A Day In The Life Of A Legal Assistant
Have you ever wondered: "what does it look like, daily, operating as a legal assistant?" then you've come to the right blog! We will dive in what legal assistants can go through on a day to day basis with supporting attorneys or law firms in general.
As a legal assistant, the day can begin with checking emails and voicemails for urgent messages from clients, attorneys, and court officials. After responding to those messages, the legal assistant begins to review the calendar for the day.
Tasks to be completed is next on the list, starting with urgent matters such as drafting legal documents and correspondence, organizing case files, scheduling appointments, conducting research, and communicating with clients and attorneys, among any other pressing matters. This is normally the time where legal assistant will organize the day's workload.
Once the days workload is organized its time to dive into it. Completion of tasks mainly gets boxed into two different categories: urgent and non-urgent. Any urgent matters will be handled first and any non-urgent matters will be done throughout the day. As time moves for the legal assistant there can be an ridiculous amount of incoming tasks from other employees. It is up to the legal assistant to read through these messages and sort through the phone calls and adjust the task delegation accordingly.
Phone calls can also be an important and urgent task. Calling the court house for documents, other parties involved in cases for information, following up with clients and so on are just some of the things a legal assistant may handle daily. These matters can be seen as rush to-do's because of how important cases are or to even minimize the clients concerns about their case progress. It is a tedious task for some but an important one nonetheless.
In addition to document preparation and legal research, legal assistants are also responsible for invoicing and billing clients. This is considered an urgent matter for many law firms as its what keeps the business going. Making sure all expenses and time entries are on each invoice correctly is a crucial part of this task. Many legal assistants handle the billing process because of how overloaded many attorneys and paralegals are with working on legal matters for clients. It can be up to the legal assistant to ensure that each matter is billed accurately and each client pays appropriately.
Overall, a day in the life of a legal assistant is fast-paced, demanding, and important position requiring a wide range of skills and a keen attention to detail. From document preparation and phone call attention to managing emails and invoicing and billing, legal assistants are essential members of any legal team.
It's a challenging and rewarding job that requires dedication and hard work, but for those who are passionate about the law and supporting their fellow employees, being a legal assistant can be an extremely fulfilling career path.
