Charles Dickens
Career Expert
2023-12-18 18:00:33
A legal assistant is a legal professional who completes administrative work on behalf of a lawyer. Their role and responsibilities vary depending on a law firm's specific needs.
Tasks of Legal Assistant:
- Legal assistant tasks include:
- Managing client communications and customer service
- Calendar coordination
- Legal research and writing
- Client billing and accounting
- Document organization and management
Skills of Legal Assistant:
The following are the basic skills of a Legal Assistant:
- Personality and communication skills
- Adaptability
- Writing skills
- Organization
- Tech-savvy (automation technology)
- Administrative assistance
- Legal knowledge
Responsibilities of Legal Assistant:
The following are the responsibilities of a Legal Assistant:
- Conduct legal research on cases and gather legal information.
- Interpret laws, rules, and regulations in legal documents.
- Compile and edit drafts of contracts, leases, licenses, and other legal documents.
- Monitor, study, and develop written summaries of proposed and enacted legislation, regulations, court decisions, industry guidelines, trade journals, and other relevant publications.
- Assist with case preparations.
- Daily record keeping with electronic and physical filing of caseloads.
- Analyze and summarize documents.
- Assist with the administration and management of workflow.
- Locate and interview witnesses.
- General administrative duties, i.e., answering correspondence and taking telephone calls.
How to Write a Legal Assistant Resume Summary:
We will give you the best tips for writing a resume summary if you are looking for a legal assistant job. We offer professional resume templates that reflect your skills and experiences. Always add descriptive words in your resume so that your resume varies from others, as the hiring manager has to read many resumes.
Following are the steps to follow while writing a legal assistant resume summary:
#1: Choose Your Resume Format:
Choose the best format for your resume that describes your education, experiences, and skills. These three things will help you get a job. The legal assistant resume format will favorably show your abilities to the hiring manager. There will be more chances for you to get the job.
#2: Add Your Personal Information:
The first part of a resume is your personal information, in which you write your first and last name, home address, email, contact number, identification number, and marital status (if required) at the top of the page.
Writing your personal information so the hiring manager can contact you for your interview is essential.
#3: Write Strong Objectives:
The objectives are your life goals that you want to achieve in life. So, always write objectives clearly and concisely.
Examples:
Example1: "Seeking a legal assistant position in litigation that will engage previous research experience and training in the library sciences as an organizational tool for the firm's benefit."
Example2: "A detail-oriented candidate seeks entry-level legal assistant work with a firm specializing in tax law to combine her previous work experience and recent education toward a single professional specialty."
Example3: "Looking for an internship in legal assisting to supplement coursework in legal studies and provide an opportunity to use recently earned professional skills in real-world scenarios for the benefit of attorneys and clients."
Example4: "Senior legal assistant with eight years of experience seeks a position with an efficient partnership in need of organizational support skills polished with experience with estate and tax law firms."
#4: Education Level:
The next step is to write about your qualifications. In this step, write about your education and the degrees you have. Write them with an ending date, month, and year.
You can even mention the university name, which can positively impact the hiring manager.
#5: Create Strong Work Experience:
In the experience part, highlight your work history details and how each role prepared you for your next position.
For any past legal assistant jobs, you can even mention how many cases you have worked on, what areas of law you engaged with, and whether you worked behind the scenes or in a client-facing role.
This will positively impact the hiring manager as they will learn you are an effective and efficient employee.
#6: Building Effective Skills:
Skills play an essential role by which hiring managers will also come to know where you fit in the job. Write them in keywords that are short and describe your qualities.
The skills that are required for a legal assistant are as follows:
- Case Management
- Client Data Confidentiality
- Court Rules & Filing Requirements
- Document Preparation & Review
- Legal Correspondence
- Precedent Research & Analysis
- Professional Ethics & Confidentiality
- Trial Preparation & Support
- Client Communications
- Legal Writing
- Office Administration
- Process Streamlining
- Reporting & Documentation
#7: Speaking Fluent Languages:
In this part, you will write about the languages you speak. It would help if you were a fluent speaker of English. You should know English better because legal assistants usually write and prepare cases.
#8: Write Efficient Projects:
The next step is to write about the projects you have done. Highlight the projects you have done as they positively impact the hiring manager. Mention them using effective and short keywords.
#9: Achievements and Awards you got from Previous Jobs:
The next step is to write about your achievements and awards in your cases. Highlight your achievements and awards using effective keywords as they positively impact the hiring manager.
Include any certifications, memberships, or awards relevant to the position. Certification in your job shows how much you are involved in your work.
FAQs
How do you write a professional summary for a personal assistant?
Efficient and detail-oriented Personal Assistant with a track record of initiative and accuracy. Highly organized, skilled multi-tasker, and capable of anticipating clients' needs.
What is a cover letter for a legal assistant?
He must highlight familiarity with legal principles & research capabilities, case-management & administrative skills, and managing professional interaction with clients.
What are the skills for an administrative assistant summary?
These skills include time management, computer proficiency, attention to detail, communication, adaptability, problem-solving, customer service, multi-tasking, and confidentiality.
What does a legal assistant do in Canada?
You handle most of the paperwork in the company and help lawyers prepare for their meetings, schedule conferences, record minutes during the meetings, and prepare reports.
What is the difference between a legal assistant and a paralegal in Canada?
Some of their work may be the same; paralegals focus on legal tasks, i.e., conducting legal research, drafting legal documents, interviewing witnesses, preparing cases, and assisting with trial preparation.
About The Author
Charles Dickens
Career Expert
2023-12-18 18:00:33
Charles is an accomplished resume writer dedicated to shaping impactful career stories. With extensive experience, Charles specializes in unraveling individual professional journeys and highlighting unique strengths to align with specific career goals. Having assisted diverse job seekers across various career stages, Charles emphasizes the transformative impact of a precisely tailored resume.
