secretary of the lawyer is what job

What does an legal secretary do?

Legal Secretaries are responsible for providing secretarial and administrative support within law firms, barristers’ chambers or other legal establishments. They assist lawyers and legal executives and ensure that the office runs in the most efficient way possible.

What is the job description of a lawyer?

A lawyer is someone who is licensed to practice law, and whose obligation it is to uphold the law while also protecting their client's rights. Some duties commonly associated with a lawyer include: providing legal advice and counsel, researching and gathering information or evidence, drawing up legal documents related to divorces,...

What is the difference between a legal assistant and a secretary?

As secretaries are sometimes referred to as administrative assistants, some people make the mistake of thinking that legal assistants are legal secretaries. In actuality, “legal assistant” is another term for “paralegal” according to the American Bar Association, the national professional paralegal associations and even the laws in some states.

What does it take to become a legal secretary?

Legal secretaries require extensive knowledge of legal proceedings and documentation. It is not uncommon for the most experienced and high performing legal secretaries to go on to be promoted to paralegal positions within a law firm.

What does a secretary do in a law firm?

Legal Secretaries, or Legal Assistants, perform clerical work at law offices or organisations. Their primary duties include providing Lawyers with direct assistance, scheduling client appointments and organising and maintaining all legal documents kept on-site.

What is the difference between a secretary and a paralegal?

A legal secretary serves in more of an clerical capacity, typing, transcribing and filing, while a paralegal typically assumes more legal responsibility, often writing legal drafts and creating legal correspondence on behalf of the attorney.

Is legal secretary a good career?

Good legal secretaries are highly valued by law firms. If you can prove that you're trustworthy, hardworking and have a meticulous eye for detail, then the chances are good that your employers will reward you.

Do lawyers have secretaries?

Legal Secretaries are there to assist Lawyers with their workload. They are an integral part of a team of legal professionals and work hard to ensure that a firm can run smoothly and efficiently.

Legal Secretaries: Are They Paralegals Or Legal Assistants?

A key difference in the role of legal assistants/paralegals and legal secretaries is that legal assistants/paralegals perform substantive legal wor...

Legal Secretary Job Description

A legal secretary is an administrative assistant trained exclusively in the field of law. Through a comprehensive and specialized training program,...

Legal Secretary Job Functions

Employed in a number of settings, including law firms and legal departments within private corporations, insurance companies and real estate firms,...

The Role of The Legal Secretary within Law Offices and Practice Settings

Similar to lawyers and other law professionals, legal secretaries often specialize in certain areas of law, such as family law, contract law, or wi...

What is the role of a legal secretary?

The role of a legal secretary is to support the lawyers and paralegals in a law office or organization. Most legal secretaries converse directly with attorneys, clerical personnel, courtroom staff members, clients, expert witnesses and commercial vendors.

Where do legal secretaries work?

Most legal secretaries work in law offices. However, they can also be found in government agencies, corporate legal departments of companies, and public interest firms. Legal secretaries can expect a fast-paced, high-stress work environment with firm deadlines.

How much does a legal secretary make?

Legal secretary salary. The average salary for legal secretaries in the United States is around $35,891 per year. Salaries typically start from $21,822 and go up to $59,028. Read about Legal secretary salary.

How to become a legal secretary?

Legal secretaries must have excellent phone and computer skills and must be able to effectively perform a number of routine tasks at a moments notice: 1 Maintain calendars and schedules for a number of attorneys 2 Develop and maintain a comprehensive and organized billing system 3 Ensure all billable hours are accurately recorded 4 Understand the basics of a number of court documents, such as summons and subpoenas make travel arrangements 5 Arrange for the filing of court documents

What is the difference between a legal assistant and a legal secretary?

A key difference in the role of legal assistants/paralegals and legal secretaries is that legal assistants/paralegals perform substantive legal work. Substantive legal work requires a depth of legal understanding and knowledge of procedural law. It is work that attorneys would have to perform themselves in the absence of their paralegals. According to the NFPA, substantive legal work requires the following: recognition, evaluation, organization, analysis, and communication of relevant facts and legal concepts.

What is substantive legal work?

According to the NFPA, substantive legal work requires the following: recognition, evaluation, organization, analysis, and communication of relevant facts and legal concepts. Such work requires education and training.

What does "legal assistant" mean?

No matter the official definition, some individuals do use the term “legal assistant” to describe their legal secretaries. This makes it important for paralegal job candidates to be sure to clarify the duties and expectations of a position before accepting it.

Do legal secretaries answer phones?

In smaller law firms, it is also not unusual for legal secretaries to also answer phones and greet clients. Legal secretaries must have excellent phone and computer skills and must be able to effectively perform a number of routine tasks at a moments notice: Maintain calendars and schedules for a number of attorneys.

What is a legal secretary?

Legal Secretaries are responsible for providing secretarial and administrative support to Lawyers, Legal Executives and other types of fee-earning legal professionals within law firms, Barristers’ chambers and in-house legal teams. They are essential in ensuring that the workplace runs in the most efficient way possible.

Is being a legal secretary challenging?

The role of a Legal Secretary can be demanding at times – working in the busy world of law can certainly be a challenge. However, the work is varied and interesting, and a career as a Legal Secretary offers good financial and progression prospects.

Is a legal secretary a good job?

A career as a Legal Secretary is an excellent steppingstone into the legal profession which does not require qualifying as a Legal Executive or Solicitor. However, it is still a demanding and fast-paced job that requires excellent organisation, communication, and administrative skills. Being a Legal Secretary is a great foundation for developing your career in either the legal sector, a secretarial position, or a combination of the two.

Typical Duties and Responsibilities

Enter and process docket cases, notices of hearings, postponements, reports, and other data into computer files

Education and Background

This position requires an associate degree in law or a related field; a bachelor’s degree is preferable, as is some law firm experience.

Compensation

According to Payscale the median annual salary of a Legal Secretary with

Career Path

The Legal Secretary position generally falls between traditional Secretary (performing essential administrative duties), and Paralegal (using knowledge of the legal system to perform similar responsibilities). It entails first obtaining an associate degree or higher (preferably in law or a related field).

Position Trends

According to the Center for Advanced Legal Studies, a growing focus is tech savviness in the Paralegal and Legal Secretary positions. Unsurprisingly, with the growth of e-discovery, among other aspects, law firms and other legal employers are looking for staff with strong technology skills.

Job Outlook

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of Legal Assistants is projected to grow 12 percent through 2028, well above average for all occupations through that time.

Typical Hours

The typical work hours for a Legal Secretary are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday in an office setting. However, longer or different hours can be necessary, especially when nearing a deadline.

What are the duties of a legal secretary?

LEGAL SECRETARY JOB DESCRIPTION 1 prepare and manage correspondence 2 prepare and process standard legal documents including subpoenas, contracts, summonses, appeals, warrants and motions 3 organize and coordinate legal meetings including client interviews, hearings and depositions 4 maintain schedules and calendars including court diaries 5 take, type and distribute minutes of meetings and interviews 6 prepare forms including accident reports, courtroom requests and client applications 7 proofread and edit legal documents 8 set up and maintain databases and files 9 document and maintain case details 10 handle incoming mail and calls 11 communicate verbally and in writing to answer inquiries and provide information 12 organize delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses and court officials 13 conduct research and collate information relevant to cases 14 arrange hearing dates 15 file motions 16 follow up on pending court cases 17 maintain law libraries 18 assist with billing 19 implement and maintain office systems

Where do legal secretaries work?

Legal secretaries are employed in law offices, financial companies and government offices . The position may vary from office to office but the key duties of a legal secretary remain standard.

How much does a legal secretary make in 2021?

According to Indeed.com the average salary for US-based job postings for an experienced Legal Secretary on the site is $48,054 per year as of September 2021.

Duties and responsibilities

A legal secretary is an administrative support professional who provides support specifically for lawyers, solicitors and legal executives. They carry out administrative and clerical duties to ensure that the law firm runs smoothly and to allow the lawyers to focus on serving their clients.

Qualifications

To become a legal secretary, you will need a high school diploma to get an entry-level position, and experience in the field to get higher-level positions. Once hired, you will receive training, that can last for a few months, to teach you about administrative and clerical duties and to teach you the specific legal terminology and processes.

Skills and relevant work experience

As mentioned previously, it will be beneficial to have experience in an administrative role, where you will learn the skills needed for administration, and experience and knowledge of the legal field so that you can understand specific terminology and processes. As well as this, other desirable skills include:

Hours

Legal secretaries tend to work normal full time hours (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm). However, they may sometimes have to work additional hours when supporting lawyers on meeting deadlines or if they have to travel with them to attend meetings, attend court hearings or go to other offices.

Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for secretaries and administrative assistants in the United States was $39,850 in 2019. The lowest 10% earned less than $25,720 and the highest 10% earned more than $65,510.

Progression

The employment of legal secretaries is expected to decline by 21 percent from 2018 to 2028, as paralegals are able to do the administrative duties once delegated to legal secretaries.

What is a legal secretary?

A legal secretary is the attorney’s right-hand person, so reliability is a crucial work trait that will ensure success. This goes beyond showing up promptly. You might occasionally find yourself called upon to stay at your desk long after other offices have closed for the day. Your attorney may have to appear in court first thing in ...

What are the traits of a successful legal secretary?

Though all of these work traits stand out as hallmarks of a successful legal secretary, the most important might be compassion. Clients entrust your law firm with issues that are fundamentally and critically important to their lives—something they feel so strongly about they enlisted the help of a law firm.

What is the most important trait of a successful secretary?

Others are pretty sure they're always right, and some are woefully disorganized. An ability to handle all personality types and work challenges with grace is a crucial work trait of any successful secretary.

What makes a good secretary?

The most successful secretaries possess drive and initiative. They don't sit waiting for an attorney's instructions or assignments; they stay on top of what needs to be accomplished in any given time period. They anticipate their employer’s and clients' needs. They're willing to step beyond their comfort zones to learn new skills that will help keep the practice running smoothly.

How to end a legal career?

Disclosing confidential information, inadvertently or on purpose, is one of the quickest ways to end your legal career. Just as you should leave your personal life at the door when you arrive at work, leave work at work when you close the office door behind you. Avoid rehashing your day with family members or friends.

What is the job of a lawyer?

Some duties commonly associated with a lawyer include: providing legal advice and counsel, researching and gathering information or evidence , drawing up legal documents related to divorces, wills, contracts and real estate transactions, and prosecuting or defending in court.

What are the duties of a lawyer?

A lawyer has several duties which go beyond the basic court trial. Researching information, drafting documents, mediating disputes and providing counsel to clients about their legal rights are just some responsibilities involved depending on the area of law.

How do bankruptcy lawyers work?

A bankruptcy lawyer will meet with potential clients to: review their income, debts and assets; determine if bankruptcy is right for the them; determine which chapter of bankruptcy to file; determine a filing date; and enter into a contract with the client. On the appropriate date, the lawyer will file the petition electronically with the court. When the date for a hearing is set by the court, the bankruptcy lawyer, the debtor, and the bankruptcy trustee will meet and discuss the situation. Following that, the bankruptcy lawyer will make sure that the client meets any obligations required by the bankruptcy trustee and will keep the client updated regarding the confirmation and discharge of the bankruptcy.

What is the role of a divorce lawyer?

A divorce lawyer must systematically investigate each case in order to substantiate the supporting evidence. The compiled paperwork documenting the evidence must cover every single detail before it is submitted to the court. A divorce lawyer must also be an attentive listener and must remain non-judgmental - these skills are vital when dealing with such a variety of clients.

What do immigration lawyers do?

The immigration process can be very complicated - immigration lawyers do a lot of work on behalf of their clients, such as analyzing all the possibilities and strategies that might be needed throughout the process, preparing paperwork, organizing the documents and forms that will be needed for the application, and preparing testimony and statements. They usually act as mediators between clients and immigration authorities.

How much do lawyers make?

The average salary for lawyers in the United States is around $120,074 per year. Salaries typically start from $58,269 and go up to $247,433.

Why do lawyers get into law?

Most lawyers get into law for personal reasons. For example, if you feel strongly about worker's rights, then labour law might be the route for you. Strong beliefs about the rights of immigrants? Immigration law. The environment? Environmental law. If you want to make an impact in something you feel very strongly about, and there's a law for it, consider that avenue.

What Is A Legal Secretary?

What Do Legal Secretaries do?

• Legal secretaries perform several essential tasks. These involve producing legal documents, completing legal forms, typing professional correspondence from dictation, liaising with clients and responding to enquiries. They can take time-consuming tasks off lawyers’ hands, from basic jobs such as filing or photocopying to more complex tasks such as ...

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Skills/Qualifications Needed

Career Progression

Where Do Legal Secretaries Work?