Working in the field of law can be a highly satisfying endeavor. After all, attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement officials, paralegals, and legal assistants can all make positive contributions that improve people’s lives and enhances the safety of the community.
Of course, entering this field of work can take a lot of time, money, and studies if you become an attorney. It can also be life-threatening if you pursue a career in law enforcement.
If you’re budget-minded, aren’t interested in having a dangerous career, and want to start working and earning money sooner rather than later, a job as a legal assistant might be in order.
What Do You Need to Become a Legal Assistant?
First and foremost, you need the appropriate education to become a legal assistant.
For most legal assistant jobs, an associate’s degree is just fine. Usually, this job requires a degree in paralegal studies or a related field (e.g., legal studies).
Sometimes, legal assistants might be required to have a bachelor’s degree as well. In this case, it is more common to have a bachelor’s degree in a related field, like criminal justice, along with a certificate in legal studies or a related area.
In some cases, employers will ask that legal secretaries also have a certificate or a certification.
A certificate is bestowed by an educational institution. Like a diploma, it signifies that you have fulfilled the requirements to complete the certificate to a satisfactory level. For example, you might get a certificate in court reporting from a local college to supplement your associate’s degree in paralegal studies.
A certification, on the other hand, is bestowed by a professional organization. For example, NALA, the Paralegal Association, offers certification as a Certified Paralegal (CP). To get this credential, you must be enrolled in a paralegal program or have graduated from one. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in any field and workers with seven years of experience or more as a paralegal are also eligible.
Once eligible, you must pass a two-part test (one section on knowledge and one section on skills).
In both cases – holding a certificate and being certified – you might find that more doors will open for more jobs. Although many employers don’t require a certificate or a certification, they will no doubt be impressed that you have one or both designations.
What Skills are Needed to Be a Legal Assistant?
There is a wide range of hard skills and soft skills that are required for this kind of work.
Regarding hard skills, knowledge of the legal system is a must. While legal assistants don’t need the depth of knowledge of the law that an attorney has, they must understand the basics of how legal proceedings work.
For example, legal assistants need to know how to fill out legal documents appropriately. They need to know law terminology, rules regarding attorney-client privilege, and understand what is and is not appropriate behavior in a court of law.
Other hard skills include:
- Understand the court filing process, including deadlines, statutory requirements, and the like
- Possess the ability to format legal documents in the correct style
- Ability to conduct basic research into case law
- Knowledge of civil procedures, criminal procedures, state statutes, and federal legal guidelines, as appropriate
- Understanding of proper organizational and legal filing systems
- Ability to communicate complex details of legal proceedings to laypersons, specifically clients
In addition to the hard skills that are needed to perform this job well, legal assistants also need a wide range of soft skills.
Perhaps most importantly, legal assistants must be adept at communicating in various forms with people from diverse backgrounds. Having excellent written and verbal communication skills, the ability to create error-free documents, and being able to multitask are further soft skills that will help you perform the duties of this job.
Additionally, legal assistants should possess the following soft skills:
- Punctuality
- Excellent listening skills
- Ability to work as a member of a team or independently
- Ability to take information from many different sources and organize it in a logical fashion
- Organizational skills
- Analytical and problem-solving skills
- Ability to work under pressure
- Ability to prioritize tasks
Legal assistants should also be very detail-oriented. Paying attention to details isn’t just important for effective communication with others in the office and with clients, but it’s also critical that legal filings be perfectly accurate.
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Legal Assistant?
If you tick most of the boxes listed above for hard skills and soft skills, you might have a future as a legal assistant.
The next step is to set a course for getting the proper education and, perhaps, a certificate or certification. Doing so will open up many doors for working as a legal assistant.
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