what is a legal secretary?
As a legal secretary, you are a vital member of the legal team since you ensure the department runs smoothly. You perform administrative duties and support the lawyers with legal research and schedules. Most legal secretaries possess a range of skills since the role involves traditional administrative duties like answering phones, creating detailed reports and conversing with expert witnesses. With the complexity of your duties, you need to be conversant with legal terms, procedures and documentation. You also have to be highly organised and attentive to details to perform various assignments and meet deadlines.
what does a legal secretary do?
As a legal secretary, your work involves a lot of writing, from transcribing meetings to correspondence, memos and legal paperwork. You also proofread legal documents before mailing them and filing clients' paperwork. As a legal secretary, you can work in a law firm or government agency. Some legal secretaries work for judges and attorneys in the public sector. You can also work for companies with legal departments like multinational corporations and media firms in the corporate sector.
Would working as a legal secretary suit your organisational skills and interest in law? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a legal secretary role.
legal secretary salary
According to National Careers, a legal secretary earns £20,000 per year. The pay structure usually relies on your skills, academic qualifications and experience level. As you improve your skills and experience, your earnings can increase to £45,000 per year. Experienced legal secretaries usually receive various perks in the compensation package. For instance, you may receive annual bonuses, and your benefits package may include medical and transport allowances.
how to increase your salary as a legal secretary
As a legal secretary, your compensation package depends on your employer. For instance, if you work for government agencies, your earnings are lower than working in the private sector. Corporate companies have unlimited resources and can afford to pay more. Besides, they usually demand better qualifications and higher experience levels; hence the pay structure should reflect your expertise. The location also affects your primary salary. Some towns have a high demand for legal secretaries, increasing the salary prospects. Large towns also have a high cost of living, and the basic salary should reflect the cost of living. Small towns usually have few law firms and low living costs, reducing the average salaries for legal secretaries.
types of legal secretary
Some of the legal secretaries include:
- litigation assistant: as a litigation assistant, you provide support in various realms of law where legal action has been taken. That means you may work in bankruptcy, intellectual property and personal injury cases. Your job is to gather facts relevant to the case by interviewing witnesses and finding evidence to support your client's claims. Sometimes you have to write press releases to control the public perception of a case.
- judicial legal secretary: your job is to assist judges with administrative work. You maintain their schedule and organise legal documents for various cases. The job also involves transcribing dictations and researching precedence and application of laws.
- corporate legal secretary: when you are a corporate legal secretary, you work for a specific company and ensure they don't break any laws. You assist the legal team with writing contracts and staying up-to-date with the changing regulations.
- criminal legal secretary: your job as the criminal legal secretary is to help lawyers with criminal cases. You organise discovery files and research for loopholes in the prosecution case to assist your client. You also accompany lawyers to court to ensure they have the documents for the case.
working as a legal secretary
Working as a legal secretary involves providing administrative support to legal professionals. That means you carry out clerical, secretarial and administrative tasks to ensure your department runs efficiently. Discover the work schedules and job prospects of a legal secretary below.
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legal secretary job description
The work of a legal secretary varies depending on the legal environment. Some of the tasks include:
- preparing correspondence and legal documents: as a legal secretary, you respond to emails and receive letters on behalf of lawyers. You also write down various legal documents and agreements used in litigation. For instance, you prepare deeds and agreements for land sales and sale contracts for property purchases. You also write affidavits, wills and briefs from dictation and handwritten notes. After writing the documents, you must proofread them for errors and ensure they comply with legal requirements.
- managing schedules and appointments: your primary duty as a legal secretary is to support attorneys, lawyers and other legal professionals. That means you organise their schedule and ensure they meet with all clients on time. You also attend appointments, client interviews and hearings to write notes and later present reports to the lawyers.
- assisting in research: as a legal secretary, you collect all the relevant facts concerning a case and document findings from interviews. You find out previous court rulings and precedents related to a case. You also evaluate legal publications and materials to identify the best approach for the case.
- organising legal documents: when the opposing counsel sends discovery documents of the complaint, your job is to sort them. You organise the files and ensure the lawyer goes through them. You have to be conversant with every relevant document for easy retrieval during court procedures. Since you are in charge of the filling system, you should ensure the documents are in order.
- attending court: as a legal secretary, part of your job is to write notes and witness statements in court sessions. You also provide relevant information for rebuttals and assist lawyers in finding the required documents during legal proceedings.
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work environment
As a legal secretary, you will work in law firms, corporate settings and government agencies. Regardless of your employer, your work setting is indoors in well-ventilated office environments. You spend long periods standing or sitting when researching and completing your clerical duties. As a legal secretary, you meet with various people during interviews and meetings throughout the day. Sometimes, you have to work outdoors when researching cases. Legal secretaries also spend considerable time in courtrooms during hearings and negotiation tables in corporate offices. As a legal secretary, you must maintain a professional dress code during work hours.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer and your industry, your colleagues include paralegals, lawyers and attorneys. Most times, you get guidance from paralegals and instructions from lawyers. You may also work with contracts managers, accountants and other specialists that could include judges, magistrates and barristers.
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work schedule
Most legal secretaries work between 36 to 38 hours a week with the regular 9 am to 5 pm office hours. Sometimes, you have to work overtime, and your duties may extend to weekends and evenings. While most jobs are full-time, a legal secretary looking for flexible work can find a part-time job. Some legal secretaries also work temporary positions on short-term contracts.
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job outlook
As a legal secretary, your job falls between traditional administrative duties and paralegal responsibilities. You can improve your educational qualifications and skills to become a paralegal or lawyer. Alternatively, branch out to land a role as executive assistant or office manager and work in a corporate environment. You can also specialise in specific aspects of law like corporate or criminal cases.
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advantages of finding a legal secretary job through randstad
Finding your legal secretary job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a legal secretary is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
education and skills
Some of the academic qualifications to land you a role as a legal secretary include:
- college courses: take a Level 3 Diploma for legal secretaries or audio transcription and legal systems training. For the diploma courses, you need 4 or 5 GCSEs in grades 9 to 4. When you complete the diploma course, you can get an internship to gain relevant experience.
- apprenticeship: there are various apprenticeships in paralegal and legal services. An intermediate apprenticeship requires a few GCSEs with English and maths. The advanced apprenticeship requires 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4. You can also find other professional courses from The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs.
skills and competencies
As a legal secretary, the following skills help you excel:
- technology skills: lawyers and attorneys rely on tech-savvy legal secretaries to organise computer files, prepare presentations, audit timesheets, write spreadsheets and type documents. You also manage the software applications used to manage a law office.
- interpersonal skills: you interact daily with paralegals, clients and opposing counsel; hence communication and interpersonal skills are vital. Interpersonal skills help you listen to others and collaborate with them. The skills also promote emotional intelligence and improve formality.
- organisation skills: as a legal secretary, you are the right-hand person of an attorney or lawyer. You need organisational skills to run a law office smoothly. For instance, you need to manage electronic files, maintain calendars, schedule meetings and organise events.
- transcription skills: as a legal secretary, you need transcription skills to excel in your role. You require fast typing speed and active listening skills to comprehend voice dictation.
FAQs
FAQs about working as a legal secretary
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what does a legal secretary do?
A legal secretary performs administrative and clerical duties. Your job involves organising schedules and appointments or assisting with research.
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how much should a legal secretary be paid?
Legal secretaries earn between £20,000 and £45,000 per year. The salaries vary depending on the employer and experience level.
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is a legal secretary a promising career?
A legal secretary is a promising career with minimal entry requirements and educational skills. You also have a good career progression.
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what is the difference between a legal secretary and a paralegal?
A paralegal is a legal practitioner working under an attorney. A legal secretary focuses on administrative duties and running an office or legal department.
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do legal secretaries make good money?
Yes. Legal secretaries earn attractive salaries for entry-level positions.
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how do I apply for a legal secretary vacancy?
Applying for a legal secretary job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our job offers for vacancies in your area. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here!
