A Few More Definitions for Legal Assistant/Paralegal
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As defined by the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, a Paralegal is a person, qualified through education, training or work experience to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office, governmental agency or other entity or may be authorized by administrative, statutory or court authority to perform this work. Substantive shall mean work requiring recognition, evaluation, organization, analysis, and communication of relevant facts and legal concepts.
Source: http://www.paralegal.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=788
National associations, bar associations, legislatures and supreme courts have addressed the definition of legal assistants and paralegals. Through discussions within each group, similarities in the identification and duties of legal assistants are emerging with routine consistency. The common threads in these definitions and discussions are:
Legal Assistants:
1) have received specialized training through formal education or many years of experience;
2) work under the supervision and direction of an attorney; and
3) perform non-clerical, substantive legal work in assisting an attorney.
Source: http://www.nala.org/terms.aspx
Paralegal is used in most jurisdictions to describe a paraprofessional who assists qualified lawyers in their legal work. This is true in the United States and many other countries.