Paralegal Mistake #1: Lack of Proofreading
I’ve discussed this topic with many of my colleagues in the paralegal field. The question is, “Who’s ultimately responsible for proofreading – the assistant or the attorney?”
Some of my colleagues held the notion that the attorney was the primary proofreader. I disagree. It’s simply not the attorney’s role.
Proofreading correspondence, memos or legal documents thoroughly (by the assistant) will absolutely build trust. Providing the attorney with error free documents time and time again will prove that the assistant possesses a sense of responsibility and integrity.
A significant part of the assistant’s job is producing excellent product. The attorney may decide to edit the content of the document, however, proofreading should rest on the expertise of the assistant.
One of the pitfalls is relying on spellcheck only. Spellcheck is certainly one of the tools of the trade but it has its limitations. To proofread effectively, we must move through the document line by line, checking to be sure sentence structure is correct and that the content makes sense.
For instance, if you meant to type the word R-E-A-D, but instead you typed R-E-D, both are legitimate words, of course. However, spellcheck cannot determine whether the word is grammatically correct or not. The assistant must always make that determination.
Believe me, when the assistant is known to be an excellent proofreader, the law firm knows and respects it. The attorneys will believe that the assistant does, indeed, care about the work product and is committed producing high quality work on a consistent basis.
