If you are thinking of applying for a legal secretary job its important to understand what exactly the job entails. We’ve come up with eight duties which are common to many legal secretaries.

Plan and Organise Schedules – Solicitors are very busy people, so it’s important to keep their diary and schedule well organised. Solicitors usually charge their clients by the time they spend down to the minute. As a consequence it’s really important for legal secretaries to help create an organised schedule.

Prepare Documents – There are all kinds of documents that are created in law firms for both internal and external purposes. Often the legal secretary will be responsible for producing these documents. The paper work can vary from law firm to law firm, client to client but the responsibility usually falls upon the legal secretary.

File Legal Documents – If a case is going to court a lot of paperwork is usually required. At many law firms legal secretaries submit and produce these forms on behalf of their solicitors. They require meticulous attention to detail and obsessive accuracy. Each of the documents is hugely important so a legal secretary needs to be trustworthy.

Assist Trial Preparation – The solicitor is responsible for much of research that goes into a trial, however a significant proportion of the preparation is carried out by the legal secretary. Because of these responsibilities it’s important that you have a good understanding of the basics of law and a passion to learn more.

Type Letters to Clients – there is a lot of typing in the job. If you have great touch typing skills you are going to be a popular legal secretary. Legal documents can be long and there is often a great deal of the correspondence between solicitors and clients so typing up letters is likely to take up a significant proportion of a legal secretary’s time.

Carry Out Research – as precedent is such an important part of the legal process high quality comprehensive research is vital. As a solicitors’ time is at such a premium often the duty of research falls to their legal secretary.

Maintains Files – Legal cases can quickly become complicated beasts. Because accurate documentation is so important, the organisation of the client files is an art in itself. Legal secretaries usually provide this administrative support to the law firm they work for.

Meets Clients – one of the most enjoyable aspects of a job in law is the contact with clients. As the legal proceedings are so important to the clients they really appreciate the help and attention of a professional legal secretary.

Robert Proctor
http://www.legalweek.com