Associate Lawyer Responsibilities
The associate lawyer plays a vital role for the client as well as the attorneys in handling his/her legal proceedings. The general associate lawyer responsibilities mainly include defending the client and representing him in front of the court during the court hearings. He advises the clients on their legal obligations and rights. He is expected to speak on the client's behalf by providing relevant and supporting evidences. He must develop and maintain good contacts with the clients for better understanding.
Primary and Secondary Responsibilities of Associate Lawyer
Associate lawyer helps the clients to understand the law. He interprets the law by applying it to specific situations in a way that he can defend the client during the legal proceedings. Let us understand in detail the key responsibilities that need to be handled by an associate lawyer:
- The basic objective of an associate lawyer is to provide the necessary support to the attorney by working in close association with him
- He should be able to represent and defend the client during the court sessions
- He should be able to interpret the laws, legal rules and regulations during the legal proceedings
- He should research, develop strategies and put forth the arguments in a strong manner whenever the case is presented
- He should thoroughly study the legal data and information so as to defend or prosecute the lawsuit
- He gathers evidence and other relevant information to initiate,design and formulate the legal strategy
Additionally, he performs other duties which are as under:
- He should supervise the team of legal assistants and take their support in preparing and drafting of various legal documents
- He should be able to provide a detailed explanation to his clients on the legal matters
- He should be able to guide, counsel and instruct the clients on the laws and related matters
- He should be able to handle all the relevant administrative work like handling the phone calls,corresponding through mails or emails, faxing the necessary legal documents to the pertinent parties and reviewing them thoroughly before sending
- He should try and negotiate with the opposite party
- A detailed research on the procedural rules, researching statutes and the pertinent information is absolutely necessary so as to enable him to represent the client in a better way
Essential Skills for an Associate Lawyer
In order to excel as an associate lawyer an individual must have at least some of the essential skills which are as follows:
- Exceptional articulation ability is a must to ensure success and represent the client effectively during the court sessions. It will also help him to impress and establish good client relationship
- He should have a passion to read and understand the complex volumes of legal rules and regulations and study different cases. Combined with these, he should have good comprehension skills
- Exceptional intelligence is necessary to make time sensitive decisions and act according to the situations
- Exceptional positive attitude, negotiation skills,willingness to resolve issues and confidence are the key attributes to ensure a winning situation
- Should possess excellent knowledge of legal codes, precedents, procedures, etc.
- An eye for detail is necessary to work out and plan different strategies.
Educational Requirements for an Associate Lawyer
An associate lawyer is the one who works under the supervision of a partner and supervises a team of legal assistants. They may be either freshers just out of law college or could have some experience of practicing law. A bachelor's degree in law is sufficient to make an entry. A relevant experience will surely be of great help in acquiring your dream job.
Salary Details for an Associate Lawyer
The salary is normally dependent on the type and size of the legal organization that the person is working in. It also depends on the relevant experience and academic qualifications of that particular individual.
Career Scope for an Associate Lawyer
An associate lawyer can advance to becoming the partner of the legal firm where he is working or he can even become self-employed once he becomes confident after having sufficient experience.
Thus to become successful one needs to shoulder the associate lawyer responsibilities well. If it is combined with the appropriate skills and qualifications it will ensure a great start in your legal career.
