Institute of Legal Secretaries and PA's

Career Guidance

If you would like advice and support regarding your career we are happy to help you.

Members receive help to secure employment through step-by-step CV advice and career guidance. Your CV is the first impression you will make on a potential employer, so it is important that it is of a high standard and shows your full capabilities, skills and experience. Our career guidance manual and specialist advice will provide you with information on how to go about finding legal secretarial work, where to look for jobs and attending interviews.

Our Legal Secretary jobs board holds vacancies from law firms and recruitment agencies throughout the country. You can greatly improve your job prospects by registering with us and uploading your CV to show your availability for work. We also have partnerships with jobsites, which you can find in the recruitment section of our website. They have a wide range of vacancies for Legal Secretaries and PAs and are keen for our Members to register with them.

If you are just starting your career as a Legal Secretary, do not be discouraged by job adverts which ask for people with experience. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and every experienced Legal Secretary was once inexperienced. With the right attitude, determination, skills and qualifications, you can achieve your goal. Many of our Students have managed to secure legal secretarial positions on the strength of the Legal Secretaries Diploma.

Legal Secretaries and PAs are in great demand. They help lawyers with their work and they are an integral part of a team of legal professionals. Career prospects are very good, as the more experience gained, the higher your salary. Legal Secretaries can be promoted to PAs or Office Managers, and some go on to become Paralegals or Legal Executives with the right training, as their role provides them with a good grounding in law and legal procedures.

Salaries vary greatly depending on the area of the country you live in, the firm you work for, the position you obtain and what experience you have. Take a look at the positions available on our jobs board and through our recruitment partners to see what Legal Secretaries earn in your area at different levels.

The Legal Secretary

Legal Secretaries help with the smooth running of law firms and can work in barristers’ chambers, local authorities, law courts and with the police. They have a wealth of professional skills and overall they must be excellent secretaries with an understanding of law and legal procedures. The work can be challenging and demanding, so being calm and confident is essential.

General duties

  • Producing and completing legal documents, forms and letters
  • Organising and filing correspondence, legal forms and documents
  • Answering telephone calls and taking accurate messages
  • Compiling letters and legal documents from dictation
  • Preparing court forms and statements
  • Attending court
  • Arranging appointments and meetings
  • Liaising with clients
  • Performing legal research

The work of Legal Secretaries varies greatly, as law and legal procedures do. Areas such as conveyancing, probate, litigation, personal injury, family law and criminal law are common to work in and valuable experience can be gained on the job. Legal Secretaries find their careers enjoyable and rewarding as they work on interesting cases, are given important responsibilities, liaise with a diversity of clients and are at the heart of the legal profession.

There are no set entry requirements for this job, but it is important to have good secretarial skills together with an understanding of law and legal procedures. It is beneficial to acquire the relevant legal knowledge and skills if you would like the best chance of securing a position although some law firms offer training programs enabling you to train on the job.

The Legal PA

Legal Personal Assistants can perform similar legal work to Legal Secretaries but they usually work for just one person in a firm. They furnish clients with a high-quality service and can be the first point of contact, making decisions on behalf of their bosses.

Legal PAs take on more responsibility with senior administrative tasks such as marketing or dealing with accounts and budgets. They act in a personal way for their bosses and are responsible for managing the boss’s personal timetable and diary, together with organising events, engagements and making travel arrangements.

Legal PAs are highly depended upon by their bosses and need to be reliable and committed.