College for Law: Paralegal Self-Assessment of Skills and Competencies

This document presents a student's self-assessment of their skills and competencies as a paralegal, based on the BSBLED503 unit guide from the College for Law. The assessment covers six key criteria: carrying out legal research, drafting legal documents, preparing for court cases, investigating and fact-checking, interviewing witnesses, and undertaking general administrative duties. The student rates their competency level for each criterion (low, medium, or high) and provides detailed comments, including examples and areas for improvement. The assessment also includes supervisor comments. The document highlights areas where the student feels confident, such as administrative tasks and investigating, and areas where they recognize the need for development, like drafting legal documents and interviewing witnesses. This self-assessment is a crucial step in identifying learning needs and preparing a professional development plan.

College for Law Education and Training
Diploma of Legal Services
ASSESSMENT TASK ONE
Applicant Self-Assessment
Personal Details:
Surname: Given Names: Rating Competency Level
Student No.:
(your given
password is
your student
number)
Course Start
Date:
Low Clearly inadequate,
some weaknesses or
at least a single major
weakness in
demonstrating the
criterion.
Course: Self
Assessment
One date:
Medium Adequately satisfies
minimum standards in
demonstrating the
criterion with minor
weaknesses only.
Teacher: High Definite strengths
exhibited by strong
claims against the
criterion and has no
discernible
weaknesses.
Version 1.0/May 2015
BSBLED503 Self Assessment Template

Student’s Responses
Criteria Criteria Descriptors Rating Student’s Comments Supervisor Comments
Criteria 1 Carrying out legal research
This is a vital step in any legal case, and is
an important part in determining a variety of
factors which will assist the lawyer in
deciding which approach to make for his or
her client. The research will be aimed at
finding out preceding cases relevant to a
case, relevant statutes, court decisions,
legal articles and other writings. Paralegals
may also carry out general background
checks on witnesses. A paralegal must
always take care to provide accurate
information to the lawyer, and be diligent in
his or her research.
Mediu
m
I do not have any problem in
researching about the statutes,
court decisions and other legal
articles and writings; however
the problems I face are at the
time of carrying out the general
background checks on the
witnesses. There have been
many instances where I was
given to research about the
background of the witnesses,
almost every time I missed
certain fats which could have
been useful for the cases. This
is one area I need to work on.
Criteria 2
Drafting legal documents
Depending on the size of the law firm, a
paralegal’s duties may include drafting
documents such as mortgages, separation
agreements, sale agreements, trust
agreements, real estate closings and other
types of contracts. This is an example of an
administrative duty which greatly aids the
firm in decreasing the workload of attorneys
and other staff.
Low I think that I can improve a lot
on drafting in general.
Although I have a idea of
how to draft legal documents
but in practice there are a lot
of areas that I can be
improving. I have problems
mostly in preparing briefing
papers and the
memorandums.
2 Version 1.0/May 2015
BSBLED503 Self Assessment Template

Criteria 3
Preparing for court cases
Paralegals play a crucial role in helping
lawyers prepare for their court cases. They
will help in the preparation of legal
arguments, opening statements, closing
statements and court pleadings or motions.
As a legal assistant becomes more
experienced, the duties regarding case
preparation may become more and more
involved, with an open dialogue with
attorneys helping the successful completion
of a legal case.
Mediu
m
As I am new there are many
responsibilities I have yet not
taken, like an open dialog
with attorneys to help in
successfully completing a
legal case.
Criteria 4
Investigating and fact-checking
A paralegal may carry out investigations in
relation to a case in order to authenticate or
validate information. This investigation may
include locating relevant witnesses for their
case, as well as finding relevant
background information about the defense
or prosecution which may help an attorney
craft a convincing legal argument.
High I think I have done a good work
in the area till now. However
there are certain time I find it
hard to understand where to
start my investigations from.
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BSBLED503 Self Assessment Template

Criteria 5
Interviewing witnesses
The paralegal may interview witnesses or
the client in order to gather relevant
information. He or she will then prepare a
report on the interview for the lawyer which
he may use for preparation of his case.
Some relevant information that might be
presented to a lawyer can be character-
based, such as “is the witness telling the
truth?” or any potential personal or financial
issues which might impact the case.
Mediu
m
I think that I am not fully
capable of the character-based
assessment of a witness. As
with background check of the
witnesses there are many
instances where I did not have
any idea where to add
questions and which questions
should be considered as
important.
Criteria 6
Undertaking general administrative
duties
Paralegals, in some cases, are also
referred to as law clerks as the nature of the
work may involve tasks such as filing and
other clerical duties such as answering
phone calls, taking messages and answer
correspondence. As mentioned previously,
although this may not be the most
glamorous duty a paralegal will undertake, it
plays a vital role in the legal system.
High As I am new so most of the
works I am given are
administrative duties so I think I
have a good knowledge of the
task as of now. Tasks like filing,
answering phone calls, taking
messages and answer
correspondence are easy for me
now than when I started working
as a paralegal.
4 Version 1.0/May 2015
BSBLED503 Self Assessment Template

Student’s Additional Comments: (Self Assessment)
5 Version 1.0/May 2015
BSBLED503 Self Assessment Template