Legal clerks play a crucial role in helping attorneys prepare for trials. They put together and organize information for use in legal documents, research legal precedents for cases, draft legal memos, gather case materials, and write reports. Many times, a legal clerk also performs administrative office tasks such as answering phones, signing for packages, greeting guests, monitoring mail, managing office supplies, and making photocopies. A legal clerk should be organized, have solid research skills, and be comfortable handling confidential client information.
Sample job description #1
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Get inspired by the work you’ll do
- Support attorneys and paralegals in the legal department
- Enter agreements into the electronic signature platform for execution and follow up on a weekly basis to make sure the agreements are signed and fully executed copy is received.
- Enter all agreements into contract management system
- Scan or read incoming materials in order to determine how and where they should be classified or filed
- Work with attorneys and paralegals to update and maintain forms and form files
- Enter the document identification codes into the automated/computer system in order to determine the location of documents to be retrieved
- Gather materials to be filed from departments and employees
- Perform periodic inspections of materials or files in order to ensure correct placement, legibility, and proper condition
- Eliminate outdated or unnecessary materials, destroying them or transferring them to inactive storage according to file maintenance guidelines and/or legal requirements
- Find and retrieve information from files in response to requests from authorized users
- Perform general office duties such as typing, operating office machines, sorting mail, etc.
Your passion is sparked by
- High School Diploma, some college preferred but not required
- Established experience working quickly, accurately and independently with minimal supervision
- Solid background in maintaining a high level of professionalism and confidentiality with ability to work as business demands require
- Demonstrated proficiency with MS Office application, especially Outlook, Word, and Excel
- Proven verbal and written communication skills with the ability to use good judgment and common sense when interacting with outside/inside contacts
Sample job description #2
The Legal Clerk I is responsible for processing a variety of legal requests related to customer accounts that are received by the Bank such as levies, liens, garnishments, subpoenas, court orders, legal research requests, social security account verification, establishment of fiduciary accounts and power of attorneys, bankruptcies, and releasing of deceased account holder funds to an estate or beneficiary.
Key responsibilities
- Assists with department administrative duties such as opening, sorting, scanning, and distributing incoming electronic and postal mail, as well as creates cases for received requests to be tracked and managed electronically
- Answers routine inquiries over the phone from a variety of internal and external parties including customers, branches, agencies, and attorneys
- Reviews legal documentation provided and references any relevant laws and regulations to ensure requests and orders are processed in accordance with Bank and legal requirements
- Conducts any necessary research and processes account holds and releases, payments, invoices, and processing fees as appropriate; notifies customers by mail of actions taken and files responses, records, and payments with courts, agencies, and attorneys
- Ensure items are being processed and sent in to meet court dates and state regulations; documents case progress and keeps scanned records of payments and request responses
Minimum qualifications and experience
- 1-2 years legal documentation processing or banking experience; or a combination of directly related education and experience
Sample job description #3
We are looking for a legal clerk to handle case follow up for civil litigation. Your goal will be to perform the job with little to no errors, learn quickly, and handle a large volume of legal documents in an appropriate amount of time. Our legal clerks handle the filing, document processing, and data entry of civil lawsuits related to debt collection. Although we are a debt collection firm, our collections handles all correspondence with debtors. We handle all filing and processing with the courts and communication with opposing counsels. This is a great position for someone looking to enter the legal field. We provide extensive on-the-job training and work directly with new hires as they learn legal processes.
Responsibilities
- Identify legal documents by title and contents
- Enter legal data into our software system, Q-Law
- Communicate with courts to follow up with cases
- Regularly work lists of files to keep up to date
- Work directly with a team of attorneys and clerks to keep files moving through the litigation process
- Request and process documents with the court systems of the state of Florida. This includes scanning, copying, and mailing documents, as well as following up with the court regarding filings
- Background drug, credit, and fingerprint tests done prior to hiring
Skills
- Well-organized, with sharp attention to detail
- Ability to work under pressure
- Good communication and literacy skills
- A desire to learn more about civil litigation
- Ability to learn quickly and ask the appropriate questions to learn the job to the best of your ability
- Office experience preferred, but not required
Benefits
- Two weeks of paid time off
- Holidays off
- Health, dental, vision, and life insurance packages available
Average salary and compensation
The average salary for a legal clerk is $46,450 in the United States. Position salary will vary based on experience, education, company size, industry, and market.
| Location | Salary Low | Salary High |
|---|---|---|
| Phoenix, Arizona | $46,200 | $62,500 |
| Los Angeles, California | $52,100 | $70,500 |
| Denver, Colorado | $43,450 | $58,750 |
| Washington, DC | $52,900 | $71,600 |
| Miami, Florida | $43,250 | $58,500 |
| Orlando, Florida | $39,900 | $53,950 |
| Tampa, Florida | $40,250 | $54,500 |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $42,250 | $57,150 |
| Chicago, Illinois | $48,550 | $65,700 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | $52,500 | $71,050 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota | $41,850 | $56,600 |
| New York City, New York | $55,300 | $74,800 |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $45,000 | $60,900 |
| Dallas, Texas | $43,850 | $59,300 |
| Houston, Texas | $43,450 | $58,750 |
| Seattle, Washington | $50,550 | $68,350 |
| National Average | $39,500 | $53,400 |
Sample interview questions
- What are the qualities of a good legal clerk?
- How would you describe your writing style?
- What have you done to improve your knowledge in the last year?
- What do you consider your greatest strengths? Your greatest weaknesses?
- How fast can you type?
- Why are you a good candidate for this position?
- Which areas of law are you most interested in?
- How would you describe a typical day in this position?
- Do you have experience with billing?
- Which software programs are you familiar with?
- Do you have good phone communication skills?
- How do you measure success?
- Are you familiar with case management software? Which ones?
- Are you proficient in drafting depositions, summonses, and subpoenas?
- How would you prepare a case file?
- How do you handle stress?
- How do you ensure the accuracy of your work?
- Can you give an example of when you improved efficiency in the office?
- What is your experience dealing with confidential information? How do you protect it?
- How would you deal with a demanding client?
- How do you prioritize your workload when you have multiple tasks and deadlines to manage?
