Legal Assistant
Support legal teams with administrative functions.
Job opportunities
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Jobs in SEEK right nowJob growth
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5-year projectionSalary
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Typical salaryJob satisfaction
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Job opportunities
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Jobs in SEEK right nowSalary
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Typical salaryJob growth
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5-year projectionJob satisfaction
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On this page
- What's it like to be a Legal Assistant?
- How to become a Legal Assistant
- Latest Legal Assistant jobs
- Top skills and experience for Legal Assistants
- Is Legal Assistant the right role for you?
- Legal Assistant role reviews
What's it like to be a Legal Assistant?
Legal Assistants support legal teams to prepare cases, maintain files and manage the administrative functions of the office. The primary difference between Paralegals and Legal Assistants is that due to their extensive legal work on cases Paralegals can charge clients for their time while Legal Assistants cannot, as they serve more of an administrative function.
Tasks and duties
- Answering client enquiries, filing paperwork and taking notes in meetings.
- Curating, analysing and organising information.
- Collecting and recording evidence exhibits.
- Searching legal records in databases.
- Preparing legal document drafts ready for a senior team member to finalise.
- Supporting the legal team at hearings.
- Tracking hours and billing clients.
- General office administrative duties.
How to become a Legal Assistant
While Legal Assistants are not required to hold qualifications, it’s common to have some basic legal training or learn on the job.
- You can enter the profession as an Administrative Assistant and work under the supervision of a Paralegal or Law Clerk, gaining knowledge and experience over time.
- You can gain a Certificate IV in Legal Studies (BSB42215) from TAFE. You may be required to have some relevant work experience to gain admission.
- If you’re interested in becoming a Lawyer, you can complete a Bachelor of Laws at university, which will take 4 years full-time and require you to have a high ATAR or gain special admission.
Compare your salary
Find out how your salary compares with the average salary for Legal Assistants.Latest Legal Assistant jobs on SEEK
Be one of the first to discover these recently listed jobs, or browse all Legal Assistant jobs on SEEK right now.Did you find this helpful?
Skills and experience employers are looking for
Having the right skills and experience can make you an in-demand applicant. Legal Assistant employers on SEEK are looking for job seekers with expertise in the following areas. Billing
Diary Management
File Management
Client Liaison
Litigation
Drafting Correspondence
Legal Support
Administrative Support
Personal Injury
Secretarial Practice
Source: SEEK job ads and SEEK Profile data
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Latest Legal Assistant reviews
Aug 2019
being a legal assistant is very interesting and there are so many areas of law to explore
Reviewer's QualificationDiploma of Paralegal Studies
Experience10+ years
Organisation sizeMedium (20-199 employees)
Specialisationdispute resolution and property
The good thingsvariety in work and working with a range of professionals being junior lawyers to partners and people who have been in the industry for over 50 years, they teach you a lot and you get great mentors
The challengesSome lawyers have unrealistic time frames but communication is key and once you have explained your work load they are very reasonable, in turn this make you gain great time management skills
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Aug 2019
Being a legal assistance is great pace to start if you’re new to the legal profession
Reviewer's QualificationGraduate Diploma of Legal Practice
Experience1 – 4 years
Organisation sizeMedium (20-199 employees)
SpecialisationCriminal law
The good thingsIt gives you a taste of the legal profession and is good experience particularly for people studying a law degree. A lot of flexibility with work hours which is good if you’re studying or also balanci...
The challengesThe job requires a lot of attention to detail and you need the the ability to work well and with accuracy when face with time pressures. You will often be helping lawyers put out fires!
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SEEK has not verified the truth or accuracy of these comments and does not adopt or endorse any of the comments posted on this page.SEEK collects and posts the comments for what they are worth and for information purposes only to assist candidates to find employment through www.seek.com.au
