Increasing demand for legal help and changing trends in how people access those services are creating a demand for more paralegals in the workforce.
Paralegals are not licensed attorneys qualified to give legal advice but they are trained in legal matters and employed to assist in researching and drafting legal documents and other legal functions.
In addition to law firms, paralegals also may work at corporations, other business organizations and government agencies.
Increasingly, consumers are turning to Internet law sites and legal self-help books as less expensive alternatives to hiring a lawyer, said Vanderburgh Superior Court Judge Les Shively, who serves on an Indiana State Bar Association committee examining the future of legal services delivery.
"The key is figuring out how to help people access justice while balancing it with keeping lawyers in business," he said.
One way to do that is to encourage the use of paralegals and legal assistants who can provide many services to law firm clients at a reduced hourly cost compared to lawyers, Shively said. The end work is then reviewed and approved by a licensed attorney.
"If lawyers are doing that work it is more expensive," Shively said.
Paralegal employment in Indiana is projected to increase by more than 28 percent between 2012 and 2022, according to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.
The average annual salary for paralegals in Indiana in 2015 was $46,050, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Nationwide, in 2014 the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected 17 percent employment growth for paralegals and legal assistants from 2012 to 2022 over that same time period - outpacing a projected employment growth of 11 percent for the average of all occupations.
Ivy Tech Community College in Evansville has positioned itself to help students interested in exploring paralegal careers, said Jennifer Dennis Schaefer, assistant professor and department chair of its criminal justice and paralegal studies programs.
One way the school is doing this is by offering an associate degree program in paralegal services that prepares students to take a certification exam offered by the National Association of Legal Assistants when they graduate.
While certification is not a requirement to work in the field, Schaefer said it gives graduates a step up in their employment search.
Another thing the school has done is reach out to Shively and several local attorneys to teach classes. The school also now offers an internship program in which students can gain experience by splitting their time working in Shively's office and the Vanderburgh County Clerk's Office, as well as observing courtroom procedures.
When Caroline Templin graduated from the University of Southern Indiana she realized the job options for a history major were limited. She chose to enroll in Ivy Tech's paralegal program, completing it last month.
Templin said her research experience as a history major fit with the requirements of a paralegal career and employment opportunities seemed good.
"It's a growing field," she said.
As an internship participant, Templin said she enjoyed seeing how the justice system worked firsthand.
"I like helping to research the cases. I got to see the end result of what a paralegal does," she said.