Legal Assistants are candidates who aid a lawyer in handling a case. They do research, help the lawyer in preparation of arguments and write reports. While these candidates are not lawyers, they perform many of the duties like a lawyer, except that of offering legal advice to the clients. Pay scale for the position of Legal Assistants in government jobs in India is Rs.9300-34800 plus a GP of Rs.4600.

Recent job notifications:

The names of government organizations that recently recruited candidates for the position of legal assistant in India are given below:

• Department of Environment and Forests, Andaman & Nicobar Administration

• Union Public Service Commission

• Department of Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (Punjab)

Educational qualification:

Since legal assistants will have to assist the lawyers, they must be graduates in the field of Law from a recognized institution approved by the Bar Council of India.

Selection process:

Selection of candidates for the position of legal assistants is normally done based on their performance in the personal interview.

Age requirement:

Candidates must be between the age group of 18 and 37 years of age to apply for the position of legal assistant. The upper age limit is relaxable for candidates belonging to reserved category.

What are the responsibilities of a legal assistant?

Legal Assistants will have to perform a wide range of duties and they must possess thorough knowledge of law for efficient performance of their duties. They will have to perform duties ranging from preparation of report to running errands for effective management of the law officer’s office. They will have to spend most of their time in researching information pertaining to case handled by the lawyers, which indicates that they will have to spend long days of work, which might even extend to weekends. They will have to spend plenty of time in telephonic conversation for conveying information between attorneys and clients.

Skills required:

To become successful legal assistants, candidates must possess the following skills

• Good communication skills since they interact with clients and lawyers on regular basis.

• They should be good at researching to find the relevant information that the lawyer is looking for.

• They should be flexible, confident, resilient, analytical and organization and

• They should possess problem-solving and creativity skills

The position of legal assistant can offer a very good growth prospect to the candidates since they can learn lot of knowledge in this position, which can improve their knowledge base for their own field to ensure a bright future.