If you’re considering launching a transformative career as a legal assistant, your skills will be crucial in helping attorneys and other legal professionals to perform their duties in a timely, efficient, and accurate manner. Legal assistants have a number of different responsibilities on a daily basis. They might compile information and documents for different cases and trials, conduct research, schedule meetings, coordinate with clients, draft contracts or other documents and more. With the help of legal assistants, attorneys are able to prepare for trial as much as possible, equipped with accurate information and sufficient research.
If you’re wondering whether a career as a legal assistant could be right for you, it can be helpful to explore qualities associated with excelling in this profession. Below, discover five of those qualities that you can look to start building now!
1. Prioritize Organization
Throughout your career as a legal assistant, your organizational skills will help you to manage case files, ensure that documents are prepared before trial, schedule and maintain calendar appointments, and more. If you’re a highly organized person, you’ll be sure to succeed both in legal assistant training and within the legal world.
Organizational skills will help you to succeed throughout your career as a legal assistant
2. Legal Assistants Must be Strong Communicators
In any legal assistant position, communication and interpersonal skills will be crucial when it comes to working as a team, interacting with clients, coordinating appointments, and understanding requests from attorneys. Within an office environment, legal assistants work as a team to support the operation of different professionals, helping them to get the job done in whatever way possible. They’re also responsible for greeting and listening to clients, where strong communication skills come in handy, especially in situations where a client is undergoing stress or frustration.
As a legal assistant, communication skills are also helpful when it comes to interacting with the attorneys and other professionals you’re providing assistance to. Good communication prevents mistakes from being made, and ensures that everyone remains on the same page.
3. Diplomacy and Integrity Are Important Qualities
Legal assistants handle plenty of confidential information, from personal information about clients to undisclosed facts about an upcoming trial. In order to safely and appropriately handle confidential documents, these professionals must act with diplomacy and integrity at all times. Their discretion and ability to act professionally is critical to both their personal success and the success of the legal team they’re supporting. If you’re able to apply good judgment to sensitive situations and act diplomatically, a legal career could be right for you.
4. Efficiency Will Enhance Your Success
If you’re entering a legal assistant career, you’ll be juggling a number of different responsibilities on any given day. Law offices can often be stressful environments, as there are a variety of ongoing projects, each involving tight deadlines, sensitive information, and significant demands. As a legal assistant, your ability to work efficiently, prioritize different responsibilities, and remain calm under pressure will help you to succeed in this career path.
5. Critical Thinking Skills Are Essential for Professionals with Legal Assistant Training
Not only do legal assistants coordinate appointments, schedule interviews, and compile documents, they also spend much of their time conducting legal research for cases. In order to identify relevant information and facts, they must have strong critical thinking and analytical skills. During your career, your ability to compile valuable research will enhance the success of the attorneys you work for, and will help you to anticipate their needs throughout an ongoing case.
The moment when you complete your legal administration assistant courses and feel you’ve put the work in to build these five qualities, you’ll be ready to succeed as a legal assistant. Are you ready to enroll in a program to start developing your skills?
Explore AOLCC’s Legal Administrative Assistant program today.
