How to hire a senior legal assistant

How to hire a senior legal assistant, step by step

Here's a step-by-step senior legal 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 senior legal assistant job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior legal assistant
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior legal assistant do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The senior legal assistant hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A senior legal assistant's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior legal assistants from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of senior legal assistant salaries for various roles:

   Type of Senior Legal Assistant	Description	Hourly rate
   Senior Legal Assistant	Paralegals and legal assistants do a variety of tasks to support lawyers, including maintaining and organizing files, conducting legal research, and drafting documents.	$17-33
   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... Show more	$12-54
   Real Estate Paralegal	A Real Estate Paralegal helps real estate lawyers with a variety of tasks, such as offering advice to clients, doing research, and preparing documents. They collaborate with landlords, housing managers, or other real estate personnel.	$23-45

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Legal Research
   • Legal Correspondence
   • Legal Support
   • Discovery Responses
   • Subpoenas
   • Dictation
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Law Firm
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Trial Preparation
   • Interrogatories
   • Scheduling Appointments
   • Expense Reports

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Perform administrative tasks for managing partner and trial attorney at a medical malpractice litigation firm including daily transcription and stenography.
   • Handle collections, probate, estate planning, real estate and corporate work.
   • Interview witnesses, prepare declarations, and draft responses to interrogatories and requests for production.
   • Prepare lawsuits from complaint through judgment and garnishment for foreclosures, probate, and loss mitigation.
   • Develop numerous PowerPoint presentations for conferences and teachings.
   • Develop PowerPoint presentations, reports and legal documents.

   More senior legal assistant duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your senior legal assistant job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A senior legal assistant salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a senior legal assistant in Wyoming may be lower than in Pennsylvania, and an entry-level senior legal assistant usually earns less than a senior-level senior legal assistant. Additionally, a senior legal assistant with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average senior legal assistant salary

   $51,102yearly

   $24.57 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level senior legal assistant salary

   $36,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

   Average senior legal assistant salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	District of Columbia	$65,850	$32
   2	California	$63,652	$31
   3	Pennsylvania	$62,396	$30
   4	Colorado	$60,428	$29
   5	New Jersey	$59,643	$29
   6	Connecticut	$59,297	$29
   7	New York	$54,047	$26
   8	Hawaii	$52,256	$25
   9	Oregon	$51,578	$25
   10	Texas	$51,492	$25
   11	Maryland	$48,013	$23
   12	Michigan	$47,275	$23
   13	Massachusetts	$47,183	$23
   14	New Mexico	$46,109	$22
   15	Illinois	$45,997	$22
   16	Georgia	$45,855	$22
   17	Ohio	$45,519	$22
   18	Arizona	$43,807	$21
   19	Kansas	$43,605	$21
   20	Montana	$43,248	$21

   Average senior legal assistant salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Google	$78,092	$37.54
   2	Portland General Electric	$68,326	$32.85
   3	Shearman & Sterling	$68,046	$32.71
   4	Colgate-Palmolive	$62,261	$29.93
   5	Sharp HealthCare	$61,697	$29.66
   6	HCSC	$60,558	$29.11
   7	Brookline Bank	$56,762	$27.29
   8	Philips	$54,135	$26.03	1
   9	RWJBarnabas Health	$54,133	$26.03
   10	Ricoh	$54,065	$25.99
   11	The Hartford	$52,292	$25.14	8
   12	Nationwide	$52,222	$25.11	4
   13	LAN Associates	$51,701	$24.86
   14	Lee Hecht Harrison	$51,547	$24.78	40
   15	EnPro Industries	$51,540	$24.78
   16	*n/a*	$51,417	$24.72
   17	Blue Cross & Blue Shield	$51,405	$24.71	4
   18	Robert Half	$50,757	$24.40	258
   19	My Florida Regional Mls	$50,149	$24.11
   20	Credit Acceptance	$47,287	$22.73

4. Writing a senior legal assistant job description

   A job description for a senior legal assistant role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior legal assistant job description:

   Senior legal assistant job description example

   At Northwestern Mutual, we are strong, innovative and growing. We invest in our people. We care and make a positive difference.
   
   At Northwestern Mutual, we believe relationships are built on trust. That our lives and our work matter. These beliefs launched our company over 160 years ago. Today, they're just a few of the reasons why people choose to build careers at Northwestern Mutual.
   
   We're strong and growing. In a company with such a long and storied history, this may be the most exciting and important time to be a part of Northwestern Mutual. We're strong, innovative and growing.
   
   We invest in our people. We provide opportunities for employees to grow themselves, their career and in turn, our business.
   
   We care. We make a positive difference in our communities. Nationally, thousands have benefitted from our support of research and programs to fight childhood cancer. Each year, our Foundation, employees and financial representatives donate time, talent and financial support to causes they're passionate about.
   What you will do:
   
   Responsible for serving as an integral member of the Legal Process Unit in the Law Department. Work independently on a variety of legal process work by responding to third party legal process served on Northwestern Mutual involving policy owners, Home Office employees, and the field. That legal process work includes subpoenas, legal attachments and seizures, confidentiality/privacy concerns, bankruptcy issues and other related matters. Partner and provide consultation with business partners, the field, policy owners, outside law firms and government agencies.
   
   How you will do it:
   
   * Review and respond to all third-party legal process served on NM and its operating subsidiaries including: case review and analysis, legal research, case assignment, selection and recommendation of solutions to individual cases
   * Provide expertise and guidance on such matters as legal turnovers/attachments/seizures, restraints, privilege and privacy issues, production of company/subsidiary records earnings and commission attachments and bankruptcy issues and witness depositions
   * Coordinate responses to seizures, levies, garnishment, restraining orders and bankruptcies
   * Assist in the creation and maintenance of Standard Work Process and documentation
   * Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of NM products, systems and services
   * Perform related/similar duties and special projects as required or assigned
   
   Bring Your Best! What this role needs:
   
   * Bachelor's degree or a Paralegal Certificate, and a minimum of five years experience in insurance, financial services or legal industry; or a minimum of seven years of insurance, financial services or legal industry experience
   * Knowledge of litigation particularly, the discovery process
   * Ability to evolve and adapt enthusiastically as business needs change
   * Self-directed learner with a strong customer service orientation, sense of ownership, accountability, and professionalism
   * Demonstrate strong organizational skills; consistently complete projects on-time with great attention to detail. Able to prioritize well, work efficiently and effectively while prioritizing multiple tasks and deadlines
   * Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to establish rapport and effectively engage with staff and clients throughout the Company, including but not limited to the Law Department attorneys and other Department professional, as well as outside counsel, government and regulatory agencies.
   
   Benefits:
   
   Great pay package, 401K, company sponsored retirement plan, educational assistance, performance based incentive pay, medical, dental and vision insurance, parental leave, caregiver time off….and more!
   
   #IN-POST
   
   Grow your career with a best-in-class company that puts our client's interests at the center of all we do. Get started now!
   
   We are an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, age or status as a protected veteran, or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   If you work or would be working in Colorado or outside of a Corporate location, please click here for information pertaining to compensation and benefits.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find senior legal 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 senior legal assistant job on Zippia to find and recruit senior legal assistant candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit senior legal assistants, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   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 senior legal assistant

   Once you have selected a candidate for the senior legal assistant position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new senior legal assistant. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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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