Americans are becoming more litigious by the minute. But don't be so quick to pile on and blame the lawyers. It will likely be the paralegals, rather than lawyers, that will most benefit from America's growing lawsuit mania.

Law firms are wising up and realizing that paralegals can perform many of the same jobs as lawyers at a fraction of the cost. As a result, this field should see significant growth into the next century.

What They Do:

Paralegals are the underclass of the legal industry. Also called "legal assistants," they are prohibited from performing certain tasks: setting legal fees, presenting cases in court, and giving legal advice. Other than that, they may and do perform any tasks necessary to aid a lawyer in preparing a case.

The bulk of a paralegal's workload involves preparation of "background work." That can mean anything from photocopying legal briefs to conducting important original research. Sometimes, paralegals will be called upon to independently investigate the facts of a court case in order to make sure that all the relevant details were uncovered according to proper procedure. For instance, those pictures of OJ wearing leather gloves while covering a football game were probably discovered by a paralegal.

Paralegals also prepare reports on the information they have collected, maintain legal files, and help draft documents. Many paralegals specialize in one specific area of the law, such as family law or corporate law. It is very common for young college graduates who are considering law school to work as paralegals in order to gain some exposure to the profession and decide if the law will be their life's work.

Why It's Cooler Than It Sounds:

There's probably no better way to find out what it's like to be a lawyer before you commit to three years of law school. If you choose to become a paralegal for a year or two out of college, you'll get to sample what is for some an exciting profession, without all the pressure of answering directly to clients. And should you choose to become a career paralegal, you'll probably wind up doing much of what the lawyers do -- except, of course, make partner.

Also, working as a paralegal for a non-profit organization or for the state is a good way to do public service work without having to live on the streets.

What they earn:

Average starting salary (latest figures, 1993): $23,400 Average salary (latest figures, 1993): $28,300

How to begin:

There are no mandatory certification requirements for paralegals; some employers hire paralegals with only a bachelor's degree and train them on the job. Some firms, however, require their paralegals to be certified by a paralegal training program. Most of these are two-year programs; however, those who have already earned a bachelor's degree may complete a training program in just a few months. These programs typically combine general courses on the law with training in some area of specialization.