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Legal Associate Jobs in Alabama (NOW HIRING)

McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLP

Be Seen First

Litigation Paralegal/Legal Assistant

Birmingham, AL · On-site

$40K - $60K/yr

... associates and clients. · Schedule appointments, meetings, depositions, and mediations for an ... legal documents as required. · Litigation Paralegal will provide support to the Legal Team in a ...

Hand Arendall LLC

Summer Associate

Mobile, AL · On-site

Perform timely and effective legal research and writing * Assist Partners and associates in projects or matters as needed * Prepares legal drafts by assembling and organizing information for legal ...

PangeaTwo

Associate Attorney

Vestavia Hills, AL · On-site

Associate Attorney Are you a skilled litigator looking to grow your career in insurance defense ... This is an excellent opportunity to work on complex litigation matters while advancing your legal ...

PangeaTwo

Associate Attorney

Birmingham, AL · On-site

Associate Attorney Insurance Defense Attorney (1-3 Years Experience) Location: Birmingham, AL Are ... Conduct legal research and develop effective litigation strategies * Take and defend depositions

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Legal Associate information

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$7

$26

$54

How much do legal associate jobs pay per hour?

As of Jul 14, 2026, the average hourly pay for legal associate in Alabama is $26.29, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $17.45 and $30.48 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are Legal Associates?

Legal Associates are early-career lawyers who support more senior attorneys in a law firm or legal department. They conduct legal research, draft documents, assist with case preparation, and may represent clients under supervision. Legal Associates are typically recent law school graduates who have passed the bar exam, and their role is designed to provide hands-on experience while allowing them to develop their legal skills. Over time, Legal Associates may work toward becoming partners or taking on more senior legal positions within their organization.

What is a legal associate?

A legal associate is a junior attorney or lawyer who supports senior lawyers by conducting research, drafting documents, and preparing cases. They typically work in law firms or corporate legal departments and need a law degree and bar admission to practice. The role often involves analyzing legal issues and assisting with client consultations.

What is the lowest position in a law firm?

The lowest position in a law firm is typically a legal assistant or legal secretary, who provides administrative support to attorneys. Entry-level roles often require basic legal knowledge, strong organizational skills, and familiarity with legal software. These positions serve as a foundation for advancing to higher roles such as paralegal or associate.

What are some typical challenges Legal Associates face during their first year at a law firm?

Legal Associates often encounter challenges such as managing a high volume of work under tight deadlines, adapting to the expectations of different partners, and learning to balance administrative tasks with substantive legal research and drafting. Navigating firm culture and building relationships with senior attorneys and clients can also be demanding. However, these challenges provide valuable learning opportunities and help associates develop strong time management, communication, and legal analysis skills crucial for career growth.

What Is a Legal Associate?

A legal associate is a practicing junior attorney at a law firm who works on cases for clients, conducts legal research, and provides legal advice to clients. Other job duties include developing and implementing litigation strategies, supervising legal assistants and paralegals, and representing clients in court. The qualifications you need for a career as a legal associate include a bachelor’s degree and then a law degree from an accredited law school, a license to practice law through your state’s bar association, at least one year of experience working in a law firm, and excellent communication and collaborative skills.

What can you do with an associate degree in law?

A legal associate degree prepares individuals for entry-level roles such as legal assistant, paralegal, or legal secretary. These positions involve supporting attorneys, conducting research, and managing case files, often requiring knowledge of legal software and procedures.

Is $900 an hour a lot for a lawyer?

For a legal associate, earning $900 an hour is considered very high and typically reflects senior-level experience, specialized expertise, or work in high-demand areas such as corporate law or litigation. Most legal associates earn significantly less, with hourly rates often ranging from $100 to $300 depending on location and firm size. Such rates are more common for partners or highly specialized attorneys rather than entry-level associates.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a Legal Associate, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Legal Associate, you need a law degree (JD or equivalent), strong research and analytical skills, and attention to detail. Familiarity with legal research databases such as Westlaw or LexisNexis, document management systems, and proficiency in drafting legal documents are essential. Excellent written and verbal communication, time management, and the ability to work collaboratively set standout candidates apart. These skills ensure effective legal analysis, high-quality client service, and successful case outcomes in a demanding legal environment.

What is the difference between Legal Associate vs Paralegal?

AspectLegal AssociateParalegal
Required CredentialsJuris Doctor (JD), bar admission often preferredAssociate's degree or paralegal certification
Work EnvironmentLaw firms, corporate legal departments, government agenciesLaw firms, legal departments, courts, corporate offices
Job ResponsibilitiesLegal research, drafting documents, client interaction, assisting attorneysLegal research, document preparation, case organization, support tasks

Legal Associates typically hold a JD and are licensed to practice law, performing more advanced legal tasks. Paralegals assist attorneys with research and administrative duties but do not require a law degree or license. Both roles work in similar environments, but Legal Associates have a broader scope of responsibilities and legal authority.

More about Legal Associate jobs
What are the most commonly searched types of Legal jobs in Alabama? The most popular types of Legal jobs in Alabama are:
What are popular job titles related to Legal Associate jobs in Alabama? For Legal Associate jobs in Alabama, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Legal Associate jobs in Alabama look for? The top searched job categories for Legal Associate jobs in Alabama are:
What cities in Alabama are hiring for Legal Associate jobs? Cities in Alabama with the most Legal Associate job openings:
Legal Associate jobs near you
Legal Optimization Transformation Leader

Legal Optimization Transformation Leader

Regions Financial Corporation

Birmingham, AL • On-site

Full-time

Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Retirement, PTO

Re-posted 2 days ago

Regions Bank rating

8.1

Company rating: 8.1 out of 10

Based on 157 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

51st of 149 rated banks

Job description

Thank you for your interest in a career at Regions. At Regions, we believe associates deserve more than just a job. We believe in offering performance-driven individuals a place where they can build a career --- a place to expect more opportunities. If you are focused on results, dedicated to quality, strength and integrity, and possess the drive to succeed, then we are your employer of choice.
Regions is dedicated to taking appropriate steps to safeguard and protect private and personally identifiable information you submit. The information that you submit will be collected and reviewed by associates, consultants, and vendors of Regions in order to evaluate your qualifications and experience for job opportunities and will not be used for marketing purposes, sold, or shared outside of Regions unless required by law. Such information will be stored in accordance with regulatory requirements and in conjunction with Regions' Retention Schedule for a minimum of three years. You may review, modify, or update your information by visiting and logging into the careers section of the system.
Job Description:
At Regions, the Legal Process Optimization Lead identifies, leads, and manages Legal-specific process improvement projects and transformation initiatives using structured improvement methodologies. This role partners closely with Legal leadership and practice areas to strengthen execution, drive operational excellence, mitigate risk, and create a sustainable culture of continuous improvement within the Legal group.
Primary Responsibilities
  • Identifies, recommends and implements best practices to optimize Legal processes, workflows and service delivery models
  • Partners with Legal senior leadership to embed process improvement methodologies into Legal strategy, planning and operations
  • Leads complex Legal transformation initiatives that frequently require cross-functional collaboration with Compliance, Risk, Technology, Finance and business partners
  • Improves end-to-end Legal processes that result in expense reduction, improved cycle time, increased capacity, enhanced service quality and reduced legal and regulatory risk
  • Coaches and mentors Legal associates and leaders on structured process improvement methodologies while fostering a culture of continuous improvement
  • Acts as a trusted advisor to Legal leadership on operational challenges, capacity constraints, risk mitigation and strategic opportunities
  • Conducts current-state Legal process assessments, identifies gaps and control weaknesses and designs future-state processes aligned with evolving regulatory and business requirements
  • Identifies Legal operational issues, performs root cause analysis and develops solutions that clearly articulate strategic improvement opportunities
  • Supports the full lifecycle of Legal strategic initiatives from ideation through execution including problem definition, solution design and implementation
  • Evaluates Legal processes, procedures, controls and roles to identify continuous improvement and risk reduction opportunities
  • Contributes to workflow redesign, documentation and risk and control identification in partnership with Legal Risk and Compliance stakeholders
  • Leads project-oriented work that synthesizes complex information and presents findings to support Legal leadership decision making
  • Translates complex operational, regulatory and financial insights into clear and actionable recommendations tailored for executives, attorneys and Legal staff
  • Builds strong relationships across Legal practice areas and with enterprise partners supporting Legal operations
  • Develops and delivers concise analyses for Legal leadership including opportunity assessments, recommendations and financial or capacity validation using standard presentation formats
  • Works toward attainment of company sponsored Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification if not already obtained

This position is exempt from timekeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act and is exempt from overtime pay.
This position is incentive eligible.
Requirements
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Operations Management or a related quantitative or analytical field
  • Ten (10) years of process improvement, project management or related experience with significant experience supporting Legal, Risk, Compliance or other highly regulated functions

Preferences
  • Master's degree
  • Advanced knowledge of statistical analysis, business intelligence and project management tools such as Sigma XL, Power BI and JIRA
  • Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) experience
  • Documented teaching and coaching experience
  • Experience supporting Legal, Compliance or regulatory-driven environments
  • Financial services or banking experience
  • Lean certification
  • Six Sigma Master Black Belt certification

Skills and Competencies
  • Ability to assess change management impact and operational and regulatory risk
  • Ability to demonstrate confidence and professionalism when advising senior Legal executives
  • Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced and deadline-driven Legal environment
  • Ability to think strategically and tactically with strong analytical, critical thinking and problem-solving skills
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
  • Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office particularly Excel and PowerPoint
  • Knowledge of legal and regulatory requirements and their impact on Legal operations
  • Strong organizational, communication and time management skills
  • Strong teaching, coaching and facilitation capabilities
  • Strong understanding of technology and operations concepts including SDLC, Agile methodologies, system integrations, Lean principles and project or program management

Position Type
Full time
Compensation Details
Pay ranges are job specific and are provided as a point-of-market reference for compensation decisions. Other factors which directly impact pay for individual associates include: experience, skills, knowledge, contribution, job location and, most importantly, performance in the job role. As these factors vary by individuals, pay will also vary among individual associates within the same job.
The target information listed below is based on the Metropolitan Statistical Area Market Range for where the position is located and level of the position.
Job Range Target:
Minimum:
$143,354.00 USD
Median:
$192,650.00 USD
Incentive Pay Plans:
This role is eligible to participate in the annual discretionary incentive plan. Employees are eligible to receive a discretionary award based on individual, business, and/or company performance.Opportunity to participate in the Long Term Incentive Plan.
Benefits Information
Regions offers a benefits package that is flexible, comprehensive and recognizes that "one size does not fit all" for benefits-eligible associates. Listed below is a synopsis of the benefits offered by Regions for informational purposes, which is not intended to be a complete summary of plan terms and conditions.
  • Paid Vacation/Sick Time
  • 401K with Company Match
  • Medical, Dental and Vision Benefits
  • Disability Benefits
  • Health Savings Account
  • Flexible Spending Account
  • Life Insurance
  • Parental Leave
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Associate Volunteer Program

Please note, benefits and plans may be changed, amended, or terminated with respect to all or any class of associate at any time. To learn more about Regions' benefits, please click or copy the link below to your browser.
https://www.regions.com/about-regions/welcome-portal/benefits
Location Details
Regions Center
Location:
Birmingham, Alabama
Equal Opportunity Employer/including Disabled/Veterans
Job applications at Regions are accepted electronically through our career site for a minimum of five business days from the date of posting. Job postings for higher-volume positions may remain active for longer than the minimum period due to business need and may be closed at any time thereafter at the discretion of the company.

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