what is a legal secretary?
As a legal secretary, you are a vital legal team member since you ensure the department runs smoothly. You perform administrative duties and support lawyers with legal research and schedules. Most legal secretaries possess various skills since the role involves traditional administrative duties like answering phones, creating detailed reports and conversing with expert witnesses. With the complexity of your duties, you should be conversant with legal terms, procedures and documentation. You should also be highly organised and attentive to details to perform various assignments and meet deadlines.
what does a legal secretary do?
As a legal secretary, your work involves a lot of writing, from transcribing meetings to correspondence, memos and legal paperwork. You also proofread legal documents before mailing them and filing clients' paperwork.You work in a law firm or government agency as a legal secretary. Some legal secretaries work for judges and attorneys in the public sector. You also work for companies with legal departments like multinational corporations, mining companies and media firms in the corporate sector.
available jobs in legalaverage legal secretary salary
The median salary of a legal secretary is $70,000 per year. Entry-level legal secretaries have minimal experience and transferrable skills and take home a salary of $60,000 annually. Top-level legal secretaries with many years of experience perform complex roles without supervision. Hence, their remuneration package is $80,000 per year. Aside from the base salaries, some employers provide incentives like bonuses and overtime pay to employees.
what factors affect the salary of a legal secretary?
The remuneration package of a legal secretary relies on the employer and qualifications. Working for the government or public sector limits your earnings depending on your rank and the government institution. For instance, legal secretaries working for judges are likely to earn more due to the complexity of the role. However, the median remuneration package is still lower than the private sector. Salaries in the private sector depend on the company size. Suppose you work for a relatively new firm. In that case, you are likely to earn less than someone working in a multinational company.
Metro areas and large cities have a high demand for legal secretaries due to the high number of law firms or private companies. The demand, and the high cost of living, increase your remuneration prospects.
Want to know what you will earn as a legal secretary? Check out what you are worth with our salary checker.
types of legal secretaries
Some of the legal secretaries include:
- litigation assistant: as a litigation assistant, you provide support in various realms of law where legal action has been taken. That means you may work in bankruptcy, intellectual property and personal injury cases. Your job is to gather facts relevant to the case by interviewing witnesses and finding evidence to support your client's claims. Sometimes you write press releases to control the public perception of a case.
- judicial legal secretary: your job is to assist judges with administrative work. You maintain their schedule and organise legal documents for various cases. The job also involves transcribing dictations and researching precedence and application of laws.
- corporate legal secretary: when you are a corporate legal secretary, you work for a specific company and ensure they don't break any laws. You assist the legal team with writing contracts and staying up-to-date with the changing regulations.
- criminal legal secretary: your job as the criminal legal secretary is to help lawyers with criminal cases. You organise discovery files and research loopholes in the prosecution case to assist your client. You also accompany lawyers to court to ensure they have the documents for the case.
working as a legal secretary
Working as a legal secretary allows you to assist various lawyers and judges. Here is a look at legal secretaries' specific duties, work environments and career prospects:
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legal secretary job description
The work of a legal secretary varies depending on the legal environment. Some of the tasks include:
- preparing correspondence and legal documents: as a legal secretary, you respond to emails and receive letters on behalf of lawyers. You also write down various legal documents and agreements used in litigation. For instance, you prepare deeds and agreements for land sales and sale contracts for property purchases. You also write affidavits, wills and briefs from dictation and handwritten notes. After writing the documents, it is crucial to proofread them for errors and ensure they comply with legal requirements.
- managing schedules and appointments: your primary duty as a legal secretary is to support attorneys, lawyers and other legal professionals. That means you organise their schedule and ensure they meet with clients on time. You also attend appointments, client interviews and hearings to write notes and later present reports to the lawyers.
- assisting in research: as a legal secretary, you collect all the relevant facts concerning a case and document findings from interviews. You find out previous court rulings and precedents related to a case. You also evaluate legal publications and materials to identify the best approach for the case.
- organising legal documents: when the opposing counsel sends discovery documents of the complaint, your job is to sort them. You organise the files and ensure the lawyer goes through them. You should be conversant with every relevant document for easy retrieval during court procedures. Since you are in charge of the filling system, you should ensure the documents are in order.
- attending court: as a legal secretary, part of your job is to write notes and witness statements in court sessions. You also provide relevant information for rebuttals and assist lawyers in finding the required documents during legal proceedings.
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work environment
As a legal secretary, you work in law firms, corporate settings and government agencies. Regardless of your employer, your work setting is indoors in a well-ventilated office environment. You spend long periods standing or sitting when researching and completing your clerical duties. As a legal secretary, you meet with various people during interviews and daily meetings. Sometimes, you work outdoors when researching cases. Legal secretaries also spend considerable time in courtrooms during hearings and negotiation tables in corporate offices. As a legal secretary, you should maintain a professional dress code during work hours.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer and the industry you work in, your colleagues might include paralegals, lawyers and judges. You might also be working in close proximity to administration assistants and office managers, as well as other specialists that could include, but not be limited to, accountants, receptionists and office administrators.
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work schedule
Most legal secretaries work between 36 to 38 hours a week with the regular 9 am to 5 pm office hours. Sometimes, you work overtime, and your duties may extend to weekends and evenings. While most jobs are full-time, a legal secretary looking for flexible work can find a part-time job. Some legal secretaries also work temporary positions on short-term contracts.
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job outlook
As a legal secretary, your job falls between traditional administrative and paralegal responsibilities. You can improve your educational qualifications and skills to become a paralegal or lawyer. Alternatively, branch out to become an executive assistant or office manager and work in a corporate environment. You can also specialise in specific aspects of law like corporate or criminal cases.
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advantages of finding a legal secretary job through randstad
Finding your legal secretary job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a legal secretary is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too.
education and skills
You don't require educational skills in a legal background to become a legal secretary in Australia. You can join the profession from an admin assistant role. However, the following academic qualifications improve your employment opportunities:
- education: to undertake qualifications in legal studies, you should complete your Year 10 or have at least a year of vocational experience. Some legal secretaries get a Certificate IV in legal services from vocational education training. To further your career, you should undertake a diploma in paralegal services or a certificate in paralegal practice.
- work experience: it is important to have work experience in administrative or secretarial duties. You should also consider internships to boost your experience in the legal field.
legal secretary skills and competencies
As a legal secretary, the following skills help you excel:
- technology skills: lawyers and attorneys rely on tech-savvy legal secretaries to organise computer files, prepare presentations, audit timesheets, write spreadsheets and type documents. You also manage the software applications used to manage a law office.
- interpersonal skills: you interact daily with paralegals, clients and opposing counsel. Hence, communication and interpersonal skills are vital. Interpersonal skills help you listen to others and collaborate with them. The skills also promote emotional intelligence and improve formality.
- organisation skills: as a legal secretary, you are the right-hand person of an attorney or lawyer. You need organisational skills to run a law office smoothly. For instance, you manage electronic files, maintain calendars, schedule meetings and organise events.
- transcription skills: as a legal secretary, you require transcription skills to excel in your role. You require fast typing speed and active listening skills to comprehend voice dictation.
FAQs about working as a legal secretary
Here are the most asked questions about working as a legal secretary:
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what does a legal secretary earn in Australia?
As a legal secretary, your remuneration package is $70,000 annually. Work experience and academic qualifications usually determine the salary structure. For instance, in entry-level jobs, you receive a salary of $60,000 annually, while experienced legal secretaries earn $80,000 yearly. Some organisations also provide bonuses and overtime pay for working additional hours.
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what is the difference between a legal secretary and a paralegal?
A paralegal is a legal practitioner working under an attorney. A legal secretary focuses on administrative duties and running an office or legal department. A paralegal usually works with minimal supervision assisting lawyers on cases and drafting legal documents. As a legal secretary, you perform clerical duties like maintaining the filing system and recording clients' billable hours.
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what does a legal secretary do?
A legal secretary performs administrative and clerical duties. That involves transcribing client recordings and drafting files and legal documents. You are also the bookkeeper of the lawyer or judge you're assisting. That means you record information on bills and keep tabs on the office petty cash. Your job also involves organising schedules and appointments or assisting with research.
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is a legal secretary a promising career?
Working as a legal secretary has promising career prospects. It is the best way to join the legal team. You can become a paralegal from a legal secretary position before furthering your skills to become a lawyer. Alternatively, some legal secretaries specialise in administrative functions to become executive assistants, office managers or office administrators.
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how do I apply for a legal secretary vacancy?
Applying for a legal secretary job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our legal secretary job offers. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here.
