Everyone learns in different ways; there are visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic learners. Secondary school is great for visual and auditory learners. In school a legal assistant will learn about the theory behind how to work for a law firm and you get to find out all the possible scenarios that could happen in a law firm. A legal assistant could be great at their desk sitting alone at a computer, learning about what could have happened in a law firm; however it is equally important for a legal assistant to actually work in the field and get that quality experience that looks great on a resume.
Working in a law firm is exactly what a kinesthetic learner would need to strive for in the legal field. Instead of listening to theory about what is done in a firm, the legal assistant is hands-on and working the job itself. Working as a legal assistant is more then just paperwork, especially depending on the law firm. Some legal assistants have to communicate with clients and some legal assistants must be able to communicate with other legal assistants and lawyers as well. Personality can also play a big role in if a legal assistant fits in a firm or not. For example, some legal assistants need to have a thick skin because their lawyer is very aggressive or yells when it comes to leadership. No one can be taught how to handle a situation like that, a legal assistant must experience it. Being independent is good sometimes, but other times it can make a legal assistant’s life more difficult.
The one major component that both law firms and agencies look for in a resume is work experience. With experience, an agency or law firm can trust that the legal assistant has worked alongside a lawyer or senior legal assistant; the legal assistant has been in a law firm environment; and they know what a full week of work is like in a firm. Another benefit is the legal assistant can figure out what type of law firm they like and what type of law firm they don’t like.
We cannot stress enough how important it is for a legal assistant to take a practicum during their schooling. At some point, depending on the economy, it can be very difficult for a legal assistant to find a job right after school and not having that experience in a law firm can really make things difficult. This is why joining an agency can be so great for a legal assistant’s career. Boost Legal Support can get the legal assistant’s foot in the door within these firms.
On-demand staffing agencies can get legal assistants names out to law firms and they can get a legal assistant that experience that they need to look good on a resume. On-demand staffing agencies already have the relationships with law firms that can best represent a legal assistant’s abilities.
Plenty of law firms are starting legal assistants as temporary and if they believe that they are a good fit in that time, the law firm will hire the legal assistant permanently. This would be great for a junior legal assistant who has little or no experience (other than their practicum); in that the legal assistant gets the opportunity to work as hard as they can in that temporary time frame and show the law firm that they truly can work in the position that they are given at that firm. Law firms would rather skip the gamble of hiring a permanent legal assistant and that legal assistant not working out, so the firm will hire a temporary legal assistant so they won’t have to make a commitment on that legal assistant without trying them out first.
