An administrative legal assistant provides support to attorneys and legal teams, requiring knowledge of legal terminology and concepts. They typically have at least a high school diploma and two years of college education. They perform administrative tasks and research, and may earn a higher salary than other administrative professionals. Many pursue further education to become paralegals or lawyers.
An administrative legal assistant is an office administrative professional who provides support to attorneys, law firms, or the legal department of corporations or organizations. In addition to the level of a standard administrative professional, an administrative legal assistant must possess knowledge and skills pertinent to the legal field. Many legal assistants work alongside attorneys, paralegals and other legal teams to support case management and court proceedings in a timely and efficient manner.
To become an administrative legal assistant, someone must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent, plus at least two years of college education. This college course should include basic office technology and administrative procedures, as well as legal terminology and concepts. Many legal administrative assistants take courses leading to an associate degree or certification level before starting this type of career.
In some organizations, legal administrative assistants are referred to as paralegals, paralegals, legal secretaries or administrative assistants. Many work closely with the legal team to perform routine administrative tasks such as organizing case files, filing, typing, telephone support, running errands, court support, or legal transcription of recorded case transcripts. Many administrative legal assistants also process office timesheets, invoices for legal clients, and perform legal research or fact-finding for court cases.
Many administrative paralegals start out in regular business administrative work and later move into the legal field out of an interest in legal work. Once a job is obtained in the law office environment, entry-level administrative assistants work with more experienced legal assistants as they learn the key concepts and processes needed to perform well in the law office. Some may choose to attend college while working in a law office, to learn legal terminology, case management, regional laws and policies, and legal transcription and dictaphone skills.
Legal administrative assistants can expect to earn a higher than average salary than business or corporate administrative assistants. This is due in part to the specialization and additional skills required to work as an administrative legal assistant. In addition, many legal secretaries and support staff are required to work long hours preparing the files and research notes for lawyers working on critical cases that often make history in the courts, affecting new laws and positive changes in the legal system.
In general, administrative legal assistants should have an interest in law, criminal science, and court proceedings. Some of the most successful administrative legal assistants have gone on to have long careers with respected companies. Many others have decided to continue further education and training to become paralegals, or even lawyers, because of this interest and experience in working in law.
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