After all the self-assessments
in which we worked on in the past weeks, it has helped me get to know myself a
lot better. It has helped me realize why I am interested in becoming a lawyer.
It has helped me get an idea of what my educational and career goals are. It
has been an eye opener to all the requirements I will need and phases I will
encounter when looking for a real job. But for now I realized becoming a
paralegal will be the first step in becoming a lawyer and it is something look
forward to. It will help me gain knowledge and hands on experience in the law
field. One of my professors told me how he knows some paralegals that have more
way more knowledge than their lawyers since they do most of the work. I am
determined to become a Lawyer and know what’s going on. All these
self-assessment helped me pick which senior college I want to go to after La
Guardia and to start planning out the rest of my path to reach my career goal.
After analyzing my personality traits and skills identification, I feel that
the best personality traits and skills that represent me are having excellent
time management, being organized, being reliable and honest. Furthermore, I am
fluent in Spanish, proficient in Microsoft Word, Publisher and Power Point. I
also love writing and researching which is an important aspect of the
paralegals work and lawyers.
The code I got for the assessment
activity was CIE–Conventional, Investigative and Enterprising. Those definitely
fit my personality. I want to help society, help others, influence people, and
sometimes work alone. I want to gain personal growth, recognition and excitement.
I plan on becoming more assertive and overcome my shyness. I will like to
develop my verbal communication skills (pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary).
I want to improve my ability to work under pressure. I have always been the one
person in my groups people went to when they needed help. I have always been
able to communicate and work well with others. A pattern I see is that I like
to help others but I also like working alone. I want my success to benefit
others but also benefit me as a person while I am learning new skills to add
for personal use. I will continue to prioritize my values even if there is
change along the way and merge them with new ones.
Almost in any type of job you
have to be able multitask and be reliable on. I definitely have that quality
because in most of my classes whenever we were paired up as a group, I will
always be the group leader and hold all my classmates assignments. Lawyers
have to be organized, responsible, honest and reliable. Their work is usually
done in courtrooms, libraries and offices. Depending on where you work in, some
lawyers have a schedule others have flexible hours. Lawyers
investigate laws and see if they are up to date. They have to conduct a lot of
research from online sources, article journals, books etc. Computer skills are
also a must have in the law field. Computers help lawyers and paralegals
complete their cases faster, as well as allowing them to research cases and
statutes, and drafting letters, pleadings, and briefs. I want to build up on my
writing skills (business letter writing! memo writing.) In addition to
improving my Word/computer skills and explore the uses of computer technology
in my career field.
After career research and
looking at job postings, I came to conclusions that I want to become a Lawyer.
I am still debating if to choose Family Law, Real Estate or Personal
Injury. All three catch my interest and
the skills and responsibilities appeal to me. A personal injury lawyer’s
primary purpose is to see justice and compensation served to the injured party.
Real Estate Lawyers either act as litigators or handle the legal aspects of
real estate transactions. Real estate lawyers deal in real property and mediate
real estate transactions gone sour. If there is a divorce being terminated a
Divorce Lawyer/Family Lawyer has to pick the best choice. If there are children
involved, a divorce lawyer helps set the terms for child custody and child
support. Thorough research is required in order to gather supporting evidence
in each case. These all meet my main concern, helping the community in a fair
manner. Researching is one of my favorite things to do, which is what Lawyers and
some paralegals also do for their cases. They act as both advocates and
advisors in our society and counsel clients their legal rights and obligations.
Researching was a bit overwhelming;
but it opened my eyes how a lot of jobs/internships require a minimum of a
bachelor’s degree. The internship that caught my attention was the Immigrant Workers Rights Community Organizing
Intern. It’s a great opportunity for anyone who cares about the
empowerment of new immigrants and wants to learn new skills and strategies for
engagement and consciousness-raising around workers rights and immigrants’
rights issues. As intern, I will gain expertise in labor laws. It is an unpaid
internship. A job that caught my eye was Plaintiff's
Personal Injury Paralegal, they provide legal staffing and consulting to
projects, and temporary basis, serving both law firms and corporate legal
departments. They also provide project and e-discovery teams and workspace for
a wide range of initiatives, including litigation support, M&A and document
review matters. From personal experience and personal interest, I always wanted
to be the one suing than being sued.
I chose John Jay College as my
senior college because it has the major that appeals to me the most. I do not
want to be a paralegal my whole life; I plan to transfer my credits to earn my
bachelor’s there in Political Science. John Jay does not have a Paralegal
Studies section but it does have Political Science Major as well as Law and
Society Major. The major offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study
of law and legal institutions, their impact on society, and society's impact on
them. This all sounds pretty interesting. The Political Science major
provides a program of study for students considering careers in a variety of
fields, including public service, law, community affairs, international
relations and politics. Students may select from four concentrations-of-choice: Law,
Courts and Politics, which explores the intersection of the legal system
and the broader political system; Justice and Politics, which
examines the political philosophy and various societal values that underlie
contemporary views of justice. I also picked this college and Political
Science because it can prepare me for a variety of careers in government,
business, civil service, law, education and journalism. Just in case I end up
not liking the law field I have other options.
I also have in in mind New York
City College of Technology as another option because this
college has its own Paralegal Studies Department. It provides understanding of
law and the practical skills and technical proficiency needed to competently
function in today's complex legal environment. The program offers two-degree
options – both approved by the American Bar Association – the Bachelor of
Science and an Associate in Applied Science. Both degree programs combine a
solid background in liberal arts with a full range of specialty courses.
Graduates of their programs are employed in private law firms of various sizes,
in corporate law departments, federal, state and local government agencies and
the courts and in agencies providing legal services for the poor. This school caught
my attention because they really focus on the paralegals. It’s interesting to
see how networking and the school can open doors for you. They also have a
scholarship program where you get to use all your skills you gain in an
internship. They try to prepare you as much as possible.
I chose the American Bar
association because it is the most important is a nationwide organization
to which qualified attorneys voluntarily belong.
With over 400,000
members the ABA
is the largest voluntary
professional organization in the world. The ABA’s most important stated activities
are the setting of academic standards for law schools and the formulation of
model ethical codes related to the legal profession. NALP is an association of
over 2,500 legal career professionals who advise law students, lawyers, law
offices, and law schools in North America and beyond. NALP is an association
that works hard and wants the lawyers and law students they serve to have an
ethical recruiting system, employment data they can trust, and expert advisers
to guide and support them in every stage of their careers.
A journal I chose was Paralegal Today because it’s mission is to provide
intelligent, thought-provoking and practical material to its readers, such as:
career and technical information to help readers excel in the workplace,
coverage of national news, trends and professional happenings that affect
paralegals, as well as colorful and informative pieces on unique areas and
people in the profession. It work tirelessly to benefit its readers in the most
professional and unbiased manner possible. Lawyers have to be up to date and
aware of what’s going on not just in New York. The ABAJournal.com is the
website of the flagship magazine of the American Bar Association. And
features breaking legal news,
and is constantly being updated throughout every business day.
This information assists me
with my academic and professional planning because it helps me plan out how
what I am suppose to do. Graduate La Guardia and then transfer to a senior
college to stay on track and become a lawyer. It enables to keep in mind what I
need to do or have for a simple job or what I need to become a lawyer. My
professionalism is moderate. I need to keep being myself, reliable, honest,
organized and responsible. I need to improve my computer application skills and
ability to work under pressure. I need to start reading some books that will
help me know how to take care of situations that might occur in a work
environment.
After
all this researching I am still
interested in this field. Especially in the real estate and personal injury
section. I might also have in consideration Family Lawyer or Litigation Lawyer.
What energizes me about this work is that I get to help people. From personal
experience, I was astonished of how everything is taken care of to win a case.
You experience new things, gain knowledge through out time. I think I can be
successful because I love researching stuff and prove people wrong and helping
them. Becoming
a lawyer will allow me to provide effective solution to highly complex
problems. I am determined to achieve this goal and to make a difference in my
family, friends, community and the world in general.
