The legal office assistant concept began to develop in the late 1960’s when law
firms and individual practitioners sought cost effective ways to improve the delivery of legal services.
Other factors entered into the development of the legal assistant field including the growing volume of work due to increased public awareness of legal remedies. The practice of law is regulated by each of the 50 states. In all states, legal office assistants and legal administrative assistants are prohibited from practicing law without a license.
What they can do
A legal office assistant/paralegal cannot give legal advice, represent a client in court, set a fee, or accept a case, which functions are generally considered the practice of law. Working under the supervision of an attorney, the legal office assistant’s work product is merged with and becomes part of the attorney work product. In communications with clients and the public, the legal assistant’ s non-lawyer status must be clear. A legal assistant may perform any function delegated by an attorney, including but not limited to the following:
- Conduct client interviews and maintain general contact with the client, so long as the client is aware of the status and function of the legal assistant, and the legal assistant works under the supervision of the attorney.
- Locate and interview witnesses.
- Conduct investigations and statistical and documentary research.
- Conduct legal research.
- Draft legal documents, correspondence and pleadings.
What are the opportunities?
Today, there is an estimate of 600 legal assistant education programs in the United States. Legal office assistant and legal administrative assistant education programs are offered in many formats and lengths.
Various kinds of public and private institutions offer paralegal education, including online degree programs, four-year colleges and universities, business colleges and proprietary institutions.
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For more information on legal assistant education programs, please visit Paralegal and Legal Assistant Training Programs
