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Legal Secretary
A legal secretary will be responsible for carrying out a variety of legal secretarial duties as well as general administrative tasks. A legal secretary is mainly responsible for assisting lawyers with their work and ensuring the efficient operation of a legal office.
As well as word-processing letters and legal documents, a legal secretary is likely to be responsible for responding to telephone enquiries, dealing with clients and carrying out other legal secretary duties. A legal secretary may accompany solicitors to courts, business meetings and police cells to take notes.
A legal secretary would work normal office hours, sometimes with additional hours at busy times, with twilight shifts being available in some larger firms.
A legal secretary needs to have good secretarial skills, accurate spelling and grammar, the ability to pay close attention to detail, good communication skills, including a confident telephone manner and the ability to work under pressure.
A legal secretary will mainly work for solicitors. Other employers who would employ a legal secretary would include the legal departments of large industrial and commercial firms, public sector organisations, barristers’ chambers and courts.
Legal secretary jobs are easily found throughout the UK, although the main centres of legal employment are Glasgow, Edinburgh and in England. Once qualified as a legal secretary you will find that there is a high demand for legal secretaries across the UK.
There are no set entry qualifications to become a legal secretary, although GCSEs/S grades or the equivalent are useful. It is possible to enter as an office junior and train on the job, or to join a legal firm after taking a legal secretary course. General secretarial training is sufficient for entry, although specialist legal secretary courses are available.
The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs and the Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) offer qualifications in legal secretarial work as do many of the Scottish colleges and universities.
A legal secretary will find excellent promotional prospects to more senior legal secretary posts are possible. With further training, a legal secretary can become a legal executive, paralegal or licensed conveyancers.
A legal secretary will find starting salaries are between £10,000 and £20,000 a year depending on experience.
Jobs of this type currently available
- Category:
- Legal
- Published:
- 13 May 08
- Based in:
- Ayrshire East
- Salary:
- £15,000 - £19,000
- Category:
- Legal
- Published:
- 06 May 08
- Based in:
- Renfrewshire
- Salary:
- £7 - £9 p/h