Legal Assistant Job Description

Legal Assistant

Salary range: $40,000-$75,000
Sweet spot: $55,000-$65,000
Major cities: $55,000-$75,000
Other markets: $40,000-$60,000
Bonus: Customary

A legal assistant helps with the administrative and client service-focused aspects of a law practice or similar office. This includes greeting clients and ensuring good communication with the firm, preparing invoices and collecting client payment, helping lawyers and paralegals draft and proofread documents, and scheduling appointments, meetings, interviews, court dates, and calls. Some legal assistants perform research and have similar responsibilities to a paralegal. Paralegals tend to have more responsibilities that relate to the technical aspects of law.

Even though they work closely with clients, legal assistants and paralegals, are not attorneys and, therefore, not qualified to give legal advice.

Job Description

Provide administrative support to lawyers, legal teams and clients
Maintain calendar and schedules, making appointments, reservations etc., as required
Draft and proof legal documents, correspondence, and pleadings and file with the courts
Summarize depositions, interrogatories, and testimony
Collect and organize evidence and legal documents for lawyer / team review
Communicate with witnesses and clients to schedule meetings, interviews, depositions and court dates
Maintain contact with the client; ensure client well-being
Organize and maintain legal files, both paper and electronic. Improve filing system as required
Invoice clients
Arrange travel including flights, ground transportation, lodging, dining and other activities

Critical Soft Skills

Comfortable with complexity / ambiguityOrganized
Strong communicator
Efficient time manager
Detail-oriented
Problem solver / resourceful
Discreet
Excellent interpersonal skills
Multitasker
Self starter / takes initiative
Works well under pressure

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