legal assistant
Lawyer's office helper
A legal assistant supports lawyers by handling administrative and research tasks—organizing documents, scheduling, drafting correspondence, and sometimes conducting preliminary legal research.
The role overlaps with paralegal, though legal assistant often implies more clerical duties while paralegal suggests substantive legal work.
She worked as a legal assistant while studying for the bar exam.
Attorney support professional
- paraprofessionalTrained aide to professionals
- certifiedOfficially declared valid
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- confidentialityQuality of protecting secrets
compliance · billable · caseload · jurisprudence · mediation · arbitration · procedural · advocate
Storing documents systematically
- briefsSnug lower undergarments
- pleadingsFormal litigation documents
- affidavitsSworn written legal statements
- subpoenasLegal orders requiring appearance
depositions · contracts · agreements · exhibits · memoranda · petitions · complaints · motions
Assigning times to events
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
- billingCharging for services rendered
- timekeepingMeasuring duration's passage
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
office management · dictation · reception · mail handling · expense reports · data entry · record keeping · multitasking
Judge-made legal doctrine
- precedentPrior authoritative example
- statutesFormally enacted laws
- regulationsEnforced rules and standards
- LexisNexisLegal and news database
due diligence · citations · annotations · fact-checking · memoranda · doctrine · secondary sources · public records
Readying a case for court
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
- discoveryAct of finding something
- deadline trackingMonitoring when work's due
- service of processFormal delivery of court documents
paralegal
Attorney support professional
- paraprofessionalTrained aide to professionals
- certifiedOfficially declared valid
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
confidentiality · compliance · billable · caseload · jurisprudence · mediation · arbitration · procedural · advocate · notary
filing
Storing documents systematically
- briefsSnug lower undergarments
- pleadingsFormal litigation documents
- affidavitsSworn written legal statements
subpoenas · depositions · contracts · agreements · exhibits · memoranda · petitions · complaints · motions · court filings
scheduling
Assigning times to events
- correspondenceExchanged written communication
- billingCharging for services rendered
- timekeepingMeasuring duration's passage
transcription · office management · dictation · reception · mail handling · expense reports · data entry · record keeping · multitasking · coordination
case law
Judge-made legal doctrine
- precedentPrior authoritative example
- statutesFormally enacted laws
- regulationsEnforced rules and standards
LexisNexis · due diligence · citations · annotations · fact-checking · memoranda · doctrine · secondary sources · public records · background checks
trial preparation
Readying a case for court
- courtroomJudicial proceedings chamber
- discoveryAct of finding something
- deadline trackingMonitoring when work's due
- Legal Careerslawyer, attorney, paralegal, solicitor, barrister
- office jobsmanager, office clerk, analyst, receptionist, clerk
- aidesteacher aide, teacher's aide, classroom aide, paraprofessional, classroom helper
- legal serviceslawyer, attorney, law firm, criminal lawyer, divorce lawyer
- legal staffparalegal, law clerk, associate, partner, attorney
- vocational trainingapprenticeship, apprenticeships, trade school, trade schools, vocational school
legal assistantattorney
Licensed legal representative
lawyer · lead counsel · partner · senior partner · managing partner
legal, illegal, assistant, legally, legislation, legality, legislator, legislate, legislative