Can a paralegal have their own practice? -

I was hired by a local attorney on October 8, 2008, and started on October 9, 2008. He told me that while I was on probation, he would consider me self-employed and supply me with a 1099 at tax time instead of a W2. I passed probation, had my review nearly a month ago, and he still hasn t switched me over to a W2. During the review, he said that he was thinking of expanding (possibly becoming a partnership with another lawyer, and hiring another paralegal, and possibly a secretary), and he would switch me over to a W2 when he expands, hoping to start making progress in January 2009. I brought this up to him on my last pay day, and he said that he doesn t recall saying it, but if he did, he misspoke. He said that this was an idea he was tossing around, not that he was going to start working on it. I asked him if I was going to be started on a W2 for my first check in January, and he said that he was going to wait until he expanded, if he expanded, because he sees it as a hassle to make sure the taxes part is done right (although as a legal professional he most likely has his own accountant). I ve been there for three months now, and I have yet to earn one hour of vacation time/bereavement time/personal time/sick time. I haven t had one red cent taken out of any of my checks (he pays me with personal checks) since I started. I ve had as few as 15.5 hours in two weeks, and as many as 47 hours in two weeks, with no overtime paid. I have no set schedule, and there s one time of the month where work is so slow, that we have this quot;dealquot; worked out where I come in if he e-mails me to tell me he needs me for something...so at least one (sometimes two) week(s) a month that I don t know if I m working until first thing in the morning. I can t quit my job. How good would it look on a professionals resume that he or she walked out on their boss, or that fact that a professional can t hold a job for more than three months? Don t get me wrong, I m not high class or snooty, but I think I (or anyone for that matter) desrves better. Who wants to earn money, but have to put away at least 1/3 of it to make sure they have enough to pay in their taxes, and have this amount due severely cut back the amount of the tax return? I want to have my own practice so I can find my own accountant and work things out appropriately.|::::|Not ordinarily. The purpose of a paralegal career is to provide support for a lawyer or group of lawyers. You could conceivably form a contracting team that works for many lawyers rather than just one firm, but you run into conflict of interest and other professional responsibility issues.|::::|If being a paralegal doesn t require passing the bar, then you might want to pursue starting your own paralegal company. There are many tax benefits in owning your own business. Also, you can take as many clients as you can handle. And work the hours you want to work. Then again owning any business that brings you personal rewards is great. For example, go to: www.AbetterWayToLive.biz.|::::|It sounds like you are a contract employee. If that is not what you were hired as (or at least what you were under the impression you were hired as) then you need to sit down with you boss and discuss the discrepancy. It doesn t matter if changing the 1099 to a W2 will be a hassle for him, what he is doing is UNETHICAL. Do you have an employment contact that you can look over (specifically, does it state you were hired on full time, part time, per diem, or on contract)? You need to communicate with him. If you are unhappy with your present conditions then make a change. Once you ve reviewed your contract (or employment agreement) sit down and think about what you want and how you will ask. Practice it before talking to him. If you were not hired to be a contract employee then tell him that since your probation period is complete, you ask that a schedule be set for you and that you re switched to W2. Be firm but polite. If it just isn t working then start looking for another job. No, it is not that bad for your resume. I could only stand my last boss for 5 months before I had to quit. I simply told my new employer that I was hired on to work 40 hours a week and she was giving me mandatory overtime and making me work 12 hour days 5 days a week and that it wasn t working. They were very understanding. As far as opening your own practice....do you have a paralegal degree or certificate? Paralegals may not conduct the unauthorized practice of law and can only work under the direct supervision of an attorney. This is something you should know!! Paralegals, even ones with 20 years of experience, are not attorneys and cannot represent clients. If you want to be an independent contractor for attorneys/firms then that is a different story. But you cannot open your own practice.|::::|NO!!! A Paralegal needs to work under the supervision of an Attorney. As a Paralegal you cannot: give legal advice, charge fees for giving legal advice, represent anyone in Court. If you do, you could be prosecuted for Unauthorized Practice of Law. You should have started (quietly) looking for another job. There are hardly any jobs out here right now.|::::|I think you re being ripped off. Seems to me the lawyer is trying very hard to wriggle out of paying you the benefits you re entitled to (including SS benefits) by forcing you to be an independent contractor. While you didn t say how much (or little) you re being paid, I don t think it s enough to compensate you for what you re losing by this classification. All that you ve said tells me that this person you re working for is looking out for his/her own self interest and isn t at all concerned about you and your well-being. Taxes are only one issue--what about health/dental benefits? With this joker as your employer, you d do yourself a big favor if you document everything he says to you regarding your employment, noting dates and times and your recollection of what was said. He seems to have a very selective memory. Do yourself a favor and look for another job ASAP! You can always put this job on your resume as quot;Independent Contractorquot; or quot;Contract Employeequot;. This person s just using you and the sooner you get out the better off you ll be. Good luck!