Law Office Management Paper - 1

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Law Office Management – Paralegal Class Reflection Paper
Joshua Cornstubble
Law Office Management
Cindy Stephens
03/15/2021
LAW OFFICE MANAGEMENT 2
Learning has always been at the core of my aspirations, both from a professional (and
academic), and personal standpoint. One of the main reasons why I enrolled for this class was to
reinforce my knowledge about the paralegal industry. To be fair, enrolling for this class was not
an absolute requirement for the course. I knew, however, that the concepts, theories, and the
knowledge that I would be able to acquire from said class will enable me to become a more
effective, and not to mention competent, legal professional in the future. I chose to enroll in this
class as a last-minute option for the OAT (Office Administration and Technology) elective
subject. I also believe that the paralegal class was going to be directly relevant to my then
existing professional experience and academic background. I work as part of the Army National
Guard, and I have been employed as a correctional officer at a maximum-security prison for
seven years, at the time of writing.
I learned a lot of things about the legal industry. Initially, I was expecting that the class
would revolve around legal principles, concepts, and theories. I was only partially correct,
because although we did cover some key legal principles, concepts, and theories, the class’ bread
and butter subjects were those that are directly related to how law firms are ran and managed.
The class discussions were peppered with a lot of management and leadership principles.
For example, we covered a topic about the different forms of management, namely, centralized
and decentralized management. The consensus that was formed by the students during the
discussions (and in some cases, mini debates) was that there is no such thing as a perfect or
better form of management. There are instances and settings where the centralized form of
management would be more suitable; and in the same manner, there are instances where the
decentralized form of management would be better. The key for future paralegals and law office
managers, therefore, is to be familiar with these instances and settings, so that they know what
type of management and other concepts to apply.
I also learned that there are different types of law firms. There are law firms that are
owned, operated, and funded by the government. A good example would be the prosecutors’
offices that fall under the jurisdiction of the country’s Department of Justice. On the other hand,
there are lawyers that are privately owned. Depending on their structures, private law firms can
be owned by a single person (as in the case of a sole proprietorship), by two people (as in the
case of partnerships), or by a larger group of people (as in the case of professional corporations
and limited liability companies). Based on the knowledge that I acquired from this course, I
believe that I have made the right decision, as far as academic and career trajectory is concerned.
I, in fact, have a lot of options. If I want to be an Office Administrator or Technologist who will
be assigned to work in the legal industry, I already know what types of law firms to send my
resume to, depending on my immediate and medium-term goals by then. If I want to work in a
highly competitive environment, and be truly well-versed in the management of law firms and
legal offices, I would most likely apply for work in a corporate law firm, or basically any private
law firm that is owned by a large corporation (or LLC).
The versatility that my present academic and career choice offers is indeed valuable.
Depending on the movement of the trends in the legal industry or from a broader standpoint, the
office administration industry, I should be able to pick the right options that would be beneficial
to me, not just in terms of earnings (monetary compensation), but also in terms of personal and
professional growth.
The Covid-19 pandemic has no doubt affected the way how offices work, and law firms
and offices are not an exemption. I have spent a significant number of my class-hours at home,
via online teleconferencing platforms. The good thing about this is that I was able to make good
use of my time and still study, despite the global pandemic. The bad thing, on the other hand, is
that my academic outcomes have definitely been affected, one way or the other. I believe that
there are simply course contents and topics that would be better off delivered live, as in in an
actual physical classroom setting than online.
Looking back, I think it would be safe to say that making the last-minute decision to
enroll in this paralegal class was a great decision. This class opened my eyes to a lot of things,
especially about the typical misconceptions about paralegals, lawyers, law firms, and the legal
industry and profession in general. I will surely be able to use the knowledge that I acquired from
this class in my job as an Army National Guard and a Correctional Officer. As a correctional
officer, for example, we also have to deal with lawyers from time to time. I would definitely be
able to know where the lawyers are coming from, now that I have a somewhat better grasp of the
types of processes and protocols that they have to go through, whenever they visit correctional
facilities, among other angles that are related to my existing job.

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Law Office Management – Paralegal Class Reflection Paper

Law Office Management

seven years, at the time of writing.

type of management and other concepts to apply.

law firm that is owned by a large corporation (or LLC).

actual physical classroom setting than online.

facilities, among other angles that are related to my existing job.

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