The use of paralegals in the legal field — no matter if the work venue is a law firm, a corporation or a government entity — has significantly changed in the last 30 years. It has now progressed to the point that paralegals want the respect and recognition they deserve in the legal community. They also want regulation and legislation.
Changes in the paralegal profession are ongoing and affect various entities in the legal field on the state and federal levels. The U.S. Department of Labor recently promulgated changes to the rules regarding white-collar exceptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act and reaffirmed that paralegals are nonexempt employees. The DOL included a commentary referencing paralegals in its explanatory ruling.
