A bankruptcy legal secretary is someone who works in a secretarial or administrative capacity for an attorney or law office that handles bankruptcy and creditors' rights matters. Bankruptcy legal secretaries typically perform traditional secretarial tasks such as typing, dictation, answering the phones, and keeping track of calendars and schedules.
While a Legal Secretary performs some standard secretarial tasks, they spend most of their workday performing tasks specific to the field of law. Other duties and responsibilities of Legal Secretaries include: Managing records, projects and calendars to make sure everything functions smoothly Indexing and updating pleadings and discovery binders
Clerical bankruptcy specialists perform administrative tasks such as preparing and filing legal documents, handling bankruptcy correspondence, and communicating with bankruptcy courts, trustees and attorneys. Some clients may intend on continuing payments to save their houses, cars or other assets.
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.
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 Legal Secretary do? The role of a legal secretary is to support the lawyers and paralegals in a law office or organization.
Assists and supports lawyers and paralegals with their work as needed. Enhances attorney effectiveness by providing information-management support and representing the attorney to clients and others. Welcomes guests and clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone, and by answering or directing inquiries.
Legal secretaries are almost always full-time employees, and in return receive benefits packages including health insurance, pension plans and vacation and sick leave. Secretaries who work for a law firm may also have the opportunity to receive free or discounted legal care in return for their hard work.
Legal secretaries must maintain paper and electronic files, manage projects, track multiple deadlines, maintain calendars, schedule meetings, organize events, and keep everything orderly and accessible.
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.
Can you be a legal secretary with no experience? Yes, you can be a legal secretary with little to no experience either by taking a course, completing an apprenticeship, or even securing a junior role with good grades and excellent administrative skills.
How to Be the Best Legal SecretaryBe Reliable. PeopleImages / Getty Images. ... Be a Self-Starter. The most successful secretaries possess drive and initiative. ... Be Efficient. ... Be Discrete. ... Be Pleasant. ... Be Patient. ... Be Compassionate.
Legal Secretary SalaryAnnual SalaryWeekly PayTop Earners$60,500$1,16375th Percentile$50,000$961Average$42,868$82425th Percentile$32,500$625
Best Transferable Skills for Legal SecretariesCustomer Service and Interpersonal Skills. Legal Secretaries are often the first person a client comes into contact with when approaching a firm. ... Organisation. ... Administration. ... Problem Solving. ... Word Processing and I.T. Skills. ... Teamwork. ... Attention to Detail.
A key difference in the role of legal assistants/paralegals and legal secretaries is that legal assistants/paralegals perform substantive legal wor...
A legal secretary is an administrative assistant trained exclusively in the field of law. Through a comprehensive and specialized training program,...
Employed in a number of settings, including law firms and legal departments within private corporations, insurance companies and real estate firms,...
Similar to lawyers and other law professionals, legal secretaries often specialize in certain areas of law, such as family law, contract law, or wi...
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.
Legal Secretary education and training requirements. Prospective Legal Secretaries must have a Level 3 Diploma for Legal Secretaries or should have completed a higher education college course in legal word processing and audio transcription.
A job for which military experienced candidates are encouraged to apply. A good job for someone just entering the workforce or returning to the workforce with limited experience and education. A job for which all ages, including older job seekers, are encouraged to apply.
A legal secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to one or more lawyers. This varies from transcribing and proofreading legal documents, scheduling court depositions, hearings, and meetings to filing and organizing important documents.
Legal secretaries may work in law firms and legal departments of private corporations.
Most legal secretaries hold an Associate's degree or higher in Legal Studies or a related field. A typing speed of fifty words per minute with high accuracy is required as well as 3 years of experience as a paralegal or legal secretary.
Employers: How to Write Great Job Descriptions 1 Be sure to mention requisite years of experience and educational requirements 2 Tell job seekers what's unique about your company and job 3 Ideal length is a few paragraphs or about 200 words 4 Make sure to use appropriate paragraph breaks and bullet points so it’s easy on the eyes.
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.
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.
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.
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 secretaries are proficient at handling all administrative duties within a law office or legal department setting.
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
A legal assistant or paralegal is a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work ...
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.
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.
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.