Legal Assistant Job Description
A Legal Assistant, also known as a paralegal, helps lawyers by completing various tasks in legal offices. They help lawyers prepare for hearings, trials, closings, or even meetings; perform extensive research and investigate information about certain cases; identify appropriate laws or legal articles to cite related to assigned cases; organize information for lawyers; prepare written reports; help develop legal arguments; and assist lawyers during trials.
Education/Experience Requirements for the job of a Legal Assistant: A successful candidate must possess an associate’s degree in paralegal studies or a bachelor’s degree in another field. Anyone can become a paralegal even without law-related education or special training, since most of the tasks of a legal assistant are learned on the job.
Skills of a Legal Assistant include but are not limited to: Analytical skills, organization and multi-tasking skills, excellent written and verbal skills, good clerical skills, technical writing and proofreading skills, and extensive knowledge of laws and its tools. He/she should also be reliable, level-headed, detail-oriented and trustworthy to handle personal information about a lawyer’s clients.
Specific work elements of the job as a Legal Assistant include but are not limited to: Preparing legal documents such as wills, appeals, contracts, etc; monitoring legal volumes; updating legal publications; preparing letters for annual audits; attending real estate closings, will execution, depositions and court trials to assist the lawyer; analyzing available information and research on the best solution to solve a case; conducting client interviews; investigating facts and performing legal research; summarizing testimony and interrogatories; and drafting legal documents, among others.
