An Executive Legal Assistant provides comprehensive support to lawyers and legal offices. They start as entry-level assistants before specializing in a field after a few years with experience; litigation, criminal law, family law, international law. Their duties include performing legal research by gathering case information for presentation, writing legal reports based on research and interviews, scheduling meetings, organizing travel arrangements, and organizing documentation for easy accessibility. An Executive Legal Assistant must be well organized, analytical research skills, and experience in case management. They typically spend long work hours spent in libraries and offices, requiring occasional travel.

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Executive Legal Assistant Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real executive legal assistant resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Manage transactions involving the sale or purchase of publicly trade securities, both equity and debt instruments.
  • Manage litigation discovery process, including coordinating electronic and tangible document production, as well as litigation record hold obligations.
  • Provide administrative support to attorneys with mergers and acquisitions and due diligence procedures.
  • Prepare legal documents, assist clients with their legal needs, notary, general office duties
  • Complete & record minutes of meetings, using a variety of shorthand, or machine transcription.
  • Provide notary assistance as requested.
  • Proofread documents for grammatical and typographical errors.
  • Proofread and edit material for grammatical and factual accuracy.
  • Handle QuickBooks information, which include recording and maintaining accurate accounts.
  • Work on PowerPoint creating presentations and proposals utilizing company templates for meetings.
  • Respond to general inquiries and produce information responsive to subpoenas and court orders.
  • Respond to litigation discovery and handle request for production of document and interrogatories.
  • Prioritize and organize time sensitive projects, including transcription of in-house client proceedings.
  • Facilitate domestic and cross-border transactions including mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures.
  • Prepare and coordinate meeting agendas, minutes and PowerPoint presentations for various executive level meetings.

Executive Legal Assistant Job Description

When it comes to understanding what an executive legal assistant does, you may be wondering, "should I become an executive legal assistant?" The data included in this section may help you decide. Compared to other jobs, executive legal assistants have a growth rate described as "much faster than average" at 12% between the years 2018 - 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of executive legal assistant opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is 39,000.

An executive legal assistant annual salary averages $53,442, which breaks down to $25.69 an hour. However, executive legal assistants can earn anywhere from upwards of $37,000 to $75,000 a year. This means that the top-earning executive legal assistants make $41,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

Once you've become an executive legal assistant, you may be curious about what other opportunities are out there. Careers aren't one size fits all. For that reason, we discovered some other jobs that you may find appealing. Some jobs you might find interesting include a paralegal, contractor-paralegal, litigation paralegal, and corporate paralegal.

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Executive Legal Assistant Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 11% of Executive Legal Assistants are proficient in PowerPoint, Expense Reports, and Litigation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Research skills.

We break down the percentage of Executive Legal Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • PowerPoint, 11%

    Prepare PowerPoint Presentations for speeches and upcoming seminars, ensuring topic conveyed accurately and professionally.

  • Expense Reports, 9%

    Coordinate and manage domestic and international travel arrangements, prepare travel itineraries, and prepare/submit expense reports as needed.

  • Litigation, 9%

    General administrative responsibilities, maintained legal files including litigation files, employee contracts, confidentiality agreements, and other confidential/privileged documentation.

  • Law Firm, 7%

    Reviewed and tracked received prosecution related communication from law firms or patent office relating to patent estate applications.

  • Real Estate, 5%

    Created cost analysis reports and generated requisition for monthly bank transactions regarding commercial real estate projects.

  • Calendar Management, 4%

    General administrative duties including minutes, reports, research, calendar management, correspondence and document preparation.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Executive Legal Assistant Resume templates

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Most executive legal assistants list "powerpoint," "expense reports," and "litigation" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important executive legal assistant responsibilities here:

  • Arguably the most important personality trait for an executive legal assistant to have happens to be communication skills. An example from a resume said this about the skill, "paralegals must be able to document and present their research and related information to their supervising attorney." Additionally, other resumes have pointed out that executive legal assistants can use communication skills to "provided assistance to two partners in litigation practice of class actions of railroad abandonment and telecommunications. "
  • Another commonly found skill for being able to perform executive legal assistant duties is the following: computer skills. According to a executive legal assistant resume, "paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support." Check out this example of how executive legal assistants use computer skills: "identified, composed, and prepared legal documents and typed correspondence utilizing word perfect word processing computer program. "
  • Executive legal assistants are also known for research skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a executive legal assistant resume: "paralegals gather facts of the case and research information on relevant laws and regulations to prepare drafts of legal documents for attorneys and help them prepare for a case." We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "initiated and independently researched complex information requests, summarized data for reports and prepared the materials for litigation. "
  • A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "interpersonal skills" is important to completing executive legal assistant responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way executive legal assistants use this skill: "paralegals spend most of their time working with clients and other professionals and must be able to develop good relationships" Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical executive legal assistant tasks: "demonstrated outstanding interpersonal skills in answering, relaying, screening, and placing telephone calls. "
  • Another common skill for an executive legal assistant to be able to utilize is "organizational skills." Paralegals may be responsible for many cases at one time an executive legal assistant demonstrated the need for this skill by putting this on their resume: "performed legal research and organizational tasks, booked travel for mr. hankes and ran the office in his absence. "
  • See the full list of executive legal assistant skills.

    We've found that 52.3% of executive legal assistants have earned a bachelor's degree. Furthermore, 6.0% earned their master's degrees before becoming an executive legal assistant. While it's true that most executive legal assistants have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every six executive legal assistants did not spend the extra money to attend college.

    The executive legal assistants who went onto college to earn a more in-depth education generally studied business and legal support services, while a small population of executive legal assistants studied criminal justice and political science.

    When you're ready to become an executive legal assistant, you might wonder which companies hire executive legal assistants. According to our research through executive legal assistant resumes, executive legal assistants are mostly hired by Morgan Stanley, Robert Half, and Savage. Now is a good time to apply as Morgan Stanley has 8 executive legal assistants job openings, and there are 6 at Robert Half and 6 at Savage.

    But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, executive legal assistants tend to earn the biggest salaries at PayPal, First Solar, and Ropes & Gray. Take PayPal for example. The median executive legal assistant salary is $76,520. At First Solar, executive legal assistants earn an average of $68,697, while the average at Ropes & Gray is $67,750. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.

    View more details on executive legal assistant salaries across the United States.

    We also looked into companies who hire executive legal assistants from the top 100 educational institutions in the U.S. The top three companies that hire the most from these institutions include Law Office, Skadden, and Manley Holding Company.

    For the most part, executive legal assistants make their living in the professional and finance industries. Executive legal assistants tend to make the most in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $64,232. The executive legal assistant annual salary in the professional and health care industries generally make $57,392 and $56,809 respectively. Additionally, executive legal assistants who work in the telecommunication industry make 33.4% more than executive legal assistants in the manufacturing Industry.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious executive legal assistants are:

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    What Paralegals Do

    Paralegals are law firm or legal department employees who work on cases with lawyers. They handle different activities, usually administrative or clerical, such as organizing and maintaining files, updating records, and managing correspondences, among others. Paralegals also handle different activities directly related to active cases being worked on by lawyers in the firm or department. They assist lawyers on cases by preparing materials needed for trials, conducting legal research, verifying trial facts, helping during interviews, getting statements from those involved in the case, and creating presentation materials. Paralegals should have knowledge of laws and should be familiar with landmark cases.

    In this section, we compare the average executive legal assistant annual salary with that of a paralegal. Typically, paralegals earn a $3,499 lower salary than executive legal assistants earn annually.

    Even though executive legal assistants and paralegals have vast differences in their careers, a few of the skills required to do both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require powerpoint, litigation, and law firm in the day-to-day roles.

    As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because an executive legal assistant responsibility requires skills such as "expense reports," "real estate," "calendar management," and "administrative tasks." Whereas a paralegal is skilled in "discovery responses," "affidavits," "real estate closings," and "litigation support." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

    Paralegals really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $55,416. Whereas executive legal assistants tend to make the most money in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $64,232.

    Paralegals tend to reach similar levels of education than executive legal assistants. In fact, paralegals are 1.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.1% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Contractor-Paralegal?

    A Contractor-Paralegal works for a law firm or corporate legal department for a specified amount of time, or for a specified task. They can be specialized in the entertainment industry or in providing services to healthcare companies and insurance providers.

    Now we're going to look at the contractor-paralegal profession. On average, contractor-paralegals earn a $7,244 higher salary than executive legal assistants a year.

    A similarity between the two careers of executive legal assistants and contractor-paralegals are a few of the skills associated with both roles. We used resumes from both professions to find that both use skills like "powerpoint," "litigation," and "law firm. "

    But both careers also use different skills, according to real executive legal assistant resumes. While executive legal assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "expense reports," "calendar management," "administrative tasks," and "word processing," some contractor-paralegals use skills like "discovery responses," "in-house counsel," "contract database," and "contract review."

    On average, contractor-paralegals earn a higher salary than executive legal assistants. There are industries that support higher salaries in each profession respectively. Interestingly enough, contractor-paralegals earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $79,049. Whereas, executive legal assistants have higher paychecks in the telecommunication industry where they earn an average of $64,232.

    In general, contractor-paralegals study at similar levels of education than executive legal assistants. They're 0.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Litigation Paralegal Compares

    A litigation paralegal is a specialist who is responsible for assisting attorneys throughout the trial process. On the plaintiff side, litigation paralegals conduct initial client interviews and legal research for case preparations. They assist with the preliminary examinations of witnesses and jury selection in the courtroom. Litigation paralegals often assist attorneys with case settlements and help identify issues for appeals. They must also possess excellent skills in verbal and written communication and should have great attention in detail.

    The third profession we take a look at is litigation paralegal. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher salaries than executive legal assistants. In fact, they make a $5,042 higher salary per year.

    While looking through the resumes of several executive legal assistants and litigation paralegals we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "powerpoint," "litigation," and "law firm," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, an executive legal assistant is likely to be skilled in "expense reports," "calendar management," "administrative tasks," and "word processing," while a typical litigation paralegal is skilled in "discovery responses," "mediation," "excellent organizational," and "affidavits."

    Litigation paralegals make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $64,050. Whereas executive legal assistants are paid the highest salary in the telecommunication industry with the average being $64,232.

    Litigation paralegals are known to earn similar educational levels when compared to executive legal assistants. Additionally, they're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of a Corporate Paralegal

    A Corporate Paralegal helps attorneys gather information and materials in preparation for different kinds of cases, hearings, or meetings. They also work in the legal departments of large corporations and for government agencies.

    Corporate paralegals tend to earn a higher pay than executive legal assistants by about $14,073 per year.

    According to resumes from both executive legal assistants and corporate paralegals, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "litigation," "legal research," and "sharepoint. "

    Each job requires different skills like "powerpoint," "expense reports," "law firm," and "real estate," which might show up on an executive legal assistant resume. Whereas corporate paralegal might include skills like "corporate governance," "mergers," "securities," and "excellent organizational."

    In general, corporate paralegals make a higher salary in the finance industry with an average of $76,737. The highest executive legal assistant annual salary stems from the telecommunication industry.

    In general, corporate paralegals reach similar levels of education when compared to executive legal assistants resumes. Corporate paralegals are 1.0% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 2.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.