The paralegal profession is projected to grow by 33 percent during the first 10 years of 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Office of Employment Projections. Compared with other occupations, this is an above average growth rate. In the past decade that fact, coupled with the ups and downs of the economy, has made for a wild roller coaster ride for many paralegal schools. In a recession, out of a recession, students were running to, or running away from, getting their paralegal certificates. The field has exploded; the field has imploded. It has been, folks, a very bumpy ride for a profession that once wore the banner, "fastest growing field in the U.S." And as with all cycles, the economy recently has given signals that it may improve. Unemployment is down from an all-time high. These rates play an important role in enrollment numbers as down-sized, right-sized, and out-sized professionals search for new careers. Students opting for additional training in a down economy face larger classes. As the dust settles on each economic cycle, clients have made a very strong statement to the legal community: paralegals are a driving force behind lowering the high cost of legal fees. The profession is here to stay.

A few years ago, I was brought in to teach paralegal educators how to market their programs and was astonished to learn that, despite declining enrollments, some educators still had not grasped the value of basic marketing concepts. Sure, some sent out direct mail, held open houses, went to colleges to recruit, but it did not appear that there was much in the way of organized, strategic planning to bolster enrollments. It was almost as though enrollments were an accident. As I listened to the paralegal educators describe their attempts to attract and retain enrollees, I was amazed at the dichotomy that many schools teach marketing or cultivate business school atmospheres yet the schools fail to employ marketing and business methods to lead them to astounding success: creating a marketing strategy that will increase sales and post fat profits to their bottom lines.

Students do not automatically reach for a paralegal career. In all my years as a productive human being, I have never heard a child say that when she grew up what she wanted to be was a paralegal. Somehow, that was akin to saying, "When I grow up, I want to be an actuary." It just does not happen. I have asked many, many paralegals, "how did you get into this field" and constantly heard the answer, "by accident." On the other hand, however, I'm willing to bet 95 per cent of all paralegals joining the field did so because of someone's good marketing techniques.

The First Sign You Are Headed for Trouble

There are many fine institutions across the U.S. These institutions have built their reputations on producing excellent candidates for jobs. These schools have gained prestige in the community by providing students with excellent curricula and very credible faculties. In fact, it took years of hard work, planning, long-term strategy and money to get where they are. It's such a shame many of them want to throw it all away.

Now how, do you ask, can they throw it all away? Simple. Lack of marketing. The first mistake any institution can make is to rest on its laurels. This halo effect - ("after all, we are the blankblank university") - has killed many businesses, law firms and schools alike. Those institutions that have adopted the halo effect have forgotten a couple of critical elements essential to the paralegal field:

1. Since the field is still in its infancy, the consumer (student) must be sold on the value of the education. Even with the help of some TV shows such as "The Lyon's Den" co-starring an actor in a paralegal role, not everyone knows exactly what paralegals do, who qualifies, job opportunities or much else about the field. The most anyone in the general public will be able to tell you is that paralegals work with attorneys.
2. The educational field has gotten highly competitive. Schools now compete for students - i.e., trade schools, for-profit universities, traditional colleges and universities.
3. The student (consumer) has gotten more selective about where he or she will spend hard-earned dollars.
4. Law firms will pick and choose from which paralegal schools they will hire. ItÿÙŽs not always the oldest or most expensive.
5. Entry to the paralegal field has witnessed the beginning of regulation in several states. California, for example, recently passed a rather stringent Assembly Bill (1761) that not only defines paralegals but places strict educational requirements on the profession.
6. Rehabilitation and outplacement dollars are likely to be less than before. Increasingly, consumers must rely on their own money to choose a new career, and they must be "sold" on why this career is the right choice. After they are "sold" on the career, they must be sold on the right choice of schools. Unless you are in the field, you wouldn't necessarily know which school is the number one choice of law firms - as you might for law schools. The same kind of publicity just isn't there.
7. Employers from most major law firms and corporations appear to be gravitating toward standardizing educational requirements consisting of a B.A. degree and certificate from an American Bar Association (ABA)-approved school. Schools that do not qualify face possible enrollment problems. Not only do these schools have to compete with institutions that offer a post-graduate or Bachelor's degree and ABA certificate, they have to continually sell their program over and above those with higher education requirements.
8. Whether you are a believer in the quality of distance learning or are horrified at the thought, the fact remains that on-line courses now compete with traditional institutions.

Tell me again why your school does not need a marketing program?

Resources: Everything You Need to Know about Marketing your Paralegal Program (Prentice Hall)
Internet Marketing (Net Effect Series, Prentice Hall)
By Barbara Cox, Ph.D., and William Koelzer, CBC, APR,
Cox Marketing Services