Legal Definitions - associate attorney

An associate attorney is a lawyer who works for a law firm or a company and is not a partner or owner. They assist senior attorneys with legal work and may also have their own clients.

For example, if a law firm is working on a big case, the senior attorney may assign some of the work to an associate attorney. The associate attorney may research legal issues, draft documents, and attend meetings with clients.

In the field of patents, an associate attorney may be appointed by a principal attorney to prosecute a patent application through the filing of a power of attorney.