What does a litigation associate do?
A Litigation Associate offers legal advice for individuals involved in lawsuits and represents them in court. They prepare pleading, collect evidence, defend depositions, and manage the client database.
Litigation associate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real litigation associate resumes:
- Lead and assist in out-of-court resolution of actions including settlement negotiations, mediation, and arbitration.
- Manage all aspects of motion practice and discovery in class and institutional actions involving residential mortgage-backed securities investments.
- Represent immigrants in deportation proceedings, federal litigation and appeals.
- Participate in complex commercial litigation group, with matters involving insurance, entertainment, products liability, utilities and investment banking.
- Research various aspects of family law, civil procedure, and tort law.
- Ensure business compliance with FDCPA, HIPAA, ADA, and various other regulations.
- Hire to specifically structure and organize information and documents for client criminal appeals
- Handle probate court litigation for personal injury settlements and settlements for minors.
- Second chair mediation concerning ERISA withdrawal liability; result in favorable recovery for client.
- Represent prominent international artist in contract dispute and successful mediation against former business manager.
- Defend against claims of wrongful employment termination and discrimination, personal injury and intentional tort.
- Draft interrogatories, interrogatory responses, document demands, and document responses in federal and state litigation.
- Represent and counsel corporate entities, individuals and municipalities in connection with employment, securities and commercial matters.
- Focuse on post-issuance IP litigation, however, also experience with variety of legal topics including racial discrimination and veteran rights.
- Defend broker-dealers in arbitration cases involving investment suitability and allege misrepresentation claims, including preparation of successful motions for summary judgment.
Litigation associate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 28% of Litigation Associates are proficient in Litigation, Law Firm, and Legal Research. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Litigation Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 28%
Focused on post-issuance IP litigation, however, also experienced with variety of legal topics including racial discrimination and veteran rights.
- Law Firm, 11%
Managed a variety of complex global reinsurance litigation/arbitration/mediation cases at a top tier London law firm.
- Legal Research, 6%
Performed legal research, prepared litigation documents, and conducted discovery in commercial and employment litigation matters.
- Commercial Litigation, 5%
Client-focused business and commercial litigation with an emphasis in intellectual property matters and federal court practice in all districts in Texas.
- Discovery Motions, 3%
Experienced in taking and defending depositions, preparing and opposing affirmative discovery motions, and managing/organizing large-scale document review projects.
- Insurance Coverage, 3%
Obtained successful outcomes in retaliatory wrongful discharge, product liability, insurance coverage disputes, commercial contract disputes and collections.
Common skills that a litigation associate uses to do their job include "litigation," "law firm," and "legal research." You can find details on the most important litigation associate responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a litigation associate to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what litigation associates do because "lawyers interpret the law as it applies to their client’s case." Additionally, a litigation associate resume shows how litigation associates use analytical skills: "report to and collaborate with insurance carrier, third party administrator and/or client regarding litigation strategy and liability analysis. "
Interpersonal skills. Another essential skill to perform litigation associate duties is interpersonal skills. Litigation associates responsibilities require that "lawyers must build relationships with current and prospective clients, as well as with their colleagues and other members of the legal community." Litigation associates also use interpersonal skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "demonstrated effective interpersonal skills through working closely with office of general counsel and administrative appeals judges. "
Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for litigation associates to perform their duties. For an example of how litigation associate responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "lawyers must evaluate information to propose viable solutions, mediate disputes, and reach agreements or settlements for their clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a litigation associate: "practiced general commercial litigation in the firm's dispute resolution group. ".
Research skills. A big part of what litigation associates do relies on "research skills." You can see how essential it is to litigation associate responsibilities because "lawyers need to find laws and regulations that apply to a specific matter in order to provide appropriate legal advice for their clients." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical litigation associate tasks: "provided expert research and consulting in litigation involving developer compliance with federal clean water act and federally regulated wetlands and waterways. "
The three companies that hire the most litigation associates are:
- DLA Piper39 litigation associates jobs
- Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough26 litigation associates jobs
- Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp20 litigation associates jobs
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Compare different litigation associates
Litigation associate vs. Document review attorney
A Document Review Attorney reviews various types of legal documents, such as contract and employment law, intellectual property, and commercial litigation, to identify any areas of risk or information that may need correction.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, litigation associate responsibilities require skills like "legal research," "discovery motions," "insurance coverage," and "pre-trial motions." Meanwhile a typical document review attorney has skills in areas such as "e-discovery software," "qc," "attorney-client privilege," and "privilege logs." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Document review attorneys tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $99,404. In contrast, litigation associates make the biggest average salary, $151,203, in the professional industry.document review attorneys tend to reach similar levels of education than litigation associates. In fact, document review attorneys are 2.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.3% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Litigation associate vs. Lawyer
A lawyer is a legal practitioner who specializes in understanding and interpreting laws and other legal matters. Their responsibilities revolve around providing legal counseling and advice, representing clients in different kinds of court proceedings, conducting research, collecting evidence, and coordinating with various experts. A lawyer must also manage and oversee the performance of assistants, paralegals, and other team members. Furthermore, there are instances when a lawyer must draft or manage documents such as contracts, trusts, deeds, and wills, assisting clients as needed.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, litigation associate responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "discovery motions," "insurance coverage," "pre-trial motions," and "mediation." Meanwhile, a lawyer has duties that require skills in areas such as "real estate," "civil law," "legal advice," and "juris." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
In general, lawyers achieve higher levels of education than litigation associates. They're 11.1% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Litigation associate 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.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a litigation associate is likely to be skilled in "discovery motions," "insurance coverage," "mediation," and "securities," while a typical law clerk is skilled in "legal memos," "summary judgment," "demand letters," and "client interviews."
Law clerks make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $98,674. On the other hand, litigation associates are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $151,203.When it comes to education, law clerks tend to earn similar degree levels compared to litigation associates. In fact, they're 2.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 27.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Litigation associate vs. General counsel
A general counsel, also called a chief legal officer, is the chief lawyer in the legal department of an organization. The counsel represents an enterprise for any pending legal matters. They work proactively to lessen possible problems associated with legalities and potential risks. They have to monitor practices and the people within the law firm for misconduct. They also perform dominant roles in regulation, ethics, public affairs, and legislation. It is common for them to serve as the public spokesperson of the company during the publicity of legal matters.
Types of litigation associate
Updated January 8, 2025
