Traditional paralegals and legal assistants can be a very broad category, but they generally represent the most common classification of paralegals and legal assistants.

Versatility in a paralegal/legal assistant represents the ability to perform many specific tasks that represent the spectrum of duties  Paralegals/legal assistants should be able to do a collective assortment of tasks at the behest of an attorney, association, or firm, short of the specified tasks that most bar associations establish can only be performed by a lawyer. 

The paralegal/legal assistant’s main purpose is to work at the discretion of a lawyer at a number of tasks, including many that involve comprehensive research and analysis, especially in preparation for legal actions. 

They can research evidence, as well as draft affidavits, arguments, and motions that the lawyer will then rewrite or revise before presenting to the courts.  They can also work as fundamental “case managers” for particular aspects of a case, or for particular parties in a class action (though again, they are not allowed to provide legal advice), as well as be placed n charge of the clerical duties related to a particular case.

In addition to broad clerical work, paralegals/legal assistants can also draft a number of other documents, such as mortgage documents or property transfers, and they may also be in charge of keeping track of legal billing, and management of various documents and databases, especially for internal use.   

It is important to note that while paralegals/legal assistants may play a significant role in drafting legal documents, the ultimate role of signing the documents is that of the lawyer.

The other key to defining the the role of the “traditional” paralegal/assistant is that they often boast a fairly stable affiliation with one attorney, company, firm, government agency or so on.  

Traditional paralegals and legal assistants can work in a broad category of companies, from corporate offices to government agencies, and within each these organizations their tasks are ultimately specified to the needs of the organization.

As the number of paralegals have grown, the need for more generalized
paralegal work has decreased while the need for more specified work has
increased. 

Since legal departments and organizations assume many different shapes
and sizes, the nature of paralegal work can also be classified by the extent of
work performed, as well as the location and the general affiliations provided
by the paralegals.  

Though the trend does remain
for many paralegals to become specialized within certain fields of work, many
still find it to their advantage to be extremely flexible to the kind of
positions they will try to undertake, while others may find it within their
interest to engage and excel in very specified tasks.

While specialized paralegals in certain fields are as varied as the many
assorted fields of law, it is perhaps best to focus expressly on the categories
of paralegal that are describes by the nature of their position and their
affiliations.

Traditional paralegals and legal assistants will represent those in the
field who adhere to the generalized role of the paralegal, as someone who works
for a single organization while performing the traditional administrative and
research tasks associated with a paralegal.

Freelance paralegals represent paralegals who break from the traditional
paradigm of working for one office, who work for a legal department office,
company or organization in the capacity of an independent contractor, who works
under a specific contract to perform either general paralegal work through or
apply knowledge and experience in a specified field of the law.

Legal document technicians, lay advocates, and document preparers are
variations on the paralegal role who perform very specified roles in their
paralegal work, limited to drafting documentation or providing limited degrees
of legal representation in administrative hearings. 

Independent Paralegals are usually perform work as part of a for hire
agency or temp agency, usually for work provided on the short term, and who
could either work in a temp or virtual capacity.

Law and document clerks usually work in a far more restricted capacity
that paralegals, and specifically often work for the court or some other form
of the public sector.

All of these categories cover the broad spectrum covered by paralegal
and legal assistant classifications, and it is best to go into each of them, in
detail.

Law
and Document Clerks in many respects can be used to describe two very different
classes of legal professional.  A law clerk is
a position where an individual performs a number of administrative duties for a
judge or judiciary, which heavy reliance on substantive work, such as legal research, analysis, and drafting of legal
decisions. 

In
almost all circumstances, becoming a law clerk involves having graduated from
law school with a legal degree, usually with a specified academic focus on
judicial review, and in some cases, having performing near or at the top of
their class.  As a general rule, the process is
more selective among the higher courts, such as at the federal state and
appellate court, and are less selective in the lower courts (though, comparative
to other legal positions, they are still highly selective). 

The firsthand observation of the
intricacies of the court are an undeniably beneficial position, as well as the
high volume of legal professionals that interact with a judge gives a promising
law clerk a potentially extensive quantity of connections throughout the legal
community.  

 While
some individuals become law clerks as a career, the positions are typically
under a limited duration, commonly a year, and serve mainly as a valuable
stepping stone for the law clerk on the path between law school and achieving a
successful career in law.

Document
clerks generally perform more common paralegal practices, usually limited to
clerical and administrative work that centers almost exclusively on the filing
of legal documentation.  Sometimes it is required of a document clerk
to have passed a local or federal civil service exam (though usually not for
positions in the private sector).