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Nowadays, the Great Recession has made it appear like everybody has to attain a college degree and even then, there is no assurance that a job will be waiting around the corner. The good news is that individuals with only a high school diploma or its equivalent have great opportunities to be hired for legal entry level jobs. Take note that these jobs provide good pay, good benefits and good career advancement opportunities.

Yet another advantage of these jobs is that it is possible to simultaneously perform the job while pursuing advanced studies in the legal profession. Additionally, valuable skills can be acquired that will prove useful later in a legal career. For example, a court messenger can pursue his paralegal studies while working and in the process, also gain insight into the workings of a law firm and build up contacts in the profession.

Here are a few of the entry level legal careers to choose from. Choose based on your present skills and then build up to the skills desired in your later career.

Court Messenger

Most law firms provide for the training necessary for court messengers although certain skills are an advantage during the hiring process. You must possess good interpersonal skills to deal with the various people along your route, good health to cope with the hazards of being outside most of the time, and a respect for deadlines. You can demonstrate these skills through previous experiences like a newspaper boy job.

Court messengers are expected to deliver sensitive documents to many people from the opposing counsel to the courts as well as other packages pertinent to the cases being handled by the law firm. You will also be required to perform other messenger errands although your free time is such that studying during the day is possible.

Document Coders

One of the most desirable legal entry level jobs in terms of the career opportunities it provides is that of a document coder. Litigation support being a growing field, your experience in the job is already an advantage should you decide to move up the ranks of entry level legal careers.

The job requires encoding and reviewing batches of legal documents. The data will be encoded based on pre-defined criteria such as type, date and author into a searchable database. Large-scale litigations have high needs for document coders especially those with experience in this area. Training for document coders on the database applications is usually provided on the job although attention to detail is an asset in the job.

Mailroom Clerk

As the name implies, a mailroom clerk processes, sorts and delivers incoming mail on one hand and prepares outgoing mails on the other hand. In the process, you will also be required to operate machinery like postage meters, scanners and labeling machines.

Skills required include strong organizational skills coupled with basic computer skills. You must also be able to lift heavy items and use machinery to transport the mail within the office.

These legal entry level jobs are excellent ways to get your foot inside the highly competitive world of lawyers, judges and paralegals. Start on the lower rungs and then build up your career is often the best way to understand the system and then use it to your advantage.





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