Almost every lawyer in the United States is required to have a 4 year Bachelor's degree and 3 years of post graduate legal education, pass a bar and ethics examination, and have a character investigation. In some jurisdictions paralegals are licensed or registered, but in general, anyone can set up shop as a paralegal. This does not mean that a paralegal is less qualified than a lawyer- it all depends on the specific issue and persons involved. A paralegal is not qualified to argue a case in court. However, a paralegal who has done 400 bankruptcy petitions may be more qualified to handle a simple case than a lawyer who has never done a simple consumer bankruptcy.
Paralegals provide services for the general public, lawyers and businesses.
They frequently use paralegals on their staff or private paralegals to perform work on cases that does not require a lawyer to perform. Your mileage, of course, may vary. This is an extremely difficult question to answer. If you are involved in a matter which requires that you appear in a court, a paralegal can assist you, but not represent you in court. The more complex an issue and the more money involved, the less likely that you will be comfortable with a paralegal.