As a legal secretary apprentice, you are a crucial legal team member since you ensure that the department runs smoothly. You support lawyers with legal research and scheduling by doing administrative activities. Because the job entails routine administrative tasks like answering phones, writing detailed reports, and communicating with expert witnesses, most legal secretaries have various skills. You must be conversant with legal terms, procedures, and papers due to the intricacies of your obligations. In addition, you must be highly organised and detail-oriented to accomplish several assignments and meet deadlines.
You’ll be performing a lot of writing as a legal secretary, from meeting transcription to letters, notes, and legal documents. You also analyse legal documents before delivering them and submit client paperwork. As a legal secretary, you may work for a law firm or the government. Some legal secretaries work for judges and attorneys in the public sector. You may also work in the business sector for organisations having legal departments, such as multinational corporations and media companies.
Responsibilities
Throughout your apprenticeship, you may help:
- produce legal documents like wills and contracts
- prepare court forms and statements
- handle confidential information
- work from solicitors’ written notes and audio files (dictation)
- deal with clients
- make appointments and manage diaries
- accompany solicitors to court or police stations
- deliver and collect documents
- do general administrative work like record keeping and filing.
Salary
- Apprentice legal secretaries earn £20,000
- Experienced legal secretaries can earn up to £45,000 per year.
Working hours
Most legal secretaries work 36 to 38 hours weekly, with regular office hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. At times, you may be needed to work overtime, and your responsibilities may stretch into the weekends and evenings. While most jobs are full-time, a legal secretary looking for flexibility can obtain part-time work. In addition, some legal secretaries work as temporary workers on short-term contracts.
Working environment
You could work in an office, in a court or at a police station.
Qualifications
Qualifications you can achieve as an apprentice legal secretary include:
- Level 3 Paralegal – Entry requirements for this level include 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship. This qualification will take 24 months to complete.
Skills
On a legal secretary apprenticeship, you’ll learn:
- administration skills
- legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- concentration skills
- the ability to use your initiative
- customer service skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently.
Career path and progression
In larger businesses, you might progress to senior secretary, PA, or office manager with experience.
You may become a legal executive, paralegal, or licenced conveyancer with more training.
You could work as a solicitor or barrister.