What does a litigation assistant do?
Litigation assistants are professionals who provide administrative support as well as perform tasks such as filing legal documents, communicating with clients, and conducting legal research for law firms or legal departments. These assistants are required to draft and prepare a variety of court and legal documents that include expert witness designations, motions for preference, and complaints. They must receive many phone calls from clients they are handling as well as examining information about the cases they are working on. Litigation assistants must also work closely with bookkeepers to ensure that all invoices are paid.
Litigation assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real litigation assistant resumes:
- Organize and manage large volume discovery, including propounding and responding to discovery requests and subpoenas.
- Assist patent attorneys by managing invention disclosure documentation and relate correspondence with outside counsel and USPTO.
- Assist attorneys and paralegals in trial preparation and are responsible for organizing and indexing documentary evidence for large civil litigation cases.
- Perform advanced administrative duties for attorneys, including typing pleadings, briefs, correspondence, and proofreading documents.
- Job entails extensive proofreading of pleadings, correspondence and relate documents for spelling, grammar, clarity and style.
- Assist partner and associates in drafting and finalizing mediation briefs, arbitration briefs along with all necessary pleadings and general correspondence.
- Assist in drafting responses to interrogatories and discovery requests.
- Edit briefs and interrogatories, abstract depositions and interview clients.
- Review client records in internal/external software programs for suit-worthy arbitration.
- Maintain database of information produce in response to third-party subpoenas and requests from creditors in accordance with enterprise-wide records retention policies.
- Support attorneys in litigation office in an administrative/administrator capacity.
- Support attorneys in litigation office in an administrative/administrator capacity.
Litigation assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Litigation Assistants are proficient in Litigation, Phone Calls, and Law Firm. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Litigation Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 23%
Supported attorneys in litigation office in an administrative/administrator capacity.
- Phone Calls, 13%
Research websites or make phone calls to courts to follow up on status of cases.
- Law Firm, 10%
Provided Law Firms with requested workout solutions and Maintained access database for all legal pending settlement resolutions.
- Discovery Responses, 6%
Prepared discovery to opposing counsel and discovery responses.
- Attorney Review, 5%
Analyzed investment portfolios in ascertaining potential securities violations and fraud for attorney review.
- Trial Preparation, 5%
Participated in discovery and document production, assisted in extensive trial preparation, and aided in general administrative duties.
Common skills that a litigation assistant uses to do their job include "litigation," "phone calls," and "law firm." You can find details on the most important litigation assistant responsibilities below.
Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for a litigation assistant to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what litigation assistants do because "paralegals must be able to document and present their research and related information to their supervising attorney." Additionally, a litigation assistant resume shows how litigation assistants use communication skills: "aided in communications with area lawyers to expedite litigation processes between clients. "
Computer skills. Another essential skill to perform litigation assistant duties is computer skills. Litigation assistants responsibilities require that "paralegals need to be familiar with using computers for legal research and litigation support." Litigation assistants also use computer skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "organized and maintained litigation files including subpoenaed records and computerized client files. "
Interpersonal skills. litigation assistants are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to litigation assistant responsibilities, because "paralegals spend most of their time working with clients and other professionals and must be able to develop good relationships." A litigation assistant resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "secured interpersonal relationships with other firms/counsels to guarantee documents are executed prior to confirmed foreclosure sale dates. "
Organizational skills. A big part of what litigation assistants do relies on "organizational skills." You can see how essential it is to litigation assistant responsibilities because "paralegals may be responsible for many cases at one time." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical litigation assistant tasks: "exhibited excellent organizational skills with ability to multi-task as needed. "
Research skills. A commonly-found skill in litigation assistant job descriptions, "research skills" is essential to what litigation assistants do. Litigation assistant responsibilities rely on this skill because "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." You can also see how litigation assistant duties rely on research skills in this resume example: "provided general trial support, investigative research and file management for insurance defense litigation firm. "
The three companies that hire the most litigation assistants are:
- Zwicker & Associates4 litigation assistants jobs
- Rubenstein4 litigation assistants jobs
- Robert Half3 litigation assistants jobs
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Compare different litigation assistants
Litigation assistant vs. Paralegal
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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between litigation assistants and paralegal. For instance, litigation assistant responsibilities require skills such as "phone calls," "proofreading," "defense counsel," and "office equipment." Whereas a paralegal is skilled in "affidavits," "real estate closings," "legal support," and "due diligence." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Paralegals earn the highest salaries when working in the professional industry, with an average yearly salary of $55,416. On the other hand, litigation assistants are paid more in the construction industry with an average salary of $63,516.paralegals tend to reach similar levels of education than litigation assistants. In fact, paralegals are 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.1% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Litigation 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, litigation assistant responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "phone calls," "proofreading," "defense counsel," and "office equipment." Meanwhile, a contractor-paralegal has duties that require skills in areas such as "in-house counsel," "contract database," "due diligence," and "contract review." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Contractor-paralegals earn a higher average salary than litigation assistants. But contractor-paralegals earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $79,049. Additionally, litigation assistants earn the highest salaries in the construction with average pay of $63,516 annually.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Contractor-paralegals tend to reach similar levels of education than litigation assistants. In fact, they're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for litigation assistants in the next 3-5 years?
Sharon Sawyer
Program Coordinator of Justice Studies, Assistant Professor, University of Maine at Augusta
Litigation 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.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from litigation assistant resumes include skills like "phone calls," "law firm," "discovery responses," and "attorney review," whereas a corporate paralegal is more likely to list skills in "corporate governance," "mergers," "securities," and "excellent organizational. "
Corporate paralegals earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $76,737. Litigation assistants earn the highest pay from the construction industry, with an average salary of $63,516.Most corporate paralegals achieve a similar degree level compared to litigation assistants. For example, they're 2.0% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Litigation assistant vs. Senior paralegal
A Senior Paralegal helps attorneys acquire the information needed for legal research, document preparation, and for other assignments delegated to them. They are usually specialized in certain areas of law, such as tax law.
Types of litigation assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
