What Does a Legal Analyst Do
The basic definition of a legal analyst is one who analyzes legal information, requirements and reports as well as performing general legal research. A legal analyst is a very important part of the legal process, supporting attorneys, private law firms and other organizations. Legal analysts often research law, regulations, policies and procedures such as:
Legal analysts often assist their employer and clients with legal transactions, regulatory issues, policy research, civil and criminal litigation and more . However, this is not to be confused with the role of an attorney. Legal analysts are thoroughly trained and well-versed in legal research and writing, although they do not have a law degree or license to practice law. Legal analysts work in many different areas of the industry including:
Duties of Legal Analyst
At its core, legal analysts conduct research, analyzing what they find, and compiling the information in practical, useful forms. They not only contemplate the legal ramifications of the material they gather, but also use their findings to present solutions and summarize the research as part of a broader report. Though specific tasks vary somewhat depending on the size of the firm (larger firms more often designate their legal analyst personnel to a given case than smaller firms, who instead may have their legal analysts work in other areas as well), the following is a general overview of the tasks that legal analysts most frequently undertake:
• Legal Research: Conducting legal research is a key responsibility for a legal analyst. Analysts search through and draw comparisons from an array of different legal documents, including contracts, statutes, regulations, and case law. Because the available source material necessary to complete a thorough piece of legal research can be widespread, legal analysts must be skilled at extracting what they need and putting it with the relevant information they’ve found into a report. This may come from financial documentation and other areas of concern.
• Contract Review: For legal analysts working for corporations, much of this research may be devoted to reviewing contracts. Legal analysts look for common elements of contracts, including the parties involved, the subject of the contract, and the terms and conditions laid out within. They build a clear picture of the contract and how it relates to other documents prior to the signing of the contract, which helps the firm in ensuring that contracts are mutually beneficial and do not jeopardize any of the company’s business goals. For legal analysts whose work involves litigation issues, their work is focused on acquiring the strongest evidence needed for the cases in front of them, while also looking at existing contracts that could support or refute the claims of either party.
• Litigation Support: Research surrounding relevant case law, judge opinions, and factual circumstances in the case before them makes up another foundational analytical task for legal analysts. Legal analysts wrangle facts according to the basic theory of the case or the legal issue at hand and distill this information into a usable form for the attorneys assigned to the case. This may include interviews with witnesses, identifying key facts, and determining the significance of various documents.
• Regulatory Opinions: Legal analysts create regulatory opinions by developing a code citation in the area of the regulation in question and a related summary by expanding upon their understanding through additional secondary sources. Much like the aforementioned tasks, the goal is to prepare a complete, useful picture of the regulation at hand. These tasks are similar to those usually assigned to law clerks, usually when they are working for large firms or governmental agencies.
Essential Skills for a Career as a Legal Analyst
The skills required to become a legal analyst include analytical skills, attention to detail and proficiency with legal software. Legal analysts must be able to read and analyze all manner of complex legal documents. Firestone (2003) said, "Legal analysts often prepare, review, and analyze agreements and memoranda of understanding, proposed contracts, purchase orders, real estate conveyances, or other related documents and drafts involving a variety of legal areas such as business law, family law, labor law, and real estate law." Firestone (2003) found that 28 percent of working legal analysts create spreadsheets or databases for legal research and maintain calendars for legal filings. Twenty-one percent manage legal budgets, and 21 percent prepare for trial or negotiate settlements and pleadings during discovery. Legal analysts must be proficient in the use of computers, word processing software, and spreadsheets. Surge in usage of computer based research tools such as Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw has made empirical skills key to getting a job as a legal analyst. Firestone (2003) found that 54 percent of respondents reported legal analysis organizations provided computer training to paraprofessionals. More than 40 percent of organizations report that paralegals are also given additional computer training on legal research tools such as Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw. Fifty-two percent of legal firms also provide classes on financial skills, real estate law, commercial law, corporate law and intellectual property law. Organizations also provide ways for legal analysts to develop their skills by paying for seminars and conventions, in-house training and mentorship programs (Firestone, 2003). Carol Bast, legal assistant professor at the University of Central Florida, said in a 2011 article, "Legal analysts need a wide variety of skills and abilities to excel. They must have strong communication, writing and analytical skills as well as computer skills. Since legal analysts often work with clients, they must be able to handle stressful situations as well."
Education and Qualifications Necessary to be a Legal Analyst
A legal analyst typically needs at least a bachelor’s degree, although some employers may prefer or even require a master’s degree. Many legal analysis positions require job candidates to have a bachelor’s or even a master’s degree in political science or a similar discipline. Some positions also consider those who have a J.D., but who have not yet passed the bar exam.
Some legal analysts may develop work experience in the industry by working as legal secretaries during college . Legal secretaries and legal clerks perform a variety of routine clerical, filing, and administrative duties for attorneys, which allows analysts to gain valuable familiarity with a law firm’s internal processes. Many legal analysts also have significant experience working as paralegals, many of whom hold bachelor’s degrees in legal studies. Paralegals are legal professionals who often perform substantive work for personal injury or other civil litigation clients under a lawyer’s direction — these duties usually include researching statutes and court rules, writing pleadings and motions, and preparing for clients’ depositions and trials.
Careers Options for Legal Analysts
Legal analysts can be found in a range of organizational environments, including private law firms, corporations, advocacy organizations, government agencies, and consulting firms. Typically legal analysts will possess a graduate level education from an accredited paralegal studies program, supplemented by on-the-job experience. In addition they are often affiliated with relevant professional associations such as IPMA-HR, NALS, NALS of Greater Baltimore, The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA), The National Federation of Paralegal Associations Inc., and the International Paralegal Managers Association.
In private law firms legal analysts may find themselves working for senior attorneys in a variety of practices, including tax, litigation, Intellectual Property, real estate, estates, and environmental practices. In these situations the legal analyst will depend on technical expertise and communication skills to support the case preparation of a wide range of clients. Corporate legal analysts typically support an organization’s intellectual property, compliance, labor, business transactions, environmental, or litigation function, in line with the organization’s specific requirements. Consulting firms may retain legal analysts to support their work in dispute resolution, labor relations, human resources policy and development, and business process improvement. Government legal analysts also find a range of opportunities in advocacy organizations and agencies, in the U.S. and internationally, including federal and local governments.
Prospects of Legal Analysis
The legal field is in a constant state of flux as new technologies and economic forces drive legal analysis in new directions. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are areas that are expected to grow in the coming years and will have a significant effect on the legal field. This ostensibly powerful new technology can provide a large advantage at an affordable rate to consumers of legal services. Though these new machines can provide great advantages to those who employ them, it is certainly not a one-sided affair. The market for those who can provide quality legal analysis will inevitably rise. High-end legal analysis is not directly translatable into code or templates, thus the future seems to lean towards high-level thinking, creativity and collaborating with AI for the low-end processes . At the same time, more and more publicly-available information will make the need for basic legal analysts less of a necessity. Many people will be able to use available tools which allow them to create their own contracts or execute agreements without the aid of a lawyer. For those entering the field today, it is important to keep abreast of the available legal analytical tools which may be employed in their future offices. For example, there are now tools available which can keep track of all of the changes made to a document over time; this level of analytics would have been unconceivable a decade ago. As these programs continue to progress at a formidably rapid pace, the way legal analysis is conducted will be forced to move forward with the technology.