A Bankruptcy Legal Assistant plays an important role in smooth functioning of a law firms.
Professionals who are interested in acquiring experience in a law firm but who do not have a formal law degree can pursue a career as a bankruptcy legal assistant. Also called paralegals, they perform tasks that are also handled by attorneys. However, it is against the law for them to determine legal fees, provide legal advice or present client cases in court.
Duties and Responsibilities
- Responsible for preparing legal arguments, contracts, pleadings, appeals, wills and real estate documentation for attorney
- They also file and keep a record of legal documents, perform legal research and analysis and call up witnesses to testify during court hearings
- Preparing and formatting memoranda, correspondence and other legal credentials
- Reviewing, sorting and date stamping incoming mails
- Maintaining superior public relations with business associates and clients
- Responsible for planning appointments, meetings, depositions, and other needs of an attorney
- Dealing closely with paralegals for maintain structured and comprehensive file indexes and case files
- Proofreading the legal documents and profiling e-mails case wise
- Updates legal publications and work for up- gradation of the law library
- Prepares letters for yearly audits and annual or quarterly reports
Education
Candidates should have a high school diploma, degree in Law from accredited institutions, or hold at least an associate’s degree from a college paralegal program or a bachelor’s degree with a certificate in paralegal studies. College graduates with technical, criminal justice or tax preparation experience may also obtain entry-level positions and receive on-the-job training.
Skills
Since bankruptcy legal assistants constantly handle confidential documents and materials, they must be trustworthy, ethical and professional. The candidate should also have excellent research, negotiation and analytical skills. Employers also seek candidates with strong computer abilities and familiarity with legal terms and resources.