Paralegal Studies

The threat of a deteriorating economy is anever-present concern, so it was heartening to read an article in Long IslandBusiness News dated July 23, 2009 entitled "Midsized LI Law Firms Grow,Buck US Trend." The article provided a comfort  level not only with regard to the Island'seconomy in general, but  specificallywith regard to the present and growing need for highly trained and skilledsupport personnel for lawyers, such as paralegals. 

The article explained that while many big US lawfirms are reducing staff, many small and midsized firms on Long Island are actually "staffing up" in specialty areas. Asseveral national  law firms are foldingor shedding scores of attorneys, major concerns like  Uniondale's Rivkin Radler and Garden City'sMeyer, Suozzi, English and  Kleinactually have found themselves in need of attorneys and support staff in  such areas as bankruptcy and litigation, twodocument-intensive areas where paralegals are critical. 

Small Long Islandfirms like Bohemia's Campolo, Middleton & Associates grew from just twoattorneys to more than seven attorneys and a total of 14 staff members over thecourse of just the past 15 months. Similarly, Picciano and Scahill  of Westbury added two attorneys to their 20member staff just this year. The firm boasts an intensive negligence defenseand no-fault litigation practice. 

In summary, despite all the gloom and doom innuendosregarding the job market, the New York State Department of Labor indicates thatstaffing for legal service providers on Long Island has remained relativelystable. 

Statistics like these concerning our local marketinstill a level of confidence in the providers of educational opportunities forthose pursuing a paralegal career. As more and more Long Islandlaw firms take on more and more attorneys in specific practice area, the needfor highly skilled and trained paralegals in those same areas of law concomitantlyincrease. If the best anecdote for fear is trust, then the reality of the legalservice sector on Long Island should provideassurance that the prospect of career opportunities for paralegals is presentand increasing.