Paralegals & Legal Assistants
Legal Assistant, Legal Clerk, Paralegal, Paralegal Specialist
What they do:
Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action.
On the job, you would:
- Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.
- Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.
- Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records and internet sources, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases.
Knowledge
Safety and Government
- law and government
Arts and Humanities
- English language
Business
- administrative services
- customer service
Engineering and Technology
- computers and electronics
Skills
Basic Skills
- writing things for co-workers or customers
- listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions
Problem Solving
- noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it
Abilities
Verbal
- read and understand what is written
- communicate by speaking
Ideas and Logic
- notice when problems happen
- make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information
Personality
People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.
They do well at jobs that need:
- Dependability
- Integrity
- Attention to Detail
- Initiative
- Stress Tolerance
- Cooperation
Technology
You might use software like this on the job:
Document management software
- Adobe Acrobat
- Document management system software
Word processing software
- Google Docs
- Microsoft Word
Information retrieval or search software
- LexisNexis
- Thomson CompuMark SAEGIS
Education
Education: (rated 3 of 5)
bachelor's degree or
associate's degree
usually needed
associate's degree
usually needed
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future.
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See more details at O*NET OnLine about paralegals and legal assistants.