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Working Towards A Legal Secretarial Course

There are no precisely defined routes into the role of Legal Secretary, but there are some key skills that many employers will be looking for. First of all let's get into what a legal secretary does, and then go through the kind of training options available to develop your skills.

Essentially you will be expected to have excellent typing skills as the bulk of the work involves preparing legal documents. In addition, those who work for small companies may well cover general administrative tasks as well. Equally you might have to deal with legal enquiries from potential clients, or even take notes in court.

If you've already had secretarial training or experience, you may want to take a specialist course to improve your skill-set for the industry. The legal profession is split into civil law and criminal law, and most lawyers will focus on just one. Consequently a legal secretary's work could range from Conveyancing to Probate to Divorce settlements. If you're the only legal secretary working in a small office, the diversity of your work is likely to be greater than if you work with many others in a big office.

Whichever type of law firm you work for, you will spend most of your time in the office. The work is mostly done during standard office hours, and although positions are usually full-time you will find some part-time work being advertised. A legal secretary with a good skill level and several years experience can earn a very nice salary - indeed sought after professionals would expect upwards of twenty eight to thirty thousand a year.

Training To Become A Legal Secretary

What exactly does it take to become a legal secretary? Touch typing, audio and shorthand skills are essential, plus a good knowledge of how to use basic computer software.

Painstaking attention to detail will be needed alongside an appreciation of legal terminology and concepts.

Whilst there are no real minimum qualifications to starting as a Legal Secretary, employers may look for GCSE's (especially in English and Maths.) Without doubt the one thing you must be confident about is your spelling. As Microsoft Office products are the industry standard, you should be able to demonstrate advanced skills in Microsoft Word. Most legal secretaries can also use PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel. You should pass the ECDL in the first instance, to get you off to a good start. For more professional administrative skills, look into taking a certification such as MCAS.

Various training colleges are featured here, so why not Bookmark this page for easy reference? Then you can come back at your convenience to review the options.

You'll find that general secretarial (Pitman/OCR) and/or business administration qualifications can be very helpful. As many people want to get into this type of work, you need to have a good edge. When you get a chance to let an employer know what you can do, be sure to display the characteristics that they're looking for. (Watch your CV - in a job that places priority on accuracy of documentation, you don't want to drop a clanger here!)

What's the Next Stage?

As we mentioned earlier many companies are highly specialised, and so legal secretaries often receive training on specifics once they're in the job. So for example the law firm might have their own training programme for new employees, or they might allow time for college or home study.

Training courses for legal secretaries cover a broad range of disciplines. In the first place you need to have an understanding about the key factors concerning legal documentation. You'll probably cover information about court procedure and how laws are arrived at. The real meat will cover the specific subject matter that your employer's work involves, which for example could be Wills & Probate, Property Law or Family Law.

Professional training to become a Legal Secretary usually costs in the region of 600 to 850 pounds, but expect to pay more in some areas.

This would not include the ECDL/MOS/MCAS or other IT/Computer training program (which can run from 100-1000 pounds or more - depending on the certification level desired.) Some training requires college attendance, but more usually courses can be taken in your own time on a distance learning basis.

How To Go On To Become A Legal Executive

Many Legal Secretaries eventually go on to study a Legal Executive programme. Legal Executives duties fall between the Legal Secretary and those of the full lawyer. The work is very similar to that of a solicitor, but Legal Execs cannot represent clients in the High Court. However, with the extended rights of audience now in place, there are many Legal Executives who can represent their clients in County Courts, Family Proceedings Courts and the Magistrates Courts. Any work they do will of course depend upon the subject matter they've trained in. Most of the wide ranges of disciplines open to other lawyers are also open to legal execs.

Our aim in this information sheet has been to give you a taste of how life could be for you as a professional Legal Secretary. It's down to you now to explore how you can turn your dreams and goals into reality.