Today being a lawyer is one of the most successful career options. The reason behind this could be the need for legal help and opinion on most things, as nowadays people sue each other over little things. But being a lawyer is not an easy job.
You have to be qualified with several degrees. Some people think this is the only profession associated with legal terms. This is not true at all. There are other professions as well that are associated with the legal profession.
The best examples of such professions are Paralegal and Legal Assistant. Both of them are similar and therefore create confusion.
Key Takeaways
- Paralegals are authorized to perform legal work and can provide legal advice under the supervision of a lawyer. In contrast, legal assistants are primarily responsible for administrative tasks in a law firm.
- Paralegals have a formal education in legal studies, while legal assistants may have a background in office administration or secretarial work.
- Paralegals can perform legal research, draft legal documents, and assist in court proceedings, while legal assistants may handle scheduling, billing, and client communication.
Paralegal vs Legal Assistant
A paralegal is a qualified professional that normally works under a lawyer, and they are associated with activities such as finding research for the case and explaining legal documents. A legal assistant is a professional tasked with completing administrative work and customer service in a law firm.
A paralegal is a profession that works under a lawyer, and they are associated with different tasks such as, they have to explain the legal terms of the trial to the client, also have to attend legal proceedings, have to file appeals with opposition, etc. the education required for this profession is either an associate degree or a bachelor degree.
An experience of a few years is also required before working under a lawyer.
A legal assistant is a type of assistant that works under a lawyer for fulfilling tasks related to administration.
They have to schedule the meeting of lawyers and witnesses, and it is their responsibility to maintain and keep the legal documents, they have collected the evidence and legal documents so that the lawyer can review them, etc. this profession does not require much educational qualification and experience, they don’t have a direct meeting with the clients.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Paralegal Assistant | Legal Assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Client contact | Drafting and explain legal documents | Administrative tasks |
| Main skills | Law technical skills | A broad range of skills |
| Educational requirement | More degrees | Less education |
| Involvement in case preparation | Research of the case | Secretary work. |
| Experience | More | Less |
What is Paralegal Assistant?
It is a legal profession that is retained by a law office or lawyer. They work under a lawyer. They cannot participate directly in any legal actions, such as representing clients or other activities that may be considered as practising law.
Following are some of the duties or work that a paralegal has to perform:
- They have to conduct an interview with the clients, in which they have to make them understand all the legal terms of the document (which is drafted by them), and they have to maintain contact with them.
- They have to perform all the necessary research on the case for the lawyer to study.
- They have to draft documents, pleadings, etc., for the case so that the lawyer can review them.
- They also have to attend the legal proceedings with the lawyer in the court.
- They have to search for all the potential witnesses and interview them.
- They have to make a report in which they have to summarize the testimonies, interrogatories, and depositions.
- They are also responsible for filing the appeal with opposition lawyers.
- They have to draft bills for their clients as well.
Some paralegals work independently and are hired by law firms for all the above work, while others work in an old-fashioned way under a lawyer.
What is Legal Assistant?
It is the legal profession responsible for fulfilling administrative work along with some customer services within a law office. They may also perform similar duties as a paralegal, but their main work is like a secretary.
They have the following tasks to perform:
- They also have to draft and proofread the legal documents.
- They have to draft the bills for the clients and make sure they send them. Also, they have solved any bill-related problems.
- They collect and organize any potential witnesses or evidence that might come in handy.
- They are responsible for scheduling the meeting between the lawyer, client, and paralegal to communize about the case and trial.
- They also have to manage the lawyers’ calendars and arrange meetings with potential clients.
Along with all the above-mentioned tasks, they may also have to perform some general administrative tasks of a secretary for the lawyer. This is an easy profession that can be pursued after high school and provides a good amount of salary as well.
Main Differences Between Paralegal and Legal Assistant
- Both paralegal and a legal assistant cannot give any legal advice or opinion to the client, but they are associated with different types of work with the client. The paralegal is responsible for drafting the legal documents of the case, and he has to explain the legalities of the document to the client, whereas the legal assistant is more associated with administrative tasks.
- Both professions require different types of skills, top skills required for a paralegal are litigation, Microsoft Office, legal documentation, legal research, and legal document composition, whereas the top skills required for the legal assistant are administrative support, Microsoft Office, scheduling, legal support, and data entry.
- To be a paralegal, you should have either a two-year associate degree or a four-year bachelor’s degree (these may differ depending on the geographical location), whereas legal assistants may not require any of these degrees. They are eligible after the completion of high school.
- Both of them are involved in the trial of the case, and a paralegal has to perform tasks such as research, interviews of the potential witnesses, preparing statements and arguments for the lawyer, etc., whereas a legal assistant is involved in the administrative work of the trial such as organizing files and documents of the case for the lawyer, scheduling a meeting for witnesses, lawyers and paralegals.
- The paralegal profession requires more experience in the field as it is associated with more legal duties, whereas less experience is required for working as a legal assistant as he mainly has to perform administrative work.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=eLQUBh3aqOUC&oi=fnd&pg=PT5&dq=paralegal+and+legal+assistant&ots=v6VrnCBSeN&sig=gr6-THZicGPMQ-lH4JbL24skozU
- https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/jpep7§ion=7
- https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/jpep9§ion=5
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/44160189.pdf
Last Updated : 18 August, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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