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Assistants and the Law: Becoming a legal assistant...
Law chose me and not the other way around...I had minimal experience in law and no formal training. I worked for a criminal lawyer for a short time and didn’t like it. It was disconcerting to me to hear on the news there was a murder only to find the accused in the office the next day retaining my lawyer as legal counsel. I thought I would never work in a law firm again, but years later I ended up in law one more time.
I was temping and hoping for permanent work when I got an opportunity for a one-year contract with a law firm. The area of law was Corporate, which eased my mind, and eleven years later I am still in law, although now in the Employment and Labour law field. The lawyer who hired me back then knew I lacked a legal background, but he told me he would take care of the legal if I would take care of being fast and efficient.
There are many areas you can go into in law and some of them can be very interesting.
- · Commercial and Residential Real Estate law
- · Wills and Estates
- · Family law
- · Litigation
- · Corporate and Securities law
- · Employment and Labour law
- · Intellectual Property and Copyright law
- · Tax law... and more
Some of these areas require more training than others. In Corporate law I was able to learn on the job, litigation however would require more knowledge and training because of the rules and procedures of the court that you would need to have a good working knowledge of.
A college education in a legal assistant course is a definite asset, but equivalent work experience can be just as useful. If you have an opportunity like I did to work with a lawyer who will mentor and train you, that is ideal. A trained legal assistant is invaluable to a lawyer and can relieve their workload to concentrate on their expertise.
Working in a law firm is usually on a one-on-one or two-on-one basis. You need to be able to work as a team with the lawyers you are assigned and work to accomplish a common goal.
Some skills that I believe a legal assistant must have are as follows:
Clients are special. The clients of a law firm are the bread and butter that keep the firm going. You need to have excellent client relations to work in a law firm. Sometimes when a client cannot get in touch with their lawyer you can almost hear a sigh of relief when they get through to their assistant. You are representing your lawyer on the telephone and by e-mail. Friendly, but professional is always a good rule of thumb, but keep in mind you are not a lawyer and can only take messages or direct their calls to another lawyer who can help. Always try and take detailed messages to pass on to the lawyer and never attempt to give legal advice, even if you think you know the answer, unless it is something specific your lawyer has asked you to pass on. Reassure them you will have someone get back to them as soon as possible and then make sure someone does.
Pay attention to detail. The little things matter in a law practice. Be aware that your lawyer will be looking at every little detail because not letting things get by them is something a lawyer needs to do and they are good at it. As their assistant you will need to be someone who pays attention to detail so you can assist them in putting out a good product.
Dates are extremely important in a law firm. A good date and time calculator is a necessity. http://www.timeanddate.com/date/dateadd.html
There are court dates that need to be remembered and diarized. You will need to know the proper forms to file and schedule reminders for your lawyer to start preparing for something that is coming up. There are dates to schedule for mediations and arbitrations, pre-trial hearings, settlement conferences and more.
Your lawyer will sometimes receive demand letters from lawyers on the opposite side of an issue who threaten court action unless you respond in a certain number of days. These dates cannot be ignored and must be diarized. Being comfortable with managing a calendar is a must.
Scheduling dates. Scheduling dates requires good organization and common sense. You don’t want to schedule your lawyer with back-to-back hearings or meetings. There is a lot of preparation involved in getting ready for court appearances, mediations and arbitration hearings and you must keep that in mind when you are scheduling your lawyer.
You will also be scheduling dates with multiple parties who have very busy schedules. Being creative in finding dates is a useful skill.
Rules, rules, rules. The court has many rules for filing documents and handling matters of the court. There are timelines when court documents need to be filed. There is a proper form of document, the correct number of copies required and many other rules that need to be followed. There are court rule books that you can look at to get the information for the various filings. You will also need to keep in mind that there are different courts with different rules. You must read everything you get from the court and diarize the dates, with appropriate reminders, and highlight them for your lawyer. The court rule book will become your working bible.
Mums the word. Be careful what you say and who you say it to. Due to the nature of working in a law firm, you are dealing with confidential information that cannot be leaked or talked about except with your lawyer. Keep in mind that sometimes a lawyer from the opposite side will call wanting information and they are skilled at interrogation. You may give information out that your boss would not want the other side to know about. Know what information you can and cannot give.
Marketing and your lawyer. Lawyers need to sell their expertise and in order to do that they need to market themselves by speaking at conferences and writing legal articles for magazines. Being quoted in a newspaper or magazine article is an important part of being a lawyer. They are experts in what they do and their profile increases when they are quoted in the media. As a legal assistant you will be required to type articles and prepare PowerPoint presentations. Excellent proofreading skills will be important and knowledge on how to properly cite references will be a necessary skill. You want your lawyer to shine.
That’s not all folks...There is also the administrative side to working for a lawyer which includes preparing expense reports, making sure membership and insurance dues are paid on time, requisitioning cheques and the regular workday needs of a busy executive.
Before you turn and run. Realize that you as the assistant do not have to know everything. The lawyer you work for is ultimately responsible for what goes out. They are the experts in the law and the more you work together as a team, the more success you will have as a legal assistant. And don’t forget the other legal assistants in the firm. They can be a great resource and help when you are starting out.
I have found that being in a specialized field like law also increases your chances of employment. A good legal assistant is sought out by law firms and depending on your experience, the salary can be high.
The job of legal assistant is hard work and can be demanding, but it is also very rewarding and interesting. If you are the type of person who likes to be on the front lines, being in the legal field is the place to be.
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