"Paralegals and Legal Assistant"

Basic Job Description:

Assist lawyers by researching legal precedent, investigating facts, or preparing
legal documents. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a
defense, or to initiate legal action.
JOBS
1) Prepare legal documents, including briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills,
contracts, and real estate closing statements.

2) Prepare affidavits or other documents, maintain document file, and file
pleadings with court clerk.

3) Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal
articles, codes, and documents.

4) Investigate facts and law of cases to determine causes of action and to
prepare cases.

5) Call upon witnesses to testify at hearing.

6) Direct and coordinate law office activity, including delivery of subpoenas.

Job Activities for: "Paralegals and Legal Assistant"
1) Getting Information -- Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining
information from all relevant sources.
2) Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work -- Developing specific goals and
plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
3) Interacting With Computers -- Using computers and computer systems
(including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions,
enter data, or process information.

4) Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates -- Providing
information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in
written form, e-mail, or in person.
5) Processing Information -- Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating,
tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
6) Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships -- Developing
constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and
maintaining them over time.

SKILLS
1) Reading Comprehension -- Understanding written sentences and
paragraphs in work related documents.

2) Time Management -- Managing one's own time and the time of others.

3) Active Listening -- Giving full attention to what other people are saying,
taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as
appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

4) Writing -- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs
of the audience.

5) Speaking -- Talking to others to convey information effectively.

6) Active Learning -- Understanding the implications of new information for
both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

7) Coordination -- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

8) Critical Thinking -- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and
weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

9) Monitoring -- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other
individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

ABILITIES
1) Written Comprehension -- The ability to read and understand information
and ideas presented in writing.

2) Oral Expression -- The ability to communicate information and ideas in
speaking so others will understand.

3) Oral Comprehension -- The ability to listen to and understand information
and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

4) Near Vision -- The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of
the observer).

5) Written Expression -- The ability to communicate information and ideas in
writing so others will understand.

6) Inductive Reasoning -- The ability to combine pieces of information to form
general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly
unrelated events).

7) Speech Recognition -- The ability to identify and understand the speech of
another person.

8) Speech Clarity -- The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

9) Deductive Reasoning -- The ability to apply general rules to specific
problems to produce answers that make sense.

10) Problem Sensitivity -- The ability to tell when something is wrong or is
likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing
there is a problem.

11) Information Ordering -- The ability to arrange things or actions in a
certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns
of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

12) Category Flexibility -- The ability to generate or use different sets of rules
for combining or grouping things in different ways.

13) Flexibility of Closure -- The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a
figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.

14) Selective Attention -- The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of
time without being distracted.

15) Finger Dexterity -- The ability to make precisely coordinated movements
of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small
objects.

16) Fluency of Ideas -- The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a
topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or
creativity).

17) Originality -- The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a
given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Knowledge, Experience, Education Required for: "Paralegals
and Legal Assistant"
1) English Language -- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English
language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and
grammar.

2) Law and Government -- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures,
precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the
democratic political process.

3) Clerical -- Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems
such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and
transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

4) Computers and Electronics -- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors,
chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including
applications and programming.

5) Customer and Personal Service -- Knowledge of principles and processes
for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs
assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer
satisfaction.

6) Administration and Management -- Knowledge of business and
management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation,
human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and
coordination of people and resources.
















What is a legal assistants job description?
January 17, 2013 by Tonya Leave a Comment
The National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) states that the terms
paralegal and legal assistant are interchangeable. Therefore, a legal assistant
job description is the same as a paralegal job description. NALA defines this to
be a distinguishable group of persons who assist attorneys in the delivery of
legal services. Through formal education, training, and experience, legal
assistants have knowledge and expertise regarding the legal system and
substantive and procedural law which qualify them to do work of a legal nature
under the supervision of an attorney. An individual preparing a legal assistant
resume should pay special attention to the part of NALAs description of a legal
assistant that refers to formal education, training and experience, as these are
the most sought after qualities in a legal assistant.
Depending on the attorney who is preparing a legal assistant job description
sample for review by his human resources department, a legal assistant job
description may include both secretarial duties and more substantive legal
tasks. Because the job description for legal assistants varies based on the
attorney, law firm and the type of law practiced, it may be difficult to narrow
down a specific legal assistant job description. This can further be complicated
if the law firm is trying to draft a legal administrative assistant job description
and a legal secretary job description in addition to the legal assistant job
description as all three of those positions may have duties that cross over from
each position.
Legal Assistants Job DescriptionTypical duties assigned to legal assistants
Even though the job description for legal assistants may change depending on
the firm and the attorney, several common tasks appear on the majority of legal
assistant job descriptions
Ability to perform legal research
Draft legal documents
Read case law and prepare case briefs
Prepare trial notebooks for court
File court documents electronically
Prepare responses to complaints and discovery requests
Organize case files and maintain documents

Legal assistant job descriptions for specific types of legal assistant positions
In addition to the supervising attorney influencing the job description, the area
of law being practiced can greatly dictate the tasks described in the legal
assistant job description. Below are some samples of legal assistant job
descriptions.
Corporate legal assistant This person helps draft and prepare corporate
charter documents, partnership agreements and limited liability documents.
She will draft board meeting minutes and board resolutions. Prepare minutes,
stock certificates and stock ledgers. The corporate legal assistant will help the
attorney prepare for any court hearings and, under his direction, prepare court
pleadings for filing with the court.
Real estate legal assistant Real estate legal assistants often perform title
searches to determine ownership and lien status of properties. She will prepare
deeds, mortgages and other closing documents. Prepare title abstracts, review
title insurance and prepare legal descriptions for deeds. A real estate legal
assistant may also prepare documents relating to real estate such as a bond for
title, rental or lease agreement and property restrictions.
Family law legal assistant Legal assistants that work for a family law
attorney often prepare complaints and legal pleadings to be filed with the court.
She can also prepare documents for court such as affidavits and exhibits. A legal
assistant working with a family court attorney should be able to handle intense
emotional situations as cases being heard by the Family Court are often
characterized by intense emotions on both sides of the case.
Bankruptcy legal assistant Bankruptcy legal assistants help prepare the
bankruptcy documents filed with the court by interviewing clients to obtain the
necessary information about assets, debts, income and expenses to complete
the bankruptcy petition and schedules. Bankruptcy paralegals will help prepare
for court by compiling the documents and exhibits necessary for the hearing
and by helping to instruct clients on what to expect at their first hearing.
Patent and trademark legal assistant Legal assistants in this area of law
communicate with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, prepare and file patent
and trademark applications and docket deadlines for the attorney. She may
assist with trademark and patent searches in addition to drafting and preparing
copyright filings and notices.
Probate legal assistant A legal assistant working for a probate attorney
will meet with clients to obtain information necessary to draft a will or trust.
She often drafts documents such as wills and trust agreements to protect the
probate estate. Probate legal assistants prepare the documents necessary to file
with the Probate Court to probate an estate or to request that a conservator be
appointed for a minor.
Litigation legal assistant A litigation legal assistant assists the attorney
from the beginning of a case through the end of the trial or settlement of the
case. The legal assistant will interview clients and witnesses to gather
information pertinent to the case and discuss with the attorney a plan for the
case and a strategy. She will gather all documents and organize them so that
they can be used throughout the case and the trial. The legal assistant will also
perform legal research on current case law and prepare case summaries for the
attorney to review. She will draft legal pleadings and prepare responses for the
attorney to review. A litigation paralegal must be detail oriented as documents
can number in the thousands and she must also be able to work under pressure
because there are many deadlines during the progression of the case.
Legal assistant resumes and salaries
When preparing a legal assistant job description for your resume, include that
you are self-motivated, organized, detail-oriented and able to work under
pressure - all qualities of a good legal assistant. Do not include in your legal
assistant job description a salary as this will be negotiated if you are offered the
position.
An average legal assistant salary, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, is $46,680 per year. The actual salary for a legal assistant will depend
on the location of the law firm, the type of law practiced and the role of the legal
assistant within the law firm.