Emotional labor among paralegals

Despite the invisibility of emotional labor among paralegals, this dimensio n of work has significant consequences for the reproduction of the labor pr ocess in the large bureaucratic firm and for the psychological well-being o f paralegals. These legal workers function to support and maintain the emot ional stability of the lawyers for whom they work through deferential treat ment and caretaking. By affirming the status of lawyers, paralegals also re produce gender relations in the law firm. Most attorneys who receive careta king and support are men, and the majority of the legal assistants who prov ide these emotional services are women. In this way, the emotional labor re quired of paralegals serves to reproduce the sex-segregated structure of la w firms.