A Paralegal’s Business Card Speaks Professionalism

A business card is a small “calling card” which advertises a business or service offered. Information found on a business card includes the business name, individual contact person, and various ways to contact the service provider, including address and telephone numbers. Today, business cards also include email addresses and web site information.

Paralegals communicate with many people. Often, an attorney’s clients will stay in regular contact with his paralegal. This is because a legal assistant is generally more accessible than the attorney and can be depended on to route important information between the two.

When a paralegal meets with a new client to gather pertinent information it is usually the first contact that client has had with the firm and that employee. Handing them a business card at meeting’s end is a professional touch. Clients appreciate having easy access to telephone numbers and even the paralegal’s name. Often the circumstances that led them to an attorney’s office are unsettling. They might not initially recall names easily, so a business card takes out the guess work. That business card is also a small, comforting link to the help they need.

I highly recommend that paralegals have their own business cards. These can be prepared by a printing company, or prepared on blank business cards and run through a laser printer. Another option if a boss would prefer their own business cards used by the paralegal – prepare small mailing labels with the paralegal’s name, direct phone extension and business email address, and affix the labels to the back of the firm cards. Typed information looks more professional than just writing it by hand.

A paralegal may have occasion during personal activities to hand out a business card or two. A friend or relative may need legal assistance. The firm employee may witness an accident. A conversation about needed services can crop up anywhere and any time. If a paralegal is equipped with business cards, professional networking is a breeze.

By: Laura McDonald