How to Become a Successful Legal Secretary?

A legal secretary is a person who is employed in the legal profession and assists lawyers in their work. They have to prepare all the legal documents and gather information for various cases. In most cases, a legal secretary, also known as a legal assistant, performs tasks similar to a lawyer's responsibilities. They do not set fees for legal services or represent cases in court.

A legal secretary must coordinate all legal activities for attorneys and/or administrative law examiners. A legal secretary creates schedules for hearing procedures and prepares legal documents. Their job includes maintenance of dockets and diaries and simultaneously providing information and direction to other people. They need complete knowledge of legal, secretarial and office practices.

As a legal secretary, a person will perform several job duties as specified below:

• A legal secretary receives and screens incoming visitors and telephone calls.
• They answer people's queries regarding the status of pending cases.
• They help people understand court rules and the appeals procedures.
• Legal secretaries schedule meetings and conferences and inform interested parties.
• They make arrangement for transportation and hotel accommodations for staff members when travel is required.
• He or she creates and types legal documents such as complaints, administrative decisions and orders.
• A legal secretary makes use of typewriters and word processors to prepare reports, notes and to record notices.
• They must update and retrieve information from a computer database as and when needed.
• Check documents for correct grammar, spelling mistakes, wrong syntax and punctuation.
• Perform other duties as assigned by higher company officials.

Since a legal secretary handles many responsibilities, he or she must have the following skills:

• Candidates with excellent oral and written communication skills are preferred.
• They must have good command over the English language and must be able to find errors in grammar, spelling and punctuations.
• The candidate must possess complete knowledge of all e rules and regulations set forth by the government and must be comfortable handling office equipment such as a computer and typewriter.
• They must know how to properly schedule appointments and be able to explain instructions and guidelines to clients.
• A legal secretary must be capable to work under pressure and must complete assignments before the set deadlines.
• Good software and hardware knowledge is helpful. The person must be able to prepare reports and other legal documents such as orders complaints.
• They must have good time management skills and have the ability to properly prioritize work.

Basically there is no formal education requirement for legal secretaries. A Legal secretary job demands people to undergo some kind of training and certification course which is authorized by government. The minimum education required for this kind of job is a graduation from a good university. Diploma in Law or degree or certification course in related field will be advantageous.

The average salary paid to a legal secretary is $47,000. Since there are different types of legal secretaries, their pay scale differs from one type to another depending on the type of law firm, experience and talents of the individual.

Due to the need to minimize the cost of legal proceedings, there has been an increase in legal secretary job opportunities. A person in a career of this nature has excellent growth potential. Employment in this field is expected to multiply in the near future especially in corporate environments.