A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a

legislator A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ...

as a

legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the

government relations In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

and

regulatory affairs Regulatory affairs (RA), also called government affairs, is a profession within regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, agrochemicals (plant protection products and fertilizers), energy, banking, telecom etc. Reg ...

industry by monitoring pending legislation, conducting

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

, legislative analysis,

legal research Legal research is "the process of identifying and retrieving information necessary to support legal decision-making. In its broadest sense, legal research includes each step of a course of action that begins with an analysis of the facts of a prob ...

policy analysis Policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected ...

, drafting legislation, giving advice and counsel, making recommendations, and performing some quasi- secretarial duties. There is a diverse array of work experiences attainable within the legislative assistance field, ranging between internship,

entry-level An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline and typically does not require prior experience in the field or profession. These roles may require some on-site training. Many entry ...

, associate, junior, mid-senior, and senior level positions.

In the United States

Members (both Representatives and Senators) have multiple legislative assistants who may be tasked to handle one or more area in which the assistant has particular expertise (e.g. education policy, environmental policy, tax policy). Often the assignments will be connected to the

committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

assignments of the member. In most offices, there is one staffer, variously called a legislative director (LD) or senior legislative assistant, in charge of all legislative assistants in the office. Some practitioners have questioned the lack of a federal congressional clerkship program, finding that few top law school graduates seriously consider becoming a federal legislative aide or

legislative counsel A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

to gain practical skills after graduation. Government agencies and cabinet departments in the United States have subsidiary offices of legislative affairs or congressional relations, that act as a liaison between government agencies and a legislature, to advocate on behalf of the agency, and to analyze legislation to bring the agency into compliance with new directives, laws, and regulations set forth by the legislature. The

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

and voluntary sector including both for-profit business and

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

organizations, make use of legislative assistants or adjacent positions such as government relations specialists, specialized secretaries, or

paralegals A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant, or paralegal specialist is a professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with a license to practice law. The market for paralegals ...

within their

advocacy Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using fac ...

, government relations (lobbying), and

divisions.

In France

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, this position was formally opened after Edgar Faure visited the United States Congress in 1975.. The assistants can also work on the non-legislative part of the MP job, such as managing transportation between Paris and the constituency, or handling a part of the MP's

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

In European Parliament

Following his election, an MEP can submit to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

one or more application and contract for the secretarial assistance allowance. Sometimes the submission has given way to criminal prosecution of the MEP, who falsely declared the duties of the assistant or diverted part of the financial flux to himself.{{Cite web , url=https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/sites/antifraud/files/docs/body/tom_wise_sentencing_statement_en.pdf , title=Archived copy , access-date=2017-03-04 , archive-date=2017-03-04 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170304193609/https://ec.europa.eu/anti-fraud/sites/antifraud/files/docs/body/tom_wise_sentencing_statement_en.pdf , url-status=dead

References

External links

Summary of congressional staffer positions
from '' Roll Call''
Legislative Assistant Wizard (LAW)
Legislative staff