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How to hire a legal office assistant

Legal office assistant hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring legal office assistants in the United States:

  • There are a total of 303,830 legal office assistants in the US, and there are currently 41,220 job openings in this field.
  • The median cost to hire a legal office assistant is $1,633.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per legal office assistant on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Pensacola, FL, has the highest demand for legal office assistants, with 5 job openings.

How to hire a legal office assistant, step by step

To hire a legal office assistant, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a legal office assistant, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step legal office assistant hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a legal office assistant job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new legal office assistant
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a legal office assistant do?

A Legal Office Assistants serves as the apprentice of lawyers. They are responsible for doing daily clerical works inside a law office. They gather relevant information like pieces of evidence and organizes all the needed data. They also prepare subpoenas and summonses, review legal documents, and take down notes in a courtroom. Unlike the Lawyers, this career handles a more significant caseload. They must also have good communication skills with clients regarding their cases.

Learn more about the specifics of what a legal office assistant does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you start hiring a legal office assistant, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a legal office assistant to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a legal office assistant that fits the bill.

    This list presents legal office assistant salaries for various positions.

    Type of Legal Office AssistantDescriptionHourly rate
    Legal Office AssistantParalegals and legal assistants do a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.$11-22
    Office WorkerAn office worker is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to support the daily operations of the business. Office workers assist in receiving calls to respond to the clients' inquiries and concerns, as well as welcoming visitors, verifying their appointments, and leading them to the appropriate personnel and department for their business needs... Show more$11-34
    Office ClerkOffice clerks are administrative employees who handle clerical activities for the organization. They are in charge of managing company records, organizing and storing documents, filing and sorting hard copies of documents, and liaising with other departments or external partners... Show more$12-18
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Management System
    • Legal Correspondence
    • Litigation
    • Data Entry
    • Legal Research
    • Office Equipment
    • Law Firm
    • Word Processing
    • Subpoenas
    • Real Estate
    • Scheduling Appointments
    • Telephone Calls
    • Clerical Support
    • Travel Arrangements
    Check all skills
    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.
    • Provide file copies for litigation purposes and distribute to appropriate personnel.
    • Digitize case files for storage/submission; prep files and exhibits for current/pending litigation.
    More legal office assistant duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the legal office assistant job description is a good way to get more applicants. A legal office assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a legal office assistant in Louisiana may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level legal office assistant. Additionally, a legal office assistant with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average legal office assistant salary

    $16.41hourly

    $34,133 yearly

    Entry-level legal office assistant salary
    $24,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 15, 2025

    Average legal office assistant salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$45,223$22
    2District of Columbia$42,319$20
    3Massachusetts$37,559$18
    4New York$37,077$18
    5Washington$36,188$17
    6Nevada$35,642$17
    7Texas$34,438$17
    8Illinois$33,863$16
    9Rhode Island$33,323$16
    10Michigan$32,148$15
    11South Dakota$31,590$15
    12Ohio$30,492$15
    13Maine$29,723$14
    14Georgia$28,675$14
    15Florida$27,261$13

    Average legal office assistant salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1Epiq$49,659$23.872
    2Clark County$41,723$20.063
    3Minnehaha County$40,689$19.56
    4General Motors$38,169$18.35
    5Ricoh$37,295$17.9330
    6Washington State University$37,166$17.871
    7Liberty Mutual Insurance$37,085$17.835
    8Texas Department of Transportation$36,896$17.748
    9Robert Half$36,684$17.64417
    10Randstad North America, Inc.$36,120$17.378
    11Leidos$34,284$16.4814
    12My Florida Regional Mls$33,894$16.30
    13Gwinnett County$33,254$15.99
    14Maine$32,720$15.7310
    15Creative Artists Agency$32,478$15.61
    16County of Nevada, CA$32,148$15.462
    17The MetroHealth System$32,104$15.43
    18Express Employment Indy South$31,237$15.027
    19State of Georgia: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia$29,265$14.0715
    20State Of Florida$29,015$13.95118
  4. Writing a legal office assistant job description

    A legal office assistant job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a legal office assistant job description:

    Legal office assistant job description example

    LEGAL ASSISTANT, OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL

    RWJBarnabas Health's Office of General Counsel has an immediate opportunity for an experienced Corporate Legal Assistant to become a member of our growing team of legal professionals. This position is a high-profile growth opportunity with immediate responsibility.

    Job Responsibilities:
    • Provide support to attorneys and paralegals within the general counsel office.
    • Draft, proofread, format and edit correspondence, memos, contracts and other legal documents under time sensitive deadlines.
    • Conduct basic legal and regulatory research or analysis as directed.
    • Manage and track requests and deadlines to ensure deliverables are met.
    • Operate as a liaison between internal and external customers and the general counsel team.
    • Create, organize, maintain and update electronic and paper files / databases.
    • Schedule appointments or meetings, maintain multiple calendars, answer phones and provide general office, administrative support for the department.
    • Provide support for document retention and litigation hold processes.


    Education & Qualifications:
    • Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent experience may be substituted in leu of education.
    • Minimum of 10 years' experience in a large law firm with at least 5 years' supporting a partner.
    • Advanced skills in Microsoft Office required.
    • Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to professionally interact with all levels of professionals, clients, and staff.
    • Ability to prioritize and organize multiple time sensitive items in a fast-paced environment.
    • Experience with iManage or similar legal document management software required.


    Other Duties:

    Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find legal office assistants for your business:

    • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
    • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
    • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your legal office assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit legal office assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    To successfully recruit legal office assistants, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new legal office assistant

    Once you've found the legal office assistant candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

    You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

    To prepare for the new legal office assistant first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a legal office assistant?

Recruiting legal office assistants involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

The median annual salary for legal office assistants is $34,133 in the US. However, the cost of legal office assistant hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a legal office assistant for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $11 and $22 an hour.

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