An associate attorney is an employee with no ownership hold or interest. In many cases, when one graduates and passes the bar exam, they will join a firm as a junior associate and work their way upwards and eventually become senior attorney. Details of these different levels and career paths can be examined here further via this link.
Starting salary will vary for an entry-level junior associate serving from 1 to 3 years within the firm and can increase from there to over $200,000-again depending upon the size of the organization itself. Average pay levels can be viewed here. Overtime, an associate can achieve promotions and salary increases from junior associate on up to senior associate. In some situations, they can even be selected and invited to join the partnership over time; where salaries in those positions can be up to and even exceeding a million dollars annually.
As to what is an associate in a law firm and duties involved, they normally work directly with the client along with administrative assistance in the form of perhaps a para-legal, temporary staff or even interns if that should be the case in some smaller firms. With that being said, the associate is a truly key component to a firm or partnership’s overall operations. They take on what is considered the “grunt work” and get down to the gritty details of the litigation matter and basically run with it. Under the direction of the partner or partners, he or she accepts a case and then begins working on it under their advisement.
With the associate’s findings during his or her research, they would then bring these items to the attention of the more senior associate or partner for further guidance and quality assurance as work continues in regard to the case itself. Experience regarding the direct association with the paying client and the bumps and quirks that go along with working on a case, help mold the active attorney’s familiarity; thus, making them more valuable to a firm as time goes on.
There are many on-line resources for an associate lawyer to look into for help and guidance within their career these days. There are blogs and portals that can be found through a typical Google search under the terms “lawyer resources” or “lawyer assistance”, etc. Being an attorney associate is still a viable and exciting career path still sought after around the globe as a career choice. There is also a tremendous amount of support and resources for those seeking to enter this exciting profession and eventually work within it.
The internet provides many options for attorneys to hire para-legals to assist in cases-even if temporary. Some para-legals can even work from home providing documentation through secure email servers. This would save on travel and office expenses for a firm, just as an example. This talent can be found on various websites, such as Indeed.com, among many others for recruiting administrative assistance.