When hiring a legal office assistant, some of the key factors are confidentiality, precision and thoroughness.  Confidentiality is almost a given, since much of the work is protected from disclosure.  The best staff work can be compromised without a careful attention to information protection.  Precision prevents troublesome or costly errors.  Thoroughness helps ensure all angles are covered in the case preparation.

Appearance counts.  Danielle (Gibbings) McGaw, an instructor at Robertson College, notes

The legal assistant may accompany the lawyer to court procedures to take care of paperwork and reports.  They may help with prepping witness before court is in session, as well.

This is not to say you can discriminate based on appearance, but a good assistant of any race or body style should be well groomed, with professional manners and courtesy.

As with any transaction, check credentials, especially training.  The instruction can come from a community college or a business college, but evidence of successful accomplishment of relevant coursework shows the person is aware of the common work practices, procedures and behaviors needed by the job.

As McGraw notes, “a properly trained legal assistant can be a great asset to any lawyer.”

source:  Danielle (Gibbons) McGaw’s rticles