Legislative correspondents interested in staying involved in the legislative side of the Hill typically build the issue experience and operational knowledge of a Congressional office to move up to a legislative assistant (LA) position. The ascent to legislative assistant can be a rapid climb or a slow one. Getting to the legislative assistant position extends your experience beyond "entry-level" and offers the opportunity to branch out in a variety of directions. But first, you must take advantage of the opportunity offered to work directly with the Member of Congress on the legislative process.

As a legislative assistant, you will become much more of an "advisor" to the Member and less of an administrative processor. Legislative assistants are given a set of issues for which they are solely responsible. They must track all legislation related to their issues, keep the Member abreast of scheduled votes on legislation under their purview, and often give advice on the best way for the Member to address pending issues. At the same time, many mundane functions will remain under their responsibility, most notably writing constituent letters. Legislative assistants on the Senate Side will have fewer issues as well as fewer administrative responsibilities than their counterparts on the House side.

As a LA, you will have much greater contact with outside organizations. Often, you will be responsible for representing the Member in meetings with lobbyists, constituents, and other advocacy groups with an interest in legislation before Congress.

With additional experience, LAs will have the opportunity to assume even greater responsibility as a legislative director.

Legislative Director

The role of the legislative director (LD) is very much a management position within a Member's office. LDs are typically responsible for the most important legislative activities of their Members offices, especially legislation moving through the committees the Member sits on. LDs also oversee the work of the LAs and the LCs, and are usually responsible for ensuring the accuracy and quality of the Member's responses to constituents.

The traditional path to becoming a Legislative Director is by promotion from within a Member's office or by recruitment from outside the office, either from another Member or from a private sector employer, such as a government relations firm or an advocacy organization. In either event, most Members require that their LDs have substantial legislative experience. Additionally, LDs need to be good managers and must have a good rapport with the Member, or be able to quickly build a strong relationship.

As with other positions on the Hill, promotion to LD can take varying lengths of time, with anywhere from two to ten years of legislative experience being the norm. The legislative director position in a Senatorial office usually requires greater experience than it does in for a House office. A law degree or a Masters degree in public policy can be helpful in moving up, but it is by no means a prerequisite for the position.