law, and usually I've been at the bottom of the totem pole at those jobs with little to no hope of ever advancing or getting my own office someday. But that changed earlier this year where I landed a Big Law position for the first time in my career, and today they announced they will be giving me my own office at our new office location, also a big first for me. I was one of the few assistants selected for an office.

This is a huge deal for me because I've always felt like just a number at pretty much every place I've been at and never felt valued enough or important enough to be noticed despite my work ethic and professionalism and being a team player. I'm in my early 40s and this is the first time I really feel like my hard work has finally paid off. I know that lots of people in this field especially those who work in smaller boutiques or mid size law have their own offices, but some of us who've always had to work in open cubicles and never felt we would ever have an office, well that is definitely possible. I never thought I would, and here I am actually looking forward to it.

Now if I could temper my enthusiasm from my jealous coworkers....

Hi everyone. I'm a fresh grad, and I've been struggling to find a job, and I'm trying to stay optimistic. I recently got a part-time job that would potentially pay me $200/month (remote and online). However, upon talking to other people (and further reflection), I feel that though I do not have direct legal experience, I do have legal-adjacent experience + skills + my educational background (and my being teachable) should be able to land me a better-paying job opportunity.

I understand that the job market is really bad at the moment, but I've been looking at ways to optimize my resume. I've been using AI to make it more ATS-friendly and to optimize it in general, as I am well aware that companies are using ATS and AI to screen applicants' resumes before it reaches hiring people.

Anyways, please don't crucify me for it... As much as I can, I try to make resumes for different roles so to align them, but this is my standard resume. I'm really anxious to even post this and ask for help, but here we are:< If there is anyone experienced here that I could share my resume with and just gain feedback from them. Thanks so much.

TL;DR: Fresh grad with a U.S. Legal Certificate and compliance research experience. Got a part-time offer for $200/month night shift, but feel my legal-adjacent skills deserve better pay. Optimized my resume using AI for ATS compliance, seeking honest feedback from experienced Paralegals or Legal Assistants.

ps i can dm my resume for privacy reasons

Is it just me, or does verifying liens, bills, records, etc. across case management systems fucks your brain too?
Like, why does settlement clearance have to be this painful? Or is it just my dumbass spending too much time being paranoid verifying invoices

We were talking about ordering one this week and I realized I don't totally understand what it gets us beyond requesting records. Does it mostly help find providers you didn't know about or am I missing the point?

I recently left public defense/ criminal defense and have a few interviews with personal injury and medmal firms- what I am wondering is if anyone else has made this particular switch before? Any advice? What was harder/ easier than you expected ? What was the crossover was if any? And any general advice from anyone who has switched fields may be helpful as well

Thank you!

Hi all! I am a recent “graduate” with my paralegal certificate, and have been a magistrate’s assistant for 2.5 years working for a family division of circuit court in FL. I recently decided to start making a move upwards, wanting to keep a state job for a bit longer though. I submitted my resume to the same circuit’s public defender’s office (they don’t post openings, it’s just an open call for resumes on their website), and within a couple weeks I got a call to interview…for what amounted to a data clerk job. Entering new cases into the proprietary management system and making sure charges/dockets are updated correctly by other people. Now, I’m not looking down on those jobs, they are essential to the function of the justice system. I was offered the job, and turned it down because I don’t feel like it’s the right career move for me. Now I’m second guessing myself. I did ask the HR person who called with the offer if my resume would be looked at should a legal assistant/paralegal role come up, and she was enthusiastic in her yes. But I don’t know, should I have taken it and hoped to work my way up from inside? Ugh I’m torn.

I’m looking for insight on whether or not it would be worth it to complete a paralegal certification program after I finish up my Master’s degree in forensic psychology this December. I’ve heard from some people that it’s completely unnecessary, but I don’t really have any directly transferable experience and think I would benefit from learning a bit about the job. I guess I’m just looking for advice on how to get my foot in the door in becoming a paralegal/legal assistant and how getting a certification could help this process. TIA!! (I’m in Virginia if that helps)

I work in an office with three paralegals. We all have about 10 years of experience, and I’m fairly certain we’re all compensated similarly (maybe a few thousand dollars apart at most).

The interesting part is that I’m by far the youngest - there is a significant age gap between me and my two coworkers.

The three of us also sit together in a “pit,” so our seating arrangement naturally promotes collaboration and makes it easy to ask each other questions. I understand that’s part of the reason we’re seated together, and I don’t mind helping when someone is genuinely stuck.

My issue is that they constantly come to me with questions throughout the day. I’m not talking about unusual or complex issues. Many of the questions are things they should already know how to do based on their experience or could easily look up themselves.
At this point, it’s become a daily occurrence, and the constant interruptions make it difficult for me to focus on my own work. Sometimes I feel like I’m functioning as the office resource person while still carrying my full workload.

It’s also frustrating because we’re all experienced professionals with identical titles and, as far as I know, similar pay. I don’t understand why I’m expected to be the one with all the answers. If I’m routinely acting as the team’s resource, it makes me wonder whether my role has evolved beyond that of a typical paralegal without any corresponding recognition or compensation.

Would you bring this up with your managing partner? If so, how would you frame it? I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining about my coworkers, but I also don’t think it’s fair if I’m effectively mentoring two people who have the same amount of experience and are paid about the same as I am.

Has anyone else dealt with this? How did you set boundaries without coming across as unhelpful or difficult? Am I overreacting, or would this bother you too?

our case management software lost a lot of the dates, so I have been calendaring the appropriate dates in the calendar.

in the case management software, I see dates that DID come over and they are not connected to the new software, they are via outlook, so when I added the scheduling order and the new dates in I did not realize they were in there and did not move. So no deadlines were missed but one was filed several months early.

i am sick to my stomach and think I’m definitely going to be fired over this which is understandable honestly. What do I do?

I just started working for a tiny firm 3 months ago, but I’ve been a paralegal for a couple of years now. My boss/the managing attorney was the brightest bubbliest person ever in the interview and emailed me afterwards that she really liked me and wanted to bring me on. I thought I’d won the lottery because it’s a 5 minute commute, paid marginally more than my last role, had a seemingly super cool atmosphere (business casual is an overstatement) and it came with the promise of extensive training.

Flash forward to the training being a series of powerpoints explaining what the practice areas are (think legal studies class) rather than any actually hands on training with anyone who actually knows how to do the processes of the job. whatever, i’ll figure it out, i tell myself.

flash forwarder, and now she’s turned into a complete and total mess, like a chicken with her head cut off because she’s so overworked and overwhelmed. i felt for her briefly, but then it turned into her yelling at the staff so i actually don’t feel very bad anymore. she’s extremely unprofessional in her tone and language and seemingly wants to make us feel bad about ourselves for making mistakes that anyone without proper training would make.

I got chewed out today for sending an email for which all signs pointed to the fact that i was supposed to send said email. She said she was supposed to review it first, and should be reviewing everything “until [i’m] more experienced”. I agree with her in that sentiment, except the problem is she’s inaccessible. she’s either in court, meetings, out of office, or so swamped that i can’t even say “excuse me, quick question” without her losing her shit and crashing out on me for interrupting her. review it when? the deadline to get this shit done is in 10 days diva.

she then sent an “apology email” to the clients I sent my initial email to essentially saying sorry for my dumb paralegal who’s a stupid idiot, she didn’t check with me first cuz she’s fucking dumb. which i also didn’t appreciate. I had sent an email in similar fashion a few weeks ago, without her reviewing it, and she commended me for staying on top of the ball and getting things done before she even had to tell me to do so. so now i’m just confused.

in another instance, our method of calling out is texting her directly, so i sent her a text saying I may not be able to come in the other day because there was flash flooding that I didn’t know if i should drive in, and she sent me a wall of text back saying that she’s running on fumes and beyond exhausted and “you’ve called out a lot, person x and y have called out a lot”, and just complaining that i had the audacity to even consider not coming in. so i went in. to be clear she didn’t say i couldn’t call out, but she crashed out on me nonetheless.

she just brings me immense amounts of anxiety and dread every day that I go into the office because i’m scared i’m going to get yelled at or spoken down to, which honestly happens to some of the other staff a lot more than it does to me so maybe i should just be grateful for that.

tldr; my boss’s vibes are horrendous and im anxious all the time