Lawyer Hierarchy | Facts about Lawyer Hierarchy Make Your Surprise

You’ll be aware of lawyers’ job; they try to justify the two aspects of any argument through their evidence and argumentation in the court. Lawyers are the faces of their clients in court. They act to resolve the dispute between their respective clients via a legal way. In this guide, I will share the lawyer hierarchy.

Attorneys know all the rules and regulations to defend their client’s interests within the court. To do this, they may use different tools according to their experience or expertise. A law firm does not consist of any single person, lawyer. Instead, there is a team of workers who handle different tasks. This is regarded as the lawyer hierarchy. 

Lawyers and many other organizations also play their role in the processing, if any. You know, the lawyers have to defend their clients’ will in court in a legal manner. If they move on illegally, their petition will be canceled—different organizations involved in this hierarchy act to handle any matter legally. For any new person, it’s hard to understand the lawyer hierarchy. However, if they explore this query, they will hit a proper conclusion. 

This article will also break down all about the lawyer hierarchy. Based on a thorough law industry research, this article will help you clear all your queries regarding the lawyer hierarchy. So, let’s move down to explore all about it. 

Lawyer Hierarchy

All lawyers or attorneys within a law field are not of the same potential, same experience, or same type. They differ from one another based on their seniority or kind. Also, for different purposes, you’ll have to hire another lawyer. This breaks down the lawyers in a hierarchy. Here is a list of the attorney hierarchy. 

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Shareholders or Partners

If different attorneys have proposed a law firm together, they are called shareholders, partners, or members of that particular firm. Although the partners of a law firm have varying levels of experience and capabilities, one with utmost authority is assigned to take care of their management. All the members of such a firm handle the client’s affairs at a high rate. 

There may be different categories of partners regarding their assigned tasks. Some may have the responsibility of executing all the firm’s operations, while others may have to manage all the systems within their association. As mentioned above, one experienced person will be the manager of the firm. He will give directions to all the other members to enhance their functional capabilities. 

Associate Employees 

Besides the shareholders, any law firm also has different members who work without any share. Typically, such a lawyer will be entry-level or with less experience in the field. So, he’ll get paid by the firm according to their working hours. 

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The partners or management team handles all the talk with the clients. Associates don’t have any part in such tasks. They will only handle the task assigned to them. They will be responsible for the task assigned to them. 

Senior Associates

Mostly, the famous lawyer firms divide the association into two categories. Out of these, the first category is senior associates. This category will include those lawyers who have more experience in the field. So, they will be able to handle any task effectively. 

Junior Associates

Those associates of the firm who have less experience or are new in the firm are regarded as junior associates. They will have to follow the directions of the senior associates. 

Counsel Attorney

Such an attorney who has relatively high experience of the law is called counsel. Mostly, such lawyers will have almost completed their tenure within the field. They’ll be near their retirements. Such persons will have once been the partner of any law firm. But now, they will be working alone. If any retired judge joins the counsel after the retirement, he’ll also be regarded as ‘of counsel.’ 

Lawyers Working on Contracts

Just like many other facets, the law field also hires partners temporarily. Such lawyers who assign any contract with a firm are called contract lawyers. They will be part of any particular lawyer’s association for a short time. They may be hired for any special task or case. After the resolution of that particular case, such lawyers will no longer be part of the firm. 

Clerks 

Those law students who join any law firm for the sake of experience or school credits are called law clerks. They may get little or no revenue for their services within the firm. 

Summer Associate Lawyers 

Just like law clerks, summer associates also join the field or firm of the law to gain experience and knowledge of the field. But they differ from the clerks as they sign a contract with the firm for the whole summer. They may also get more revenue than the clerks. 

Assistant Staff Hierarchy

Besides the legal staff, there will be such members of the firm who will have gained some knowledge about the law but are not lawyers. They’ll have to support the lawyers or attorneys in different tasks. Here is a list of non-lawyer staff. 

Research or Paralegal Staff

Such staff members have enough legal training to support the lawyers but are not attorneys. Their function is to dig the relevant case and collect the data about the particular will. Also, they will make sure that all wills are properly filed to the court. 

Attorney’s Assistants 

These are types of paralegal staff who assist the attorneys on different jobs. They also gain some legal practice to learn the relevant field. 

Legal Administrative or Secretaries

Legal administrative or are those legal assistants who handle the matters regarding the practice of the law or administration. 

Front Desk Attendant

The front desk person or attendant guides the clients properly regarding their cases or wills. He manages all the meetings of the clients with the attorneys. 

Criminal Analyst

Successful law firms have special persons who work as investigators to collect all the data about any criminal case. He may travel with the client to collect the data about the case. The investigator team plays an important role in making the case effective. 

What are the Essential Departments of a Law Firm?

To run your law firm effectively, you should make a plan for it. In your plan, you should add all the essential departments that will run your firm effectively. Here is a list of those facets which will make a law firm better. 

Marketing Officer

Marketing of any business may bring more clients to you. The same is in the case of professional law firms. Such persons work on marketing the jobs and duties of that particular law firm. They are experts in marketing so that they can handle this task effectively. 

Financial Management

For proper management of the bills and finance, the accounting and finance department is a good idea. This department will assist your firm by performing the following tasks. 

• Handling the client’s bills and dues. 
• Managing the budget of your firm. 
• Helping you in bookkeeping. 
• Management of the tax payment. 
• Managing the rents, if any. 

An expert person can handle all these tasks effectively. So, an accounting or finance department is an inevitable consideration. 

Bill Processing

Another important task is to send the clients their dues reports or bills and ask them to pay. Without proper management, your firm can’t process this task. A bill processing department will make your task easy and smooth. So, consider hiring a special team for the billing department of your firm. 

Sales Management

Your firm will have recruited a particular number of lawyers, including your shareholders. Managing the tasks and duties of all the lawyers is another challenge. Your firm can offer the services according to the availability of the attorneys. So, a trained sales department can help you keep such a record that will tell you about your sales, pending orders, and the next schedule of the lawyers. 

Information Technology Department

The IT department is one of the necessities of any field. With an advance in technology, all our functions are being shifted to the latest software. Such software helps to run any business effectively. To run the IT department, you’ll need a team of professional IT specialists. They will manage all your IT functions professionally. You can make your work smooth with this step. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the levels of lawyers?

Shareholder, managing partner, senior associate, junior associate, clerks, and counsel are different lawyers’ levels. 

What is the highest position as a lawyer?

Chief Managing director or chief legal officer is the highest position as a lawyer. 

Here are the different positions in a law firm

What are the 4 types of lawyers?

Family lawyers, tax lawyers, criminal lawyers, and corporate lawyers are the four major types of lawyers. 

What is the structure of law firms?

Mostly, law firms have the following structure. 

• Shareholder 
• Associates (senior & junior)
• Of counsel
• Clerks
• Contract lawyers

Is law school difficult?

Yes, attending law school is far more complex than attending a regular college or university for graduation. 

Conclusion

Within any firm of lawyers, there is a lawyer hierarchy. This hierarchy tells you about the functions of the lawyer and other staff members who run the firm. To know any law firm, learning about its hierarchical order is necessary.