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In a law firm, a legal secretary increases attorney efficiency by providing administrative support. These workers, often known as legal assistants, perform an important role in a law office by preparing court papers, keeping attorney calendars, and typing court minutes.
Legal secretaries are responsible for a variety of responsibilities. Producing legal papers, filling up legal forms, drafting professional letters from dictation, interacting with clients, and responding to inquiries are all part of the job. They can relieve attorneys of time-consuming duties ranging from filing and photocopying to more complicated tasks such as scheduling meetings and conducting legal research.
Skill | Why it’s important |
Writing Skills | Writing is a vital component of the legal secretary’s job that everyone who works in the field or wants to work in it, should have. Secretaries are extremely important to attorneys for preparing regular correspondence and filing memoranda. Proofreading legal papers such as pleadings, briefs, discovery, and transactions is also a need. |
Listening & Skills Communication | Legal secretaries should be able to decipher legal jargon and use it appropriately and when necessary. They must also be able to comprehend and execute directions that require little or no follow-up. |
Research Skills | If legal secretaries want to advance in their careers, they must be able to do research. When a secretary is looking for papers for an attorney or finding an expert witness for a lawsuit, for example, research abilities are essential. |
Reliability | When a legal secretary completes a task within a set timeline, he or she is considered to be dependable. Secretaries with dependability qualities can devote the time and effort required to complete the responsibilities that have been given to them. |
A skilled legal secretary is needed to handle a variety of administrative and secretarial responsibilities at our law practice. Your primary purpose as a legal secretary is to assist attorneys by doing a variety of secretarial tasks such as attending court sessions, reviewing case material, organizing meetings, and filing legal papers.
The ideal applicant will be pleasant and professional, in addition to being a good written and verbal communicator. To be effective in this position, you must have a thorough understanding of legal procedures and terminology.
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Once you gather up all the received applications, you can use these sample interview questions for Legal Secretary. These can help you narrow down your choices and pick the most suitable candidate for the job.
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Technical Skills and Knowledge
A high school diploma or a GED certificate is required to work as a legal secretary. You should concentrate on developing your grammar and writing abilities, as well as your database management and word processing skills, while in high school.
A Legal Secretary can often earn between $18 to $31 hourly. The annual wage can go from $37,201 to $65,110. But, these wages can depend on many factors, such as working expertise and job area.
Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% (Median) | 75% | 90% |
Hourly Wage | $18 | $21 | $24 | $28 | $31 |
Annual Wage | $37,201 | $43,418 | $50,248 | $58,027 | $65,110 |
Although these terms are frequently used interchangeably, they are vastly different. A paralegal is a person who aids and contributes to the work of attorneys. They may prepare legal papers, and this role requires additional knowledge. Paralegals, on the other hand, may assist with clerical work, but it is not one of their major responsibilities.
Knowledge of legal language and processes, as well as time management and computer literacy, would be beneficial to aspiring legal secretaries. All of them will come in handy while doing research, utilizing billing software, and making spreadsheets.
Although certain professions may not require much experience, it is always desirable. Starting as a legal receptionist is a good way for a prospective legal secretary to get on-the-job training.
This varies since there are several paths to becoming a legal secretary. Although degrees are not necessary, some level of education and experience is desirable. Given this, the road to becoming a legal secretary may be shorter than anticipated in terms of professional advancement.