Step-by-Step Guide — Legal Research Assistant

Step 1 — What a legal research assistant does

A legal research assistant locates and analyzes primary and secondary legal authorities (cases, statutes, regulations, treatises), prepares research memoranda, summarizes authorities for attorneys or faculty, and supports brief- and article-writing work. Tasks often include building search strategies, checking citations, drafting short sections of briefs or scholarship, and maintaining document collections. Job descriptions emphasize legal research, clear writing and attention to citation form.

Step 2 — Why choose this role

Key advantages of working as a legal research assistant:

• Direct exposure to legal analysis and writing, useful for law-school applicants, law students, or careers in litigation, policy, or academia.
• Varied employer types and work styles — positions appear at law firms, university law schools, think tanks, public-interest organizations and legal publishing or technology companies, so options range from short-term academic projects to staff roles.
• Skill transferability — strong research memos, database proficiency (Westlaw/Lexis/PACER/public sources), and concise legal writing are marketable across legal and policy jobs. Job ads typically list database skills and memo-writing as required or preferred.

Step 3 — Who hires

Below are concrete employer types and example links to current or typical hiring pages:

Large legal information / publishing companies

• Thomson Reuters

Law firms (litigation and practice groups)

• Major firms and regional firms post legal-assistant and research roles on job sites; example firm listings appear via job boards (e.g., Troutman Pepper, Morgan Lewis).

University law schools (faculty research assistants / RA posts)

• Harvard Law (faculty RA notices), Villanova Law research-assistant postings, Yale opportunities and many other schools list RA roles on school sites. These positions commonly pay hourly and are assigned by faculty.

Think tanks, policy centers and public-interest organizations

• Brennan Center for Justice and Center for American Progress maintain research teams that hire research assistants for legal and policy projects.

Government and courts

• Judicial branch internships, law-student research positions in federal / state agencies and research units appear on public-sector job pages and job boards.

Step 4 — How to find openings

Use multiple channels and set alerts for best coverage:

1. General job platforms — LinkedIn Jobs, Indeed and ZipRecruiter show many current listings for “legal research assistant,” “law research assistant” and related titles. Create saved searches and alerts.
2. Law-school and university boards — many faculty RA roles are posted on law school career pages or internal student-employment listings (Harvard, Yale, Villanova, UCI examples). Monitor those pages and faculty announcements.
3. Legal-specific job boards and associations — LawJobs, NALP job center, PSJD (public-interest legal careers) and NLADA offer listings targeted to law roles and public-interest research positions.
4. Employer career pages — follow the careers pages of Thomson Reuters, law firms of interest, think tanks and government agencies; some roles are posted there first.
5. Campus channels and career offices — law-school career services and faculty bulletin boards often post short-term RA roles and hiring timelines (typical in academic hiring cycles).

Step 5 — Typical qualifications, skills and how to stand out

Employers often expect a combination of these qualifications:

• Education: bachelor’s degree; law students commonly fill RA roles; paralegal certificates or associate degrees are common for practice roles. University job pages and job ads show varied formal requirements.
• Technical skills: Westlaw, LexisNexis, PACER, Google Scholar, document management and citation software; familiarity with Bluebook citation. Job descriptions typically list these tools.
• Core skills: concise legal writing, issue-spotting, source evaluation, attention to citation accuracy, meeting tight deadlines. Demonstrable writing samples and strong referees help differentiate candidates.

Step 6 — Pay, demand and market context

Compensation and hiring outlook depend on employer type, region and experience:

• Typical pay: recent salary aggregators show national averages for legal research roles in the range of roughly $48k per year (about $23/hr) on ZipRecruiter (U.S. average) and hourly averages around $27–28/hr for legal-research-specific listings; actual figures vary by city and sector. Use local job ads for precise, current rates.
• Demand / outlook: sources that summarize government projections report moderate growth for paralegals and legal assistants (the occupational group that includes research assistants). Several career sites cite projected growth near about 4% (2022–2032), with steady replacement openings each year; demand remains concentrated in law firms, corporate legal departments, courts and public-interest organizations.

Quick checklist (ready-to-apply)

• Prepare a 1-page resume tailored to legal research (lead with writing/research samples).
• Assemble 2–3 short legal memos or case summaries (redact sensitive client info).
• Create saved searches on LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and LawJobs; check law-school career boards and employer pages weekly.
• Practice short timed research tasks and a 5–8 minute verbal summary of findings. BloomergLaw and memo guides show practical formats.

Selected links (click to explore)

• https://www.linkedin.com/uas/login-submit
• https://www.indeed.com/q-legal-research-assistant-jobs.html?
• https://careers.thomsonreuters.com/us/en/home?
• https://hls.harvard.edu/tag/research-assistant/?
• https://jobs.villanova.edu/postings/30775?
• https://www.brennancenter.org/?
• https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Legal-Research-Assistant-Salary?
• https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/cover-letter-samples/legal-assistant?
• https://www.law.cuny.edu/academics/academic-resources-support/legal-writing-center/student-resources/drafting-a-law-office-memorandum/?