An assistant with exceptional skills is a valuable asset to a legal office. Administration. Legal Assistant (Advanced) This test measures advanced skills related to working as a legal assistant. For example, our legal assistant has worked for law firms specializing in Family Law. We are looking for a self motivated Legal Assistant to ensure smooth running of the office and effective case management. Next, outline the required and preferred skills for your position. Can your resume education section get you hired? Much of today’s research is conducted via internet and requires analytical abilities as well. Legal secretaries must transcend conventional roles of typing and answering phones to overseeing high-value activities between attorneys and clients and with regards to legal proceedings. Legal Assistant Skills and Qualifications: Reporting Skills, Research Skills, Legal Administration Skills, Litigation, Client Relationships, Organization, Planning, Attention to Detail, Confidentiality, Dependability, Client Confidentiality ———————————— Find out more about recruiting trends in the legal industry. 7 Recession Proof Legal Specialties. Legal secretaries are frequently responsible for drafting routine correspondence and file memos, in addition to proofreading legal documents for pleadings, briefs, discovery, and transactional purposes. So, whether your expertise is in Criminal Law, Administrative Law, or Contract Law, be sure to note it here. Legal Assistants provide support for lawyers in the process of delivering legal services. You may also include soft skills and personality traits that you envision for a successful hire. This may include education, previous job experience, certifications and technical skills. Legal Assistant Job Description Sample. Legal assistants typically work in law offices and firms. By using The Balance Careers, you accept our. For example, 21.4% of legal assistant resumes contained legal documents as a skill. Use Skill Words in Your Job Interview: Be prepared to discuss types of projects you’ve managed in other roles without violating a client’s confidentiality at other law firms. But then—present your argument like the next of our legal assistant resume examples: When writing your resume, be sure to reference the job description and highlight any skills, awards and certifications that match with the requirements. Screeners don’t have time to bother with lengthy paragraphs and page-long lists. For example, typing $600,000 in a settlement offer instead of $60,000 could cost your firm a client. Many attorneys have neither the time nor expertise to operate law office technology well. The Essentials of Legal Writing & Reading Skills. Their tasks include research, filling in documents, helping lawyers to prepare for trials and assisting clients. They know how to juggle multiple assignments and competing priorities and how to manage growing workloads in today’s busy law office where one person frequently performs the job of three. So according to the ABA, a “legal assistant” is not a paralegal, but according to the BLS, a “legal assistant” is not a secretary! Use the legal assistant skills for resumes below to start. As mentioned above, secretaries must be proficient in word processing applications and transcription equipment. Legal assistants support lawyers with various tasks, including conducting legal research, drafting and reviewing documents, communicating with clients, preparing hearings, trials, and meetings, and organizing and maintaining files. Good writing skills are essential, since you will be required to perform tasks such as: … Essential job duties of a Legal Executive Assistant are conducting research, investigating legal cases, preparing legal documents, solving customer issues, and … Legal Assistant Interview Questions. You will be responsible for building and maintaining client relationships, as well as for communicating important messages to and from clients. The best legal assistants provide integral support for attorneys and clients. If you’re looking to hire a legal assistant in the future, there are a number of qualities you should be looking for that go beyond legal knowledge. Legal secretaries are familiar with all things pertaining to law and court proceedings. Since creating cover letters is a significant part of your job as legal assistant, stick to the point and demonstrate your ability to be clear and direct. Visit PayScale to research legal assistant salaries by city, experience, skill, employer and more. With its prominent location just below your contact details, a resume objective is a great place to combine as much information as possible into one place. Organizational Skills. Legal secretaries handle the minutiae of daily law practice, and attention to detail is important in nearly every secretarial task from drafting and proofreading documents to scheduling meetings and calendaring deadlines. A modern legal assistant needs to be a master of all office software. This includes mentioning one or more hard and soft skills so employers get an idea of who you are as quickly as possible. Writing Skills. As the role of the legal professional changes and grows, a need for technology knowledge is high on the list of requirements for legal industry job positions. Today’s legal assistants and paralegals need to be proficient in a variety of computer and technology skills. Confidentiality. But … Organizational Skills – With all the details that need to be handled in a case, attorneys often need … Top Things You Should Know About Legal Receptionists, What It's Really Like in a Private Industry Legal Practice Environment, highlight the skills above in your summary, demonstrate your ability to be clear and direct, Process of Packaging and Sending Legal Documents, Develop and Maintain Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Writing Skills. Attorneys are notoriously disorganized. It’s a legal assistant’s job to be the main point of contact between lawyers … by Jeffrey Hauck, JD, CPO, CII, LPI. Kept case files up to date. $50,940 per year (all paralegals and legal assistants)* Job Outlook (2016-2026) 15% growth (all paralegals and legal assistants)* Key Skills : Reading comprehension, critical thinking, time management, thorough researching, excellent written and spoken communication, decision making, clear judgment: Similar Occupations 1 Knowledge of legal concepts, terminology, principles, and procedures necessary to understand court filing requirements. Dedicated, reliable and able to handle a high volume of assignments. Legal Assistants provide support to lawyers and complete various administrative tasks. Occasionally, they may travel to gather information, collect and review documents, accompany … Legal Administrative Assistant Job Description. As a legal assistant, you have to make sure you don’t miss anything that would help the lawyer you work for win a case. resumeOn a piece of paper, write your soft and hard skills down. Again, this is a general bare bones template of the tasks needed to assist any lawyer in any field. A legal assistant is a key cog in the law industry, providing support to lawyers and working alongside them by performing important administrative and clerical duties. ————————————. Not to be confused with paralegals, legal secretaries fill vital roles in law firms across the country. Typing Skills. In addition to a fast typing speed (employer requirements vary from 50 to 100 words per minute), active listening skills are required to comprehend voice dictation files. Legal Assistant qualifications and skills. ... Legal Administration Skills, Litigation, Client Relationships, Organization, Planning, Attention to Detail, Confidentiality, Dependability, Client Confidentiality. An organised Legal Secretary is an efficient one, so definitely include any examples of this skills within your CV. Today’s top 27 Legal Assistant jobs in Provo, Utah, United States. Realizing that there are literally millions of suggestions on how to improve your legal writing and reading skills on the Internet, I wanted to distinguish this article from the others. Law Offers Many Choices. You need to communicate efficiently with the lawyer, as … Draft discovery requests, including those for production, interrogatories, admissions, and copies. Writing is an integral part of the legal secretary’s job; those that develop strong writing skills will become indispensable to the attorneys they assist. From finding legal documents to locating an expert witness, legal assistants need to be able to conduct research to succeed. Skills to Put in a Legal Assistant Resume Objective. Alison Doyle is the job search expert for The Balance Careers, and one of the industry's most highly-regarded job search and career experts. Writing skills. A paralegal, also known as a legal secretary, is responsible for assisting and providing legal support and administrative tasks for lawyers and other legal professionals. Most legal secretaries work for more than one person on more than one file. You’ll Definitely Need Technical Skills. Law has been and always will be a world of red tape and semantics. All deadlines are priority, and a minor detail overlooked could jeopardize the case of a client or merit legal action from opposing attorneys. Communication Skills. When so much misinformation permeates the online world, finding credible sources is more important than ever before. Knowledge and practice go hand in hand. A solid resume is crucial when it comes to finding jobs as a legal assistant. That’s no mere legal assistant resume skills list. Highlight Skills in Your Cover Letter: Do not waste words in your letter. Legal secretaries perform Internet research for a multitude of tasks such as finding directions, gathering client information, researching the competition and locating expert witnesses. $50,940 per year (all paralegals and legal assistants)* Job Outlook (2016-2026) 15% growth (all paralegals and legal assistants)* Key Skills : Reading comprehension, critical thinking, time management, thorough researching, excellent written and spoken communication, decision making, clear judgment: Similar Occupations See what skills people typically need to work as a legal assistant in Canada. This requires an exemplary level of attention to detail. You can discover if this career is right for you, or find out which qualifications you should show off in a resume or an interview. 15 Skills and Qualities to be Best in Your Legal Secretary Job. Ability to Prepare and File Court Documents. Jobs for legal assistants are projected to grow by 15% (or 41,800 jobs) from 2016 through 2026, which is much faster than average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). A legal assistant or paralegal helps lawyers deliver legal services to their clients. Draft briefs, complaints, summonses, motions, arbitration statements, subpoenas, trial documents, and appeals. You may also include soft skills and personality traits that you envision for a successful hire. 10 Kingsbridge Garden Circle Suite 505 Mississauga, ON L5R 3K6, 6 Skills Your Legal Assistant Should Possess. Reliability. In all practice settings—from large corporate legal departments to solo practitioners—legal secretaries must team with attorneys, paralegals, secretaries, file clerks, vendors, and others to deliver legal services effectively. While paralegals often perform attorney duties under supervision from an attorney, legal secretaries must keep track of all details circling the law firm. Attorneys must be fully prepared for each and every legal proceeding. What’s the difference between a secretary and a legal secretary? Examples of Legal Assistant duties include gathering information, determining precedents, drafting legal documents, answering to client questions, taking phone calls, handling correspondence, greeting guests, and performing basic accounting tasks. Legal Assistant Job Essential Skills. People Skills. Number of questions: 45 . There’s no need to cut corners when it comes to advancing yourself within your chosen career. These skills will help … Proofreading. The resume examples below can help guide you in building an effective resume. Some of the most common technologies that legal secretaries must master include: Legal secretaries interact daily with attorneys, paralegals, staff, clients, opposing counsel, judicial personnel, vendors, and more. Working as a paralegal means that you will be physically and virtually surrounded by books and documents. Accountants, architects, proof-readers and pharmacists, among others, will have developed the excellent observational skills required for the role. We hope this article will help you see the value of your experience. Legal assistants interact with lawyers, courtroom staff, clients, witnesses, opposing counsel, judicial employees, and other third parties. Learning legal research platforms such as Westlaw or Lexis/Nexis can give you a competitive edge. Technology skills are one of the most sought-after paralegal skills in today’s legal market. Familiarity With Legal Documents and Terminology, Learn What It Takes to Become a Legal Transcriptionist, Important Writing and Editing Skills That Employers Value, Important Employability Skills For Workplace Success, What Are the Differences Between Paralegals and Legal Assistants, 8 Skills You Need to Succeed as a Paralegal, Best Resume Formats With Examples and Formatting Tips, Skills That Can Help You Get an Office Manager Job, Considering Practicing Law? With its prominent location just below your contact details, a resume objective is a great place to combine as much information as possible into one place. Organisation and efficiency are both key with this type of skill. Legal Secretaries have to produce legal documents to a faultless standard. Some of the skills you may mention in the legal assistant resume are mentioned below: Skilled in managing important legal documents. Prepare pleadings and motions, organize documents, make filings with courts, and schedule depositions. 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