Perhaps the most common kinds of legal assistant jobs are those of paralegals, which are often referred to as legal assistants. Sometimes, lawyers will hire office managers with the expectation that these people will have some form of legal training or an extensive knowledge of a legal office environment. New lawyers who have just graduated and passed their bar examinations might find openings for entry-level legal assistant jobs. Similar to other jobs, legal assistant jobs might be part-time or full-time, and in today’s Internet age, people might even find virtual legal assistant jobs. Training for the range of legal assistant employment opportunities varies depending on the exact job title, as well as the potential employer’s job description.
Generally, the job titles of paralegal and legal assistant are interchangeable. Before applying for such a position, though, it’s important to read the full legal assistant job description. Sometimes, an attorney wants a type of administrative assistant with a certain degree of legal knowledge, and other times an attorney might want someone with the required training to perform certain legal-related tasks. Lawyers often hire office managers to manage the day-to-day operations of their law firms, and depending on the hiring lawyer, this position might require a certain degree of legal training or experience. The same is true for new lawyers who apply for entry-level assistant positions within a law office, except these people might be required to have graduated from law school and, depending on the employer, passed the bar examination, too.
It’s possible to find part-time and full-time legal assistant jobs. Often, the availability will depend on the attorney’s office needs, current staff, and budget. Typically, law office manager jobs are full-time, but this can vary, too. The same is true for entry-level attorney positions. Sometimes, law offices hire virtual legal assistants. This means the legal assistant will work remotely with the aid of the Internet and perhaps access to the lawyer’s office computer system.
Numerous educational programs exist for people who want to train for legal assistant jobs. These programs might be offered as associate programs at two-year or four-year colleges, or they might be available at vocational and technical schools. Generally, these programs are designed to teach students all the skills they need to perform typical legal assistant or paralegal duties. If an attorney is hiring a beginning or entry-level lawyer, it’s likely that person must have traditional lawyer training. This means he will probably need to have completed law school, but whether the potential employee must have passed his bar examination yet is up to the hiring attorney.