How To Become A Legal Office Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a legal office assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Have you ever wondered how busy lawyers handle all of their casework and get ready for trials? The answer is that they do not do all of the work alone. Many law offices rely on the work of a legal office assistant to manage administrative tasks and free up lawyers for more complex legal proceedings.

As a legal office assistant, you would take care of tasks such as entering data, drafting legal documents such as subpoenas, and researching information in special legal reference systems. You would also communicate with clients, court administrators, and other relevant parties to ensure that all investigations and cases go as smoothly as possible.

To be a legal office assistant, you don't need a law degree. In fact, you could use this position to test out if you enjoy working in the law before going to law school. For most positions, all you need is a bachelor's or associate's degree, some previous administrative experience, and a passion for the law.

What general advice would you give to a legal office assistant?

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Associate Professor of Classics, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

"I would say, think broadly. Your CV gives you an edge - you chose a course of study that is somewhat atypical, original (and a great conversation starter!) that gave you widely applicable skills.

I mean, who studies Classics? Who willingly subjects themselves to the rigors of Latin or Greek - or both? Who commits to navigating the intricacies of an interdisciplinary path that combines some of the most vital areas of inquiry for our time: social and cultural history, political science, philosophy, psychology, literary studies, material culture?

A go-getter. Someone who is passionate. And is Driven.

And you know what? Employers know that. They see that on your CV, and they think, wow - here is someone interesting and hard-working and who thinks out of the box. And they are right. Xerox saw that. Macy's saw that. The Air Force Intelligence Officer who hired one of our (female!) undergraduates as an officer saw that. The software engineer who hired another one of our grads to join his team as a full-time software engineer saw that. Oxford University Press in New York City saw that - and hired another recent grad as a full-time intern in their Higher Education Editorial Development department. SO: Classics majors, think big and broad. There is no restricted path for what is next.

So - Graduating seniors in Classics (and other Liberal Arts degrees), as you prepare to go forward into the world, you have good reason to go forth with pride, and enter the world after college, with all its question marks and inevitable bumps in the road, with confidence.
A Classics major is excellent preparation for the pursuit of a wide range of careers in a large number of fields, including, but not limited to, government, law, education, business, journalism, library science, publishing, foreign service, finance, the entertainment industry, museum, and preservation work, pharmaceutical sciences, music, and the arts, foundations, technology, web design, and labor relations. So think broadly. You've got this. "

ScoreLegal Office AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,133

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.0

Growth rate 14%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 5.37%

Black or African American 8.22%

Hispanic or Latino 21.63%

Unknown 4.72%

White 59.66%

Gender

female 79.68%

male 20.32%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress level

7.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a legal office assistant

Explore legal office assistant education requirements

Most common legal office assistant degrees

Bachelor's

48.5 %

Associate

24.2 %

High School Diploma

12.2 %

Start to develop specific legal office assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Management System	8.77%
Legal Correspondence	8.38%
Litigation	8.37%
Data Entry	8.21%
Legal Research	5.40%

Complete relevant legal office assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New legal office assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a legal office assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real legal office assistant resumes.

Research legal office assistant duties and responsibilities

Gather and prepare documents for binders/notebooks for depositions, arbitration, hearings/trial; manage incoming document production mostly for litigation purposes.
Compile information for and prepare all probate documents.
Lead liaison between legal staff and probate courts.
File pleadings and correspondences and present documents to courthouse personnel.

Prepare your legal office assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your legal office assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a legal office assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable legal office assistant resume templates

Build a professional legal office assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your legal office assistant resume.