Attorneys Working as Paralegals

During bad economic times, one of the things that happens is that attorneys look for work as paralegals. They can be successful or not, depending on the theory of those hiring.

A contact at a major bank told me never to apply for paralegal openings there; she knows people do it but the legal department decided never to hire attorneys to work as paralegals because they have two different functions and different training.

One problem with attorneys doing non-attorney work is ego. Some people have egos that can't stand the lower title; you know them, you've worked with some on doc reviews. Sometimes they're less successful at project work because they can't check their egos at the door and are difficult when not in charge.

The other problem is that sometimes employers view attorneys in paralegal positions as short-timers who are just going to go when they have an opportunity to do so. Because the job market has changed a lot in the last 20 years, that's not nearly the consideration it may have been a few years ago; the reality is that many employers complain about the lack of loyalty in their employees but there's no reason those employees would be loyal, since loyalty is now a one-way street. Yet there's a local corporation which hires attorneys to work as paralegals. So it can go either way, depending on the employers beliefs.