These Legal Assistant interview questions provide a snapshot of what type of questions to ask the candidates in order to assess the skills, approach, and knowledge required for the profile.
Legal Assistant Interview Questions
Legal Assistants generally work in law firms and offices. They have both a legal and administrative role. Other than duties like maintaining files, they also do research and prepare legal documents. A degree in law is not essential. Vocational training in legal studies or a few years of experience may be preferred. You can also shortlist candidates on the basis of certification. During the interview, check the office administration abilities of the candidates. Also, assess the attention to detail and their communication skills. Ask questions to check their knowledge of legal protocols, terminology, and procedures. Ideally, candidates should have deep knowledge of research methods as well as the court systems and case management software.
Operational and Situational questions
- When you have to help more than one lawyer, how do you prioritize your tasks?
- If a lawyer asks you to research a case, where would you start and what steps would you follow?
Role-specific questions
- What is your typing speed?
- Do you have any experience in billing?
- Name the software tools you use at work.
- Rate your communication skills on a scale of 1-10.
- Do you have any experience of using case management software?
- How good are you at taking minutes?
- Do you have any experience of drafting subpoenas/summonses/depositions etc.?
- Describe a demurrer.
- What is your approach when preparing a case file?
- Which legal field do you find most interesting?
- How do you handle stress?
- How do you stay motivated?
Behavioral questions
- What is the best way to improve efficiency in the office?
- Do you have any experience of working in a team for completing a project with a tight deadline?
- How do you protect confidential information of your clients?
- How do you deal with difficult clients?
- Tell me about a time when you had to communicate with a client due to unavailability of your senior.
- Tell me about a time when your attention to detail prevented a big mistake.
- How do you make legal procedures or concepts easy to understand for your clients?
