For our next exercise, we will think about what, specifically, makes a good paralegal or legal secretary. It may be easy to think up a list of typical tasks in an office, however I would like you to think more deeply about the following:

After working at your position for a period of time, you may very likely be asked to conduct client interviews. You will probably start out observing interviews at first and, once you have more experience in your job, you may start playing a bigger role in the process. This may mean you will conduct interviews on your own. Remember that the attorney you work for will have a fairly limited number of practice areas, so the subject of such interviews will be

- What is the purpose of an intake interview? Sometimes these are called consultations.

- What is required for an effective interview? For instance, should the client have any 'homework' before coming to the interview?

- What specific skills do you need to interview a client? You should be able to identify at least three primary skills.

- If you are conducting an interview on your own, what are the limits of what you can say to the client? What if the client starts asking you questions? What can you answer?

- What needs to be done after the interview is complete?