What Are the Main Types of Legal Secretaries?

To become a legal secretary is crucial for any law firm, government agency, or corporate legal department that provides administrative support to solicitors, barristers, and others. Legal secretaries can be separated into various types based on his/her specific area of law. The main types are as follows:

• Corporate Legal Secretary: Supporting lawyers in corporate legal departments, these secretaries might draft commercial contracts, assist with mergers and acquisitions, and work on other business transactions.
• Criminal Law Legal Secretary: This person typically supports a criminal defense attorney or a prosecutor in criminal law cases, assisting with briefs, discovery materials, trial preparation, and liaising with clients and law enforcement agencies.
• Family Law Legal Secretary: These secretaries work in family law and often prepare documents for divorces and custody battles, such as prenuptial agreements and settlement letters.
• Legal Secretary: Litigation secretaries support solicitors and barristers working on court cases. They help manage case files, prepare legal documents for court, and schedule hearings or depositions.
• Real Estate Legal Secretary: They work on property transactions and assist lawyers in preparing contracts, land searches, and registration documents.
• Patent Legal Secretary: An expert in intellectual property law, the patent legal secretary assists with patent applications, trademarks, and copyrights.

What Does a Legal Secretary Do?

A legal secretary’s role is multifaceted and involves handling administrative duties, preparing legal documents, and providing essential support to lawyers. Here’s a breakdown of a legal secretary’s key responsibilities:

• Drafting and preparing legal documents: Legal secretaries draft, format, and proofread pleadings, affidavits, contracts, wills, briefs, and other legal documents.
• Scheduling and Diary Management: Legal secretaries arrange appointments for solicitors or barristers with clients in court and plan travel as needed.
• File Management: Legal secretaries maintain and file case files, keeping all papers together and ready for when the file is needed.
• Client Communication: As a legal secretary, you are likely to often be the first point of contact between the lawyer and the client, taking messages via phone, email, or letter to find out how he or she is getting on with the case.
• Research: Legal secretaries might be asked to conduct basic legal research, such as searching legal databases and summarizing the results for their supervising lawyer.
• Court Preparation: In litigation cases, legal secretaries help prepare lawyers for court by ensuring that all relevant documents, evidence, and briefs are organized and ready for submission.
• Billing and Invoicing: Legal secretaries could be asked to track the time spent on billable hours, prepare the invoices for the clients, and follow up on the payments.

Average Legal Secretary Salary

The salary of a legal secretary in the UK varies based on experience, location, and the size of the law firm. Here’s an overview of typical legal secretary salaries:

• Entry-Level Legal Secretary: An entry-level legal secretary can expect to earn between £18,000 and £25,000 per year.
• Experienced Legal Secretary: With a few years of experience, legal secretaries can earn between £25,000 and £35,000 annually, depending on the complexity of the work and the employer.
• Senior Legal Secretary: Senior legal secretaries or those working in large law firms can earn upwards of £35,000 to £45,000 per year, with some corporate legal secretaries earning more.

Legal Secretary Skills

To become a legal secretary, you must possess administrative, organizational, and communication skills. Here are the key skills for a good legal secretary:

• Attention to Detail: Legal secretaries must be detail-oriented. Every document they draft, file, or organize into case files must be accurate and adhere to the legal requirements to avoid penalties or fines for errors.
• Organizational skills: Legal secretaries must be able to manage multiple tasks at once, such as keeping appointments and maintaining files. Without strong organizational skills, a lawyer’s practice can halt.
• Communication Skills: Legal secretaries deal with clients, solicitors, barristers, and court staff. Therefore, they must communicate clearly and professionally in writing and verbally to provide updates, answer questions, and set up appointments.
• Typing and IT skills: A legal secretary must be proficient in Microsoft Word, spreadsheet software, and legal case management software. Fast and accurate typing is essential for preparing legal documents efficiently.
• Confidentiality and Discretion: Court documents, financial matters, and other information would be entrusted to legal secretaries, and they would be expected to be discreet and confidential in their dealings.
• Time management: Time management is an important part of the job, especially in legal cases where submissions and other filings need to be made before a certain date. Legal secretaries have to manage their time effectively to meet their busy schedules.

Legal Secretary Tips

Here are some practical tips for aspiring legal secretaries:

• Gain Knowledge of the Law: Although legal secretaries are not required to be lawyers, having a basic understanding of legal terminology and procedures is beneficial. Take courses in legal studies or legal terminology.
• Practice typing and document formatting: Legal secretaries must be able to type quickly and accurately. Type often, and hone your document formatting to professional standards.
• Organize Your Files and Notes: Create systems to manage your work, including files, appointments, and deadlines. File management is especially important in a legal setting.
• Find internships and apprenticeships: Applying for internships and apprenticeships in law firms is a good way of gaining practical skills and valuable contacts in your field.
• Keep Up To Date With Legal Software: Some law firms use legal case management software to organize their cases, documents, and billing. You should keep up to date with the latest legal case management software to be competitive in the job market.

Legal Secretary Requirements

There are no academic qualifications needed to become a legal secretary. Still, employers usually want candidates with previous qualifications or experience. Below is an overview of the most usual requirements:

• Education: Legal secretaries must have at least a secondary school education, including GCSEs in English and math. While a degree is not vital, many legal secretaries have qualifications such as a qualification in legal studies, a national vocational qualification (NVQ) in administration or business, or a foundation degree in legal services.
• Legal Secretarial Qualifications: Many legal secretaries have one or more courses or diplomas in legal secretarial work, such as a CILEx Level 2 Certificate/Diploma for Legal Secretaries or a CILEx Level 3 Certificate/Diploma for more advanced knowledge covering legal terminology, document preparation and office skills.
• Work Experience: The ideal candidate will have some experience in an office or administrative role. This is because a candidate who has previously worked in a legal environment or had a previous engagement in a secretarial role will have relevant experience.
• IT and Typing Skills: Legal secretaries must be proficient in Microsoft Office (especially Word and Excel) and legal software and have good typing speed and accuracy (usually 60+ words per minute).

How to Become a Legal Secretary

Here’s a step-by-step guide to becoming a legal secretary in the UK:

• Secondary education: First, acquire your GCSEs, with English, math, and IT skills as a priority; administrative work relies on these.
• Earn a Legal Secretary Qualification: Gain a legal secretary qualification. A good place to start is with a CILEx Certificate/Diploma in Legal Secretarial Work, which offers specific legal administration and secretarial training and specialization in document creation and legal office practice.
• Build Administrative Skills: Cultivate typing and IT skills and your organizational ability. If possible, acquire administrative experience to demonstrate that you can file, schedule, and perform other office functions.
• Look for Legal Secretary Roles: Apply for entry-level Legal Secretary roles with law firms, government agencies, or corporate legal departments. Make sure your CV highlights your qualifications and administrative and detail-oriented skills.
• Continue Professional Development: Once you have your job, consider what additional qualifications you can gain or attend legal workshops to ensure you are up to date with changes in the legal profession.

Get Qualified as a Legal Secretary

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why Should You Become a Legal Secretary?

Working as a legal secretary can unlock the chance for you to work in a fast-paced environment while providing administrative support to those working in meaningful careers. Legal secretaries are integral to the operation of law firms and legal departments, and the role can lead to many exciting opportunities in the legal profession.

Is Being a Legal Secretary a Good Career Choice for You?

If you enjoy details, like being organized, and aren’t intimidated by legal documents, the legal secretary role could be perfect for you. It’s a great job for people who like working in an organized, deadline-driven environment and are keen to support legal professionals in doing their work.

Legal Secretary Salaries

Salaries for legal secretaries in the UK average between £18,000 and £45,000. Employees with more experience, working in a larger firm or a larger geographical area, can expect to receive compensation closer to the higher end of this range. The least amount of money a legal secretary can expect to be paid is around £18,000 for entry-level positions, with legal secretaries in larger firms typically receiving up to £45,000 or more.

Which Qualifications Can Help with a Career as a Legal Secretary?

Suitable qualifications include the CILEx Certificate/Diploma for legal secretaries or a Level 3 Legal Secretarial Diploma at a further education college. These courses offer a mix of legal terminology, document preparation, administrative skills, and software, laying a good foundation for a career as a legal secretary.

Do I Need Experience to Get Started as a Legal Secretary?

Although experience isn’t required for entry-level jobs, you could stand out by having some administrative or secretarial experience—or any work experience in a legal office. Many firms look upon internships or apprenticeships in a solicitor’s office favorably. As a legal secretary, employers want to see that you already have the necessary skills to work in an office.

Legal Secretary Career Outlook

There is a consistent demand for legal secretaries since law firms and legal departments need staff to keep administrative tasks running smoothly. Legal secretaries with good IT skills, an understanding of legal software, and previous experience in specific areas of law (e.g., corporate law or intellectual property) will have the best prospects for finding jobs and progressing. As the legal industry moves with the times and uses more and more technological tools, secretaries must be flexible and prepared to keep learning new ways of working.

Legal Secretary Hierarchy and Progressing Within the Role

Some legal secretaries gain experience, take on more responsibility, or specialize in a particular area of law; a long-serving legal secretary may be promoted to a senior legal secretary or even an executive assistant. Some legal secretaries may become paralegals, assuming more substantive legal duties such as conducting research for attorneys or assisting them in preparing litigation cases.

For those wanting to advance their legal careers, achieving extra qualifications, such as a CILEx Level 3 Professional Diploma in Law and Practice or becoming a paralegal, can open new roles in the legal sector.

Legal Secretary Exit Options and Opportunities

With a few years’ experience, legal secretaries can transition into legal office management, overseeing law firms’ or legal departments’ administrative functions. They can also move into paralegal positions or more broadly defined legal support roles with more responsibility and advancement opportunities. Lastly, many skills acquired as a legal secretary—including attention to detail, document management, and client-facing interaction—can be transferred to other administrative or executive assistant roles in other sectors.