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Legal Administrative Assistant

Types of Degrees Legal Administrative Assistant Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Legal Administrative Assistant can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	201
Associate’s Degree	53
Master’s Degree	149

What Legal Administrative Assistant Majors Need to Know

Programs in Legal Administrative Assistant build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Legal Administrative Assistant graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Legal Administrative Assistant emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administrative — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 6.4 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Legal Administrative Assistant program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Time Management — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Legal Administrative Assistant careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Near Vision — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Legal Administrative Assistant graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Performing Administrative Activities	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Processing Information	4.3 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.9 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	3.9 / 7
Getting Information	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Legal Administrative Assistant professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Sage 50 Accounting	Accounting software	—
Legal research software	Information retrieval or search software	—
Chrome River Expense	Accounting software	—
Web page design and editing software	Web page creation and editing software	—
Appointment scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft SharePoint Server	Document management software	—
Dropbox	Cloud-based data access and sharing software	—
Case management software	Project management software	—
WordPerfect	Word processing software	—
Transcription software	Word processing software	—
Thomson Reuters Westlaw	Information retrieval or search software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Legal Administrative Assistant graduates include:

• Legal Receptionist
• Litigation Secretary
• Legal Secretary
• Legal Administrator (Legal Admin)
• Legal Administrative Assistant (Legal Admin Assistant)
• Law Secretary
• Confidential Secretary
• Legal Management Assistant
• Law Firm Administrator
• Law Office Assistant
• Certified Legal Secretary Specialist
• Legal Practice Assistant
• Magistrate Assistant
• Secretary
• Legal Office Support Assistant

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Legal Administrative Assistant graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	48.1%
High school diploma or equivalent	17.3%
Postsecondary certificate	14.3%
Some college courses	13.2%
Bachelor’s degree	7%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Legal Administrative Assistant?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 81.6% of Legal Administrative Assistant degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	329	81.6%
Men	74	18.4%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Legal Administrative Assistant graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	149	37.0%
Asian	4	1.0%
Hispanic or Latino	144	35.7%
Black or African American	69	17.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native	6	1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.2%
Two or More Races	15	3.7%
Race Unknown	13	3.2%
International Students	2	0.5%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Legal Administrative Assistant Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Legal Administrative Assistant graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$37,277
4 years	$37,648
5 years	$42,965

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $42,965 — roughly 15% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Legal Administrative Assistant Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for Legal Administrative Assistant. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	6	5
Master’s	1	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Legal Administrative Assistant Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Legal Administrative Assistant graduates earn a median of $37,648 four years after completion — about 1% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Legal Support Services	22.03
Court Interpreter	22.0304
Court Reporting and Captioning/Court Reporter	22.0303
Legal Assistant/Paralegal	22.0302
Legal Support Services, Other	22.0399
Scopist	22.0305

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.