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

What is a litigation legal assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Law offices are often always busy, especially if they are in a populous district. There are new cases every day, hearings here and there, and paperwork piling up. Legal counsels may also have hectic schedules and would have no time to work on administrative activities. This is why litigation legal assistants are important members of such organizations.

Litigation legal assistants manage meeting schedules and client communications for lawyers. They may also be assigned to research cases that will help legal counsels win hearings. Most of the time, they are in charge of filing paperwork and checking if paperwork is properly accomplished and submitted on time. They also assist in drafting legal documents, subject to review of the legal team involved.

Needless to say, litigation legal assistants are expected to have strong communication skills, both oral and written. If you are interested in working in a fast-paced environment, this is a good career for you. Challenging as it may seem, it will surely hone your skills.

What general advice would you give to a litigation legal 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. "

ScoreLitigation Legal AssistantUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,253

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 5.39%

Black or African American 8.26%

Hispanic or Latino 21.81%

Unknown 4.72%

White 59.42%

Gender

female 81.04%

male 18.96%

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 litigation legal assistant

Explore litigation legal assistant education requirements

Most common litigation legal assistant degrees

Bachelor's

58.0 %

Associate

21.3 %

Doctorate

5.2 %

Start to develop specific litigation legal assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Litigation	22.71%
Law Firm	8.60%
Trial Preparation	5.80%
Legal Research	4.25%
Travel Arrangements	4.21%

Complete relevant litigation legal assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New litigation legal 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 litigation legal assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real litigation legal assistant resumes.

Research litigation legal assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage and coordinate various aspects of major pharmaceutical litigation including budgeting, work scope plans, staffing and defense coordination.
Prepare and review all discovery materials, including depositions, subpoenas, interrogatories, interviews.
Prepare PowerPoint presentations for visual aids at trial and for inhouse presentations.
Review and respond to interrogatories and discovery.

Prepare your litigation legal assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your litigation legal 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 litigation legal 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 litigation legal assistant resume templates

Build a professional litigation legal 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 litigation legal assistant resume.