The Work Of A Legal Secretary & Legal Executive Training
If you're looking to get into Legal Secretarial work, you'll need to be orderly and disciplined, with a good aptitude for common sense! We'll discuss here what the job involves, and cover possible training paths into the industry.
Essentially you will be expected to have excellent typing skills as the bulk of the work involves preparing legal documents. Some legal secretaries deal with a whole host of office administration as well - from email monitoring to petty cash. Then there are times when the job will require you to leave the office and collect or deliver documents.
A lot of legal secretaries started their careers in a more general secretarial role, but employment chances are always better for those who've had some legal training. The legal profession is split into civil law and criminal law, and most lawyers will focus on just one. So there's a big variety of legal secretarial work, as civil litigation differs hugely from criminal law. If you're the only legal secretary working in a small office, the diversity of your work is likely to be greater than if you work with many others in a big office.
The majority of a legal secretary's work will be done on the computer in the office. Typical hours will be Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm - although part-time work, flexi-time or even job sharing may be possible. Most legal secretaries earn over 15,000pa after their first year in the industry, and many go on to receive excellent remuneration packages after several years.
Training To Become A Legal Secretary
What exactly does it take to become a legal secretary? Predominantly you'll need to have extremely good English language skills and be able to demonstrate a typing speed of over sixty five words per minute. You should also be very accurate, pay attention to detail, have good organisational skills and an interest in the law.
There aren't any clear cut exam qualifications, but legal secretaries should have an English Language GCSE as a minimum. The need for a confident approach to grammar, punctuation and spelling goes without saying. Microsoft Office is used extensively in the commercial world, which means you must have a good understanding of Word in particular.
You should pass the ECDL in the first instance, to get you off to a good start. For more professional administrative skills, look into taking a certification such as MCAS. As there are a number of training course providers on this site, here's a quick tip - Press Ctrl and D at the same time and you can Bookmark this webpage for easy reference. Then you can get straight back here with one click of your mouse!
There are a considerable number of training courses covering general secretarial and office administration skills, and they can all offer you something. With many Legal Secretaries coming into the industry from other secretarial roles, it's fair to say that the competition has increased. When you get a chance to let an employer know what you can do, be sure to display the characteristics that they're looking for.
Having said that, always be honest. People appreciate honesty, and claiming to be something you're not usually ends up causing you more problems.
What Is My Route To Get In?
It's not unusual for legal secretaries to continue training once in employment. This allows them to specialise in areas relevant to the work they're doing. Larger companies sometimes train their employees in house, but generally speaking most training is outsourced.
Legal secretarial training covers many areas. Elementary courses will introduce you to legal paperwork and deal with legal working practices. The internet has become a very useful tool where legal matters are concerned, so that could also be covered. Finally you'll come onto the specialist areas. Your choice will reflect your company's expertise, so it could be anything from Family Law to Company Law, or Conveyancing to Criminal Law.
Professional training to become a Legal Secretary usually costs in the region of 600 to 850 pounds, but expect to pay more in some areas. (That would usually not include professional computer training, although some reference may be made to it.) Many specialist secretarial colleges have been successfully training students for several decades. Their programmes have been proven over time.
What Goes into Becoming a Legal Executive?
Many Legal Secretaries eventually go on to study a Legal Executive programme. There are great career opportunities for Legal Executives. Legal Executives are able to carry out most of the same tasks as solicitors, (with the exception of High Court work) but work under the supervision of a solicitor. Because of the Extended Rights of Audience that now exist though, many Legal Executives are successfully representing people in the Family Proceedings Courts, The County Courts and the Magistrates Courts. Which courts they can work in largely depends on the area and level of their expertise. Legal executives may go into Public Law, Corporate Law, or maybe pursue private clients of their own.
Hopefully this has helped you to understand Legal Secretarial work and the training that you might need to do. Shouldn't you start immediately to uncover the possibilities waiting for you?
