What does a legal assistant do?
Legal assistants are responsible for doing most of the administrative or clerical needs of a lawyer. They support lawyers by preparing documents for hearings or trials, conducting research for legal cases, organizing files and records, managing schedules, manning phone lines, communicating with legal clients, documenting meeting minutes, and setting up appointments. It is important for legal assistants to have a basic knowledge of laws and the judiciary system so that they can provide better support to lawyers. They should also be detail-oriented, organized, and excellent communicators.
Legal assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real legal assistant resumes:
- Complete accounting and payroll functions.- gather and process client documents.- manage daily operations of office.
- Manage document production with various internal departments for response to DCAA investigations and third party subpoenas.
- Assist patent attorneys by managing invention disclosure documentation and relate correspondence with outside counsel and USPTO.
- Relocate temporarily to Chicago, Illinois to facilitate and manage electronic discovery exchange in preparation for arbitration.
- Perform administrative tasks for managing partner and trial attorney at a medical malpractice litigation firm including daily transcription and stenography.
- Gather and prepare documents for binders/notebooks for depositions, arbitration, hearings/trial; manage incoming document production mostly for litigation purposes.
- Work under close supervision of an experience general practice attorney in family law, civil litigation and criminal defense matters.
- Prepare all types of litigation correspondence including interrogatories, request for production of documents, subpoenas, and judgment debtor examinations.
- File/Serve via mail, fax, e-file or messenger service.
- Draft complaint and summons on new cases and e-file with the court.
- Type correspondence and legal documents such as preparation of summons & complaint.
- Prepare motions by researching the relevant documents, proofreading papers, and creating the index.
- Process services including but not limit to personal deliveries, serving of legal and/or court documents such as subpoenas and summonses.
- Transcribe correspondence and documents from dictation.
- Prepare general correspondence, typing and proofreading document.
Legal assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Legal Assistants are proficient in Litigation, Legal Correspondence, and Discovery Responses. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Research skills.
We break down the percentage of Legal Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 12%
Assisted sole practitioner with varied practice involving business and real estate transactions, immigration visas, and occasional employment discrimination litigation.
- Legal Correspondence, 10%
Prepared affidavits and exhibits and other documents, legal correspondence, organized and maintained documents in paper or electronic filing system.
- Discovery Responses, 6%
Prepared and forwarded subpoenas and notices of production of non-party pursuant to discovery responses and investigative work.
- Legal Research, 6%
Enhance attorney effectiveness by developing case information, performing legal research, monitoring calendars, and keeping cases organized.
- Law Firm, 5%
Supported senior partner of international law firm in management of approximately 40 litigation matters per month.
- Subpoenas, 5%
Managed document production with various internal departments for response to DCAA investigations and third party subpoenas.
Common skills that a legal assistant uses to do their job include "litigation," "legal correspondence," and "discovery responses." You can find details on the most important legal assistant responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a legal assistant to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what legal assistants do because "paralegals must be able to document and present their research and related information to their supervising attorney." Additionally, a legal assistant resume shows how legal assistants use communication skills: "communicated with opposing lawyer, clients, witnesses, insurance adjusters, medical staff, maintaining communication throughout litigation process. "
Computer skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling legal assistant duties is computer skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support." According to a legal assistant resume, here's how legal assistants can utilize computer skills in their job responsibilities: "created computer database to organize information on thousands of documents produced in litigation. "
Research skills. This is an important skill for legal assistants to perform their duties. For an example of how legal assistant responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "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." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a legal assistant: "researched evidence for personal injury and civil litigation cases. ".
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what legal assistants do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to legal assistant responsibilities because "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 legal assistant tasks: "provided strong interpersonal skills to intense emotional situations with clients, process payments to trustees and perform legal research. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a legal assistant to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what legal assistants relies on this skill, since "paralegals may be responsible for many cases at one time." How this skill relates to legal assistant duties can be seen in an example from a legal assistant resume snippet: "created and maintained organizational notebooks for managing principal's various arbitrations and mediations meetings. "
The three companies that hire the most legal assistants are:
- Robert Half141 legal assistants jobs
- Organon63 legal assistants jobs
- Cornerstone47 legal assistants jobs
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Compare different legal assistants
Legal assistant vs. Law clerk
Law clerks are employees in a legal firm who handle clerical tasks for the office. They handle the office's official phone lines, answering incoming calls, and making outgoing calls. They also field office correspondence, often receiving incoming mail and distributing them to their addressees. They manage office documents and ensure that they are correctly filed and labeled in their respective storage bins. Law clerks help make office life more comfortable because they make sure that the office is running well. They also manage appointments and office calendars.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a legal assistant are more likely to require skills like "legal correspondence," "trial preparation," "scheduling appointments," and "affidavits." On the other hand, a job as a law clerk requires skills like "legal memos," "pre-trial motions," "summary judgment," and "settlement agreements." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Law clerks really shine in the professional industry with an average salary of $98,674. Comparatively, legal assistants tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $47,979.The education levels that law clerks earn slightly differ from legal assistants. In particular, law clerks are 1.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a legal assistant. Additionally, they're 24.7% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legal assistant vs. Real estate paralegal
A Real Estate Paralegal helps real estate lawyers with a variety of tasks, such as offering advice to clients, doing research, and preparing documents. They collaborate with landlords, housing managers, or other real estate personnel.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real legal assistant resumes. While legal assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "legal correspondence," "discovery responses," "trial preparation," and "scheduling appointments," real estate paralegals use skills like "due diligence," "estoppel," "real estate transactions," and "lenders."
Real estate paralegals may earn a higher salary than legal assistants, but real estate paralegals earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $72,649. On the other hand, legal assistants receive higher pay in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $47,979.In general, real estate paralegals achieve similar levels of education than legal assistants. They're 0.9% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 24.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for legal assistants in the next 3-5 years?
Sharon Sawyer
Program Coordinator of Justice Studies, Assistant Professor, University of Maine at Augusta
Legal assistant vs. 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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a legal assistant is likely to be skilled in "scheduling appointments," "affidavits," "real estate closings," and "word processing," while a typical contractor-paralegal is skilled in "in-house counsel," "contract database," "real estate," and "due diligence."
Contractor-paralegals earn the highest salary when working in the finance industry, where they receive an average salary of $79,049. Comparatively, legal assistants have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $47,979.Most contractor-paralegals achieve a similar degree level compared to legal assistants. For example, they're 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Legal assistant vs. 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.
Types of legal assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
