Legal Secretary

Becoming a Legal Secretary requires a High School diploma or equivalency such as GED in the United States. Start your research for local community colleges and trade schools in your area offering Legal Secretarial classes. You should also inquire about the tuition costs and possible financial assistance. Private schools will tend to be more expensive than your local community colleges.

Today you will see a lot of advertisement for schools on-line. Personally, I don't know anyone who has studied through an on-line school, so I can't recommend any schools on-line. For anyone who is already a secretary and has the experience and knowledge of such an office work environment, I think on-line classes would be acceptable. But for the new student it is best to get as much one-on-one experience as possible. The people interaction and multitasking are a great confidence builder when you enter your new career

Working as a legal secretary in any law office, means you will be assisting attorneys by typing legal forms such as contracts, agreements, other miscellaneous documents, to drafting simple letters and memos. You may possibly screen phone calls, handle travel arrangements, fill out expense reports and handle document filing among many other tasks. However, more and more of these tasks are being completed on a computer.

Computers have definitely changed so many aspects of office work. Rapid changes in computer software necessitates that your technology skills remain current. One positive aspect, is that most law firms will offer free in-house training and although some classes may be optional, most will be mandatory. This makes you a valuable employee, allows you to be more efficient and handle any challenges in your current position (as well as in any future positions).

A legal secretary working with attorneys in the litigation area of law will perform different types of work than a legal secretary who assists attorneys in the patents and licensing area of law. For example, a tax litigation case filed by the IRS against a defendant will involve preparing legal documents that are different from legal documents required for processing patents for licensing.

In some areas of law, such as trial litigation, the work performed by a legal secretary can be very challenging and fast paced because there are more frequent and immediate deadlines when a case actually goes to trial. Whereas in other areas of law, such as health law or employee benefits law, the deadlines are not as immediate.

Although litigation is very fast paced and exciting, especially the phase when a case goes to trial, you will definitely be working as a team with other secretaries, paralegals and attorneys involved in a case. Each team member will receive specific responsibilities, which will entail great multi-tasking, voluminous document filing responsibilities, keeping track of deposition witness logs and lists, preparing schedules for expert witness depositions, and other parties involved, to possibly handling travel arrangements for the various witnesses that will be testifying. You must work with many deadlines and for some types of cases travel may be required. As part of the trial team, you may be required to travel to the appropriate venue, which is the location where the case will be tried. Then there is always the possibility that a case will settle.

Several acquaintances have informed me about what it's like to work in different areas of law. One friend told me that her legal secretarial position in a corporation's patents and licensing department entailed assisting several patent attorneys (who were also chemists, biochemists and chemical engineers). This type of work also involved working with scientific documents on a daily basis. Preparing patents and licensing documents for filing with the Patents and Trademarks division in Washington, DC is just part of the process. There are many other related forms and documents that are required if this process is to be filed internationally as well. The legal secretarial work involved in assisting attorneys in this field is very technical.

Another friend of mine told me that working for a maritime attorney involved typing many international contracts, agreements, letters, memos, as well as arranging international meetings and travel plans. Because many of their clients are located around the world and international documents are involved, she learned to use various interpreting services. Some international documents require notarization from international consulates, many of which she handles personally.

Another friend of mine works in the litigation department of a larger law firm and basically handles similar work as described above except that she works for three persons instead of one attorney, and because she works in a larger law firm, the firm provides services such as a typing center, a copy service center, library and file department to which she can send typing and copying projects, request research and related project files. All of these services are very helpful, especially before and during a trial.

Some tips to keep in mind when you are searching for a legal secretarial position is that different areas of law entail different duties. Benefits may be somewhat comparable in different sized law firms, but try to select an area of law that will be the most compatible for you. Contacting acquaintances, friends and family that may be able to help by recommending you is great, but keep in mind that the experience level for every legal secretarial position is very specific, so your training and experience may have to be appropriate for the position. When you are first starting out, you will find that there are many entry level positions that offer very excellent opportunities to learn and gain experience. Once you've gained legal secretarial experience in any law field, finding the next legal secretarial position in a different law field, be it at a law firm or corporation, will always be a greater experience.

In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secretaries help by preparing and filing legal documents, such as appeals or motions. It is not unusual for a larger firm to place managerial duties on a particular legal secretary. Much like a paralegal, a legal secretary is responsible for locating relevant information for cases. This type of person would be called a "paralegal" in the United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, a legal secretary is a secretary experienced in working for a law firm or in-house legal department.

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Your resume has always been the best way to get yourself in the door. Today the graduate has a lot more options for finding that first legal secretary job. The internet has definitely changed the playing field. There are many Job sites all over the internet today that allow you to put your resume on line. For employers, this gives them a chance to search out potential prospects for the positions they have available. A lot of people swear by Craig's List for finding the right jobs. But the actual school you attend has the best chance of helping you with your new career, employers sometimes seek out legal secretary students because it is easier for them to verify their experience by the grade they just received and the schools report on your progress from attendance to the wardrobe you wear. Professionalism will always be to your advantage!

Employment change. Employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 22 percent between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations. Employers are trying to reduce costs and increase the availability and efficiency of legal services by hiring paralegals to perform tasks once done by lawyers. Paralegals are performing a wider variety of duties, making them more useful to businesses.

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