The Role of a Legal Assistant in an Elder Law Attorney's Office

The following is a description of how I utilize the talents of my qualified Legal Assistant and her comments regarding work performed:

My name is Juliet Rudy and I am often asked what are the duties of my job as a Legal Assistant. The purpose of this blog is to describe such duties.

Working in an Elder Law Attorney's office is varied and interesting. Meetings with clients can be fascinating. I often sit in on these meetings and take notes. Accurate note taking is highly important so that everything is correctly documented. If the client is applying for Medicaid, there will be numerous documents to request from the client. Once we have all these documents, the legal assistant needs to gather all the information and, in due course, apply for a date for the Medicaid application. The legal assistant will often draft a Transmittal Letter to accompany the application and often attend the meeting with the County Board of Social Services on certain cases. Of course, all documents are reviewed by Counsel prior to submission.

If the matter is an estate planning matter, the legal assistant will often draft the will by himself or herself after having interviewed the client. A more complicated will would require an attorney's assistance. Other documents which can be drafted by a legal assistant are the power of attorney and living will. Again, an attorney is always needed to review documents before drafted in final form.

Other areas of law covered in an Elder Care Attorney's office may include estate administration. A legal assistant can apply for probate and take on most of the duties of an administration like drafting and sending out letters of probate and undertaking a child support search under the attorney's guidance.

In a smaller office, a legal assistant may have general administrative and accounting duties, in addition to the legal duties.


Disclaimer: This article does not constitute legal advice and each person may have unique facts for which legal consultation may be necessary.
© November 2010, Post 122