Introduction
Do you love the notion of legal work but have no desire to be a lawyer, well there may be another avenue that you could delve into. Legal assistants or paralegals are professionals who carry out numerous law related jobs. In this article we will give you a brief history pertaining to a legal assistant and the various jobs that they work on daily.
History
In the decade of the 1960's the American legal system was experiencing a surge of business, people from all walks of life were seeking the assistance of law professionals. Coinciding with this, were various laws and legal procedures being introduced to the profession that made the assistance of lawyers extremely expensive. To topple this feature a notion was subsequently introduced that non-lawyer professional should perform various forms of legal work that normally would be conducted by the lawyers. This reduced the amount of work lawyers had to conduct which subsequently reduced the amount of money they charged.
Features
In this section we will introduce you to a number of different jobs legal assistants perform on a daily basis.
- They sort out paperwork that the lawyers need arranged, prepare legal files, conduct research that the lawyer may require for the case at hand, and maintain legal records so they are accurate and up to date.
- A legal assistant may draft contracts and paperwork for the lawyer/client.
- They will perform tasks that will acquire information to aid in the legal case. This can include making phone calls, emails, conducting interviews with people etc.
- If the law firm they work with specialises in real estate related cases, they may be required to attend closing sales, and make sure certain numbers and statistics related to the case are correct.
- They may also be required to handle administrative duties like transcribing diction, answering emails, and organising appointments for the lawyers, and proofreading legal documents. But if the law firm has a lawyer secretary this will not be required.
- To supervise the legal secretaries and delegate work to them.
- Administrate trusts, wills and estates for clients.
- Assist clients with the management of their trusts and estates.
- If these legal jobs sound attractive to you, then this profession may be a good avenue to explore.
In order to carry out these legal jobs, certain traits and characteristics are sought or/and required.
- Acceptable computer skills.
- Adequate communication skills, you will be conversing with the clients, lawyers and other types of people. So a sound ability to converse is desired.
- Time management and planning skills.
- An analytical mind, you will be researching numerous different law related information and you will need to be able to analyse, summarise and understand this data.
- The comprehension of legal jargon and procedures. This will be acquired with formal education.
- Work well with deadlines and pressure.
- Good listening skills, you will be required to follow instructions issued by lawyers.
- Patience and a nice demeanour will be an appealing quality.
- The ability to be relied upon and keep information confidential.
Tips and comments
A legal assistant can perform a wide range of legal duties but they are not allowed to sign legal documents, represent people in court or impart professional legal advice. These duties are for the lawyer to perform. Normally to become a professional legal assistant you will need to acquire a formal education at college pertaining to this field. The average salary of a legal assistant is $ 33,000 annually. This is subject to variation, pertaining to their experience levels and the place of work.
