List and briefly describe five of the paralegal specialties discussed in Chapter 2 in the text.

Student answers might include the following:
• Litigation-Paralegals who specialize in litigation assistance work with litigation (trial) attorneys. Litigation paralegals work for all sizes and types of practices. They usually specialize in a certain type of litigation, such as personal injury, product liability, or specifically working on behalf of plaintiffs or defendants.
• Corporate law-Paralegals who specialize in corporate law may work for a corporation, in its legal department, or for a law firm that specializes in corporate law. Tasks performed by corporate law paralegals include preparing documents and filing them with the appropriate state agency to incorporate a new business, keeping corporate records, and organizing shareholders' meetings.
• Contract law-Paralegals who specialize in this area may work for a corporation's legal department, for a large law firm, or for a government agency. Their tasks may include preparing contracts, reviewing contract terms related to compliance or breach, and researching the law governing contracts.
• Real estate law-Paralegals who specialize in real estate work for a variety of employers, including small law firms, real estate departments in large law firms, corporations or other firms that buy or sell real property, and banks. Some of the tasks that they perform include drafting contracts for the sale of real estate, drafting mortgage agreements, drafting and recording deeds, and scheduling closings.
• Personal-injury law-Legal assistants who work in personal-injury law work in litigation.
They tend to specialize in negligence cases that have resulted in personal injury to the client, such as auto accidents. They may also work for insurance companies investigating claims.
• Insurance law-Paralegals working in this area may work for law firms that defend insurance companies in litigation or they may work directly for insurance companies. Their tasks may include monitoring compliance with government insurance regulations, reviewing insurance contracts, investigating claims, and assisting in litigation. Insurance also is often an important factor for clients involved in personal-injury, malpractice, and other litigation.