Legal Assistants are responsible for helping lawyers in the hearings, closings, trials, and openings of a case. They also work with prosecutor training coordinators, law examiners, and administrative law specialists. These assistants reduce the stress and workload of law practitioners. They can perform legal researches, interview witnesses and clients, and draft various legal documents, such as contracts. These professionals may work at legal aid organizations, banks, private law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, among others.
Legal Assistants usually perform many of the following tasks:
• Reviewing case records.
• Preparing wills.
• Creating reports.
• Building solutions to a case.
• Monitoring legal books.
Skills
• Being able to coordinate actions with respect to others.
• Having good written and verbal communication skills.
• Being able to operate computers, scanners, and fax machines.
• Having proficiency in internet research.
• Being able to work alone or with a team.
• Having secretarial skills.
• Having customer service skills.
• Being able to apply critical thinking to problems.
• Having problem-solving skills.
• Being reliable and trustworthy.
Education
Candidates for Legal Assistant job placements are required to have an Associate´s Degree in Paralegal Studies or a Bachelor´s Degree in a related field. It is recommended that applicants for this area start working under the supervision of a lawyer in order to gain suitable experience for future jobs. There are colleges that offer training programs including job support and internship programs for candidates to this area. Professionals working on this industry can obtain a certificate offered by the NALA Certifying Board.
- Part Time Legal Assistant
- Paralegal Legal Assistant
- Junior Legal Assistant
- Family Law Legal Assistant
- Entry Level Legal Assistant
- Corporate Legal Assistant
- Legal Research Assistant
- Legal Executive Assistant
- Legal Administrative Assistant
- Assistant Legal Officer