Remote Legal Assistant Positions Explained
As with all legal assistants, a part-time remote employee is a crucial member of the legal team. The responsibilities and duties could include tasks such as preparing for trials, hearings, and closings; collecting and drafting case-related documents; conducting investigations and helping lawyers prepare for trials; administering legal translation services and consultations; and researching legal precedents and reviewing legal publications on cases. Although the work load may generally be lower than with a full-time legal assistant , the tasks are essentially the same.
The main difference between a regular legal assistant and one that works from home is that the former works under the direct supervision of a lawyer or firm while a remote assistant must be self-motivated and have the experience and core competencies needed to work independently and collaboratively with the rest of the legal team. Part-time legal assistants still need to meet all deadlines and billing targets, thus one of their main responsibilities is to manage their time effectively.
Benefits of Part-Time Remote Roles
Taking on a part-time legal assistant job that you can do remotely has its advantages. First of all, with part-time legal assistant work you do occasionally but enough to help financially out without taking a lot of time out of your day. It also means you can work a part-time legal assistant job around your existing commitment, such as a full-time job or child-rearing. You may find a part-time legal assistant job just a few hours a week is enough to afford you some edge in planning for your future.
Part-time legal assistant work that offers remote opportunities also affords you the chance to explore other areas of interest while limiting the stress on your life. Doing legal work from home, which may include legal research and drafting client correspondence is convenient because it can be done at your pace and in the comfort of familiar surroundings. With a part-time legal assistant job, you set yourself up to grow your career both personally and professionally.
Part-time legal assistant work from home allows you time to expand your skill set which may help lead to a better opportunity with a firm or possibly opening doors for you to start your own business later down the line. The right part-time legal assistant job may help you get the experience you need to pursue a position working for a law firm while pursuing your own clients on the side.
Skills Required for Remote Legal Assistant Jobs
A successful career as a part-time remote legal assistant requires specific essential skills. With most of their work performing clerical and administrative tasks, and working directly with an attorney or team of lawyers, the path to success in this position requires a multi-tasking master who can seamlessly integrate the following skills:
Communication: Both written and verbal, communication is one of the most important skills for a remote legal assistant to possess. Naturally, they’ll need to be detailed document drafters, but they’ll also need to be able to communicate confidently and accurately with clients via email and, often, on the phone.
Organizational Skills: Legal assistants juggle a lot of tasks. Among them are filing, researching, tracking case progress, and assisting clients, which can involve anything from sharing research materials to scheduling meetings with lawyers. All of this requires a high degree of organization and the ability to easily jump from one task to another without missing a beat.
Proficiency with Digital Tools: There’s no way around this one; today’s legal assistants need to be fully versed and trained in digital tools that allow them to perform modern functions – from communicating remotely with clients and their own law firm to filing electronically and collaborating on documents with teams across the country. If you’re not technologically savvy, this isn’t the part-time job for you.
How to Find Legal Assistant Roles
There are several platforms and job boards to check out for legal assistant positions:
• American Bar Association Career Center
• Association of Legal Administrators Job Bank
• Careers In Law
• CareerBuilder
• Craigslist
• Indeed
• Glassdoor
• Monster
• SimplyHired
• ZipRecruiter
• AfterCollege
• Lawcrossing.com
• USAJobs.gov
• SECURITAS Security Services
If you have experience working for a small law office or as a legal assistant, you can get jobs through word of mouth. Ask other attorneys in your area if they know of any law firms hiring. Even larger firms are getting flexible with work-from-home arrangements, especially for part-time staff such as legal assistants .
Some temp agencies specialize in the legal field and can help you find part-time remote legal assistant positions:
• Robert Half Legal
• Trivium Legal
To maximize the chances to get hired, it is a good idea to set up an Indeed Alert with the terms "part time" and "legal assistant." The alert will come to your email every day with new job postings, and you can apply directly from the email.
Many part-time remote legal assistant positions come with flexible hours and can be quite convenient if you want to work at home so you can take care of small children or elderly parents.
It’s important not to forget about your resume. You should always have an up-to-date resume with skills highlighted that match the job description to avoid being weeded out by the algorithms resume scanning software.
Crafting a Resume for Remote Legal Positions
A resume for a part-time remote legal assistant should be tailored to highlight your legal skills and remote work capabilities. Here are some points to consider when crafting a strong resume:
- Focus on Legal Experience – When enumerating your professional background, give priority to legal experience. The skills and practices you’ve honed in a legal capacity are of obvious interest to employers.
- Remote Work Experience – Since you are applying for a part-time remote position, be sure to note your ability to work in a remote environment. As organizations are seeing the many benefits of having remote legal staff, they have begun to expect professionals to possess the soft skills necessary to work well in a virtual space.
- Emphasize Technology and Digital Experience – Whether in your work as a legal assistant, or in other endeavors, be sure to note any experience you have using cloud-based programs that support collaboration and virtual work. Do you have experience with project management software and similar systems? Do you use a digital calendar to organize your schedule and keep up with deadlines? Do you integrate other digital tools into your work life? Highlight these experiences on your resume as they are valuable assets in the digital workplace.
- Show Soft Skills – Soft skills are key to being a successful remote employee. As a remote legal assistant, you’ll need to be highly organized, responsible and reliable. You’ll also need to be self-motivated and proactive when managing tasks and deadlines. Soft skills should be highlighted in your resume, as they will be of interest to potential employers.
Tips for Success in a Remote Legal Role
Being an experience legal assistant professional, I can tell you that having the option of working at home is uniquely structured for the more mature and organized among us.
Taking on a ‘remote’ assistant position may seem like a real break if you have been juggling school or are just getting back to work after kids have grown and gone off to college. Then again you might be someone who has been seeking permanent part-time employment after a six month stint as a temp where you learned the ropes of a new law firm and impressively completed your assignment.
Regardless of who you are or what your motivation is, the following tips can help to ensure that your new job is successful from both a legal assistant point of view and as someone who is working from home.
Time Management – While working from home may be free of office distractions, it still requires time management skills to be effective (and successful) at getting work done. When you are faced with a deadline and you might be 10 days out and feeling relaxed, schedule ‘time’ on your calendar for working to meet deadlines as though it’s a meeting that you must attend. Communication – Recognizing that in many cases, a legal assistant is responsible for acting as a conduit between clients and attorneys. While working remotely, it is even more important to communicate effectively via e-mail, phone or video chat. Make sure you stay engaged and introduce any new technology that will make your work experience productive such as screen sharing, Zoom conferencing, etc. Take Breaks – To remain productive when working remotely , schedule regular breaks with your supervisor or others you may be working with. The same is true if you are working from home and managing your own clients and legal work. Set reminders to take a break from the computer, have lunch with friends, exercise, walk your dog, etc. That little break can make all the difference in a leg up on impending projects. Use Technology – There are a variety of applications or software systems that you can use as a legal assistant such as cloud storage, document sharing and scanning. If you haven’t done so already, you should believe in these technologies. There are many great tools to use that can save you and your employer time and money. When you embrace these tools and create a plan for using them, you become invaluable to those you serve. Communicate Communicate Communicate – Being available and on the same page with supervisors and those within your ‘remote’ environment is key. While there may be times that you are completely isolated from co-workers, it is very important to establish a routine for keeping communication open to identify tasks, priorities, goals and deadlines. Follow Through – As you manage your work schedule as a remote legal assistant, make it easy to review and rate yourself with regard to your productivity. By scoring your follow-through process at the end of each workday, you can work on areas that need improvement and receive recognition from supervisors and peers for work completed with excellence and efficiency. Now go out there and be successful with your remote legal assistant employment.