A legal assistant job description is basically a certified assistant often with certification from the state to assist and supervise with lawyers. A legal assistant cannot give legal advice independently, but works alongside with lawyers instead. A legal assistant acquires a degree after a successful completion of a certified course which basically lasts for around two to four years. Some of the basic skills required include being efficient at many secretarial tasks, communication skills both verbal and written, and equally as important research work required for cases.

Whenever a potential client approaches a lawyer firm (especially medium to large firms) for any kind of legal advice, then initially the client is interviewed by the legal assistant first.  This is one of the requirements that a legal assistant carries out for behalf of the lawyer(s) he or she works for.

Some of the necessary skills and qualities which are required or desired in a legal assistant job description are as follows:

• The legal assistant should have excellent writing and communication skills.

• Must be reliable in conducting research from start to finish.

• The legal assistant should have an eye for details and, should have knowledge about various laws especially of the field for which they are employed in.

• Organizational skills and office skills for maintaining records and notes etc should be excellent.

To put it in a more concise or summarized way, a legal assistant basically performs all the research work and paperwork on behalf of a lawyer.

There are so many branches of law a legal assistant can gain proficiency in. For instance, a legal assistant can gain employment in firms which specialize in marriage and family law. In this kind of employment, the legal assistant would be responsible for getting all the paperwork done for his/her lawyer for any divorce, custody or any other family discrepancy cases.

There are some legal assistants who have had no formal training. However, after working for several years with a firm of lawyers, they are highly likely to have gained so much experience that they are able to give some basic legal advice and therefore, become a valuable asset to the law firm they are employed in. On the other hand, in today's climate in regards to employment (tough competition in many field's and sectors), in order to get a legal assistant's job at a reputed legal firm you may need to have some formal training and certifications.

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