What does a Legal Analyst Do?
Although they have existed for a long time, legal analysts are not well known to the general public and are often confused with legal assistants or paralegals. The increased complexity of today’s law and the ever increasing number of regulations have made it financially impossible for attorneys to do many of the tasks that legal analysts can easily and quickly accomplish either on staff or as legal consultants. There simply are not enough billable hours in a day to handle everything. More and more lawyers are seeing the benefit of getting legal analysts to do non-billable work so that they can focus on building the company and their own billable work.
The proper definition of a legal analyst would be a person who conducts legal research, draft legal documentation, or perform various legal administrative duties, providing support to the attorney and/or the company they work for, which may include drafting appeal briefs, processing patent applications, preparing non-trial pleadings, post trial motions, inter-office memos , drafting and filing motions and memorandums, trial exhibits, and pleadings.
However, the duties go beyond what is just written in a job description. Since there is no strict job description for a legal analyst, many other duties a legal analyst can perform are to prepare correspondences, prepare paralegal billings, audit time, paralegal invoicing, tracking, billing cross billing, e-filing with various Courts, trial preparation, some client interaction, including collecting and preparing client retainers and maintaining case files, keep tracking of enclosures and evidence received in relation to trial or other legal matters, drafting and filing of Complaints, Interrogatories and Intra-Office Memos to lead or create your own filings.
They also possess the following necessary traits for the position:
There are three educational backgrounds that legal analyst have: Paralegal Certification; a certificate in Office Management, Business Administration, Accounting, Billing, Communications; Document Management, Taxation, or Management.
Legal Analyst Skillsets
The first tangible skill needed to be a successful legal analyst is a working knowledge of contemporary legal technology. An aptitude for learning new programs and software platforms is a must. The ability to work efficiently within these programs then allows the analyst additional time to focus on legal research. This enables the analyst to utilize appropriate resources and provide clients with the plaintiff attorney with only the most relevant and up to date information.
Most legal analysts hold a bachelor’s degree or are in the process of earning a degree. A background in journalism provides the analyst with the necessary writing skills to disseminate the information that is part of their job description. Familiarity with Excel and other database programs allows the legal analyst to organize the information they gather. Having an understanding of document production software is also important.
Legal analysts must have three key components working in their benefit at the same time to be successful in their position: professionalism, organization, and communication skills. It is important for an analyst to understand that they are the voice of the law firm to clients, witnesses, and the public. They should be able to present themselves, both over the phone and in person, in a clear, polite, and assured manner.
A legal analyst must have a strong working knowledge of the legal system and court procedures. Because each state or municipality has its own procedures, an analyst must also be comfortable with conducting research into local laws to ensure they are current. It is particularly important for an analyst to have a complete understanding of the statute of limitations in their area of expertise, especially if they work on medical malpractice cases. A mistake that even experienced attorneys can make is being unaware of the statute of limitations. An accurate knowledge of this is essential to successfully filing a claim.
A legal analyst needs to possess a high degree of organization skills in order to keep track of client files and legal documents that begin to pile up quickly on a case. Keeping all important information organized and at your fingertips will help to ensure clients are kept updated on case information. A legal analyst must also have the ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Therefore, being organized is one of the most valuable skills they need to have.
How do Legal Analysts Help Law Firms?
As corporate law firms are becoming more competitive and legal consumers grow more sophisticated about services available to them through online networks and as "legal service providers" of various types, corporate law firms are scrambling to keep competitive and earn new business in their field. Without profit generating new business, keep their doors open.
For some past number of decades, we have witnessed a marked, and ever increasing, change within the corporate law firm world of the broad concept of "Lawyers" and specifically "Legal Analysts" in addition to traditional legal support staff. These legal analysts otherwise know as "Legal Assistants," "Paralegals," "Legal Researchers," "Document Reviewers," "Compliance Specialists," "Regulatory Reporting Specialists," "Legal Secretaries," "Specialized Coders and Indexers," and "Copy Editors" are specializing legal service "Support Staffers" who are all playing an increasingly vital role in the creation and production of successful case strategies, documents and courtroom coverage. They are not lawyers nor pretend to be. They are highly specialized legal service support staff who have gained experience beyond the norm by dedicated study personal to their specific field.
The success of today’s law firm depends more and more on these highly skilled and knowledgeable legal analysts because they provide a level of precision and finesse to the law firm’s or business’s clientele that the legal team otherwise would not or couldn’t be able to deliver on their own. From being the guaranteed help the attorneys needed to get the numerous and ever more increasingly complex tasks completed for their clients in a timely and accurate manner to understanding the shifts in the legal landscape that is increasingly performed by legal analysts of all type, legal analysts are becoming an increasingly necessary and central part of a corporate law firm’s ability to work efficiently and effectively in order to make money for itself and its clients.
With the advent of the internet and social media, all legal analysts must also be versed in the data management and processing techniques that have become essential in today’s fast-moving corporate law firm and business environment. Those skills and the growing knowledge gained by each of these specialized professionals across hundreds, thousands and even millions of data records serve to be an additional cash crop for corporate law firms and other legal service businesses.
The beauty of legal analysts is that they can be engaged on any kind of project. For example, if a corporate law practice needs assistance with a particular tough area of complex legal research, maybe needed in connection with a large commercial transaction, antitrust case or business plan, there is a specialized legal analyst that has that specialty. If a corporate law firm is in need of help keeping its new attorney associates under control, ensuring that they regularly have legal research, briefs, memos, pleadings and opinions properly produced, proofed and edited, there is a specialized legal analyst for that too. Corporate law firms are learning that they need not do all the work themselves. Just like any other business, corporate law firms must learn to spend their time and financial resources where they are creating the most benefit for their customers and where they can generate the greatest additional cash flow.
For example, if a corporate law firm has a high volume of clients who require complex, legalistic documentation, they should seek a legal analysis in that area, because such an analyst would have the experience and expertise to produce those documents accurately and efficiently. For this reason, corporate law firms and other legal businesses are starting to recognize the long-term value of legal analyst support, as an integral part of their data and services team.
The Daily Routine of a Legal Analyst
The role of a legal analyst in a law firm or organization is one that varies greatly. Most legal analysts have a fundamental expertise in processes and procedures that exist in various legal practices or functions of the firm. These areas include:
Real Estate
Litigation, including trial preparation and discovery motions
Corporate/fiduciary accounting
Paralegal and legal assistant functions
Skill sets include:
document assembly
preparing templates for briefs and pleadings
organizing interrogatories and document requests
organizing research sources and repositories
implementing tactical, project-oriented solutions to both common and unique situations
vision to see what cannot be currently done and the ability to create a solution
understanding the uniqueness of each practice and how to best optimize the workflow
being the person who "knows the most" at any given moment about a specific situation.
Working with attorneys and various staff members, the legal analyst is most effective in this capacity when they reside in, or are a member of that particular department. Working with the attorneys, the analyst defines the current process or workflow, how it is dependent on other workflows, what the pain points for attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants are, and what are the options for reducing that pain. Implementation is planned collaboratively, and team members are involved at each step of the way. In some implementations, a more senior analyst may oversee the more junior analysts, and the more senior analyst may drive large projects with the junior analysts to support them. Analysts respond quickly to adversarial actions, tend to work long hours, and regularly research new methodologies, processes and technologies. Typically, a mid-to-senior level analyst’s day involves morning phone conferences, discussions with department heads, and collaborative sessions with teams of technical and litigation staff. Their afternoons will involve training sessions for paralegals and legal assistants, project planning, and overseeing the status of various endeavors, and ensuring that deadlines are met.
Legal Analyst and Lawyer are not the Same
Legal analysts and lawyers have different but complementary roles in the legal profession. While both are involved in the legal process, their day-to-day responsibilities are quite distinct.
A legal analyst acts as an intermediary between the lawyer and the client, collecting initial information, performing research, and compiling data to bring the case to a point at which the lawyer can make some decisions about the merits. A legal analyst is not a paralegal, although their work may overlap from time to time.
A lawyer, in contrast, is trained, educated, and licensed to engage in the practice of law . The lawyer is the primary representative in court, while the legal analyst does what is necessary to prepare for the case.
Using a paralegal instead of an attorney is considered unethical practice of law — although the legal analyst can perform the function.
Lawyers and legal analysts must generally have at least three years of experience in the area of law they are working in, and establish their competence in order to stay employed.
Legal analysts typically charge one-half to two-thirds of what a lawyer would charge for the same work.
Legal Analyst Career Possibilities
As mentioned above, the certification is open to not only our paralegal students and graduates but the public at large. This is done by design so that we may advance the profession and bestow credibility on all legal analysis. This is especially pertinent since the role of the paralegal has expanded to include increased quality of legal analysis. The ability to think like a lawyer and speak the language of business is what is needed today to be an asset to any law firm. This is equally true of our M.L.S. (Master of Legal Studies) students who can now certify as well.
Our legal analyst certification program is designed to create an official credential for those professionals who are dedicated to improving the quality of legal analysis. Legal analysts are highly regarded members of the legal team and are therefore included in the big picture. In fact, they are often seen as essential members of the legal team.
It is for this reason that the future of the legal analyst is so bright. In particular, increased demand can be seen in the following areas: Corporate America needs them! To which corporation would you deploy your legal analyst? It has been reported that the number of in-house attorneys has doubled in the last 500 years. This creates increased openings for legal analysts who often supplant attorneys due to the savings involved. Their adoption is faster than ever before but there are not enough to go around due to the fact that the supply is limited.
In the law firm arena legal analysts have been deployed in many positions including: Finance – financial institutions will hire legal analysts for their companies. Public Interest – non-profit organizations require legal professionals able to draft pleadings and motions. Legislative Research – help in drafting bills and amendments. Academic – many law libraries require legal analysts to catalog the entire future generations of databases being created today. Librarians – librarians in all research areas can clearly see the need for legal analysts. Archivists and other content professionals also need legal analysts in the online environment.
The Future for Legal Analysts
The future of legal analysis will be shaped by both the evolution of technology and the emerging contract law landscape. As artificial intelligence continues to develop, its application in legal research and other areas has the potential to enhance the work of legal analysts in various ways, freeing them from repetitive tasks and allowing them to focus on providing more nuanced analysis and higher-level strategic insights. However, where machines are not able to replicate the human touch, such as in large and complex transactions or when crafting and enforcing customized agreements, the ability to leverage significant value for their firms will rest on legal analysts who are comfortable working with and adapting to the latest technologies. Legal analysts must be willing to continually learn and grow both their technical skills and substantive law expertise, taking advantage of opportunities presented by advancements in tools such as AI . Legal analysts of tomorrow should be prepared for a work environment that may rely more heavily on technology and less heavily on personality when recruiting and developing talent.
The concept of a 24/7 economy, at the heart of which is the always available self-service website, is even starting to creep into the relationship between corporations and their legal departments. Many tech savvy companies are rolling out contract management systems to allow key business players to access and create simple agreements with appropriate guidance and without having to go through outside counsel or internal business lawyers. As a result, the ability to analyze and automate contracts for varying levels of non-competing agreements will be high on the future legal analyst’s skill set. Likewise, an understanding of the impact of technology on the future of law, from smart contracts to blockchain based solutions, will be essential for tomorrow’s legal analyst.
