The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs
Dedicated to your career every step of the way
Legal Secretary Careers
The legal profession exists to put law into practice and includes many different roles such as Judges, Barristers, Solicitors, Legal Executives, Paralegals, Legal Secretaries and PAs. Legal Secretaries are a very important part of the legal profession. They help lawyers with their work and are an integral part of a team of legal professionals.
To become a competent and qualified Legal Secretary, we recommend ILSPA's Legal Secretary courses. Our courses are suitable for beginners, experienced Legal Secretaries as well as law graduates. These are highly valued in the legal industry, and recognised by law firms and legal recruiters. To secure employment, take a look at our ILSPA's Legal Secretary Jobs Board.
Salaries for Legal Secretaries can vary greatly depending on their skills and experience, the type of firm where the role is based, and the area in which the firm is located. In London, salaries can start at around £20,000 per year and increase to as much as £45,000 per year. The more experienced gained, the higher the salary.
The Legal Secretary Role
A wealth of skills are required for a Legal Secretary role, including secretarial, administrative, legal and IT, together with an excellent standard of spoken and written English. Legal Secretaries can work in law firms as well as other legal environments such as Barristers' Chambers, Law Courts, the Police Service or Local Authorities.
Legal Secretary work varies greatly as there are many different areas of law and practice, such as conveyancing, probate, litigation, family law and criminal law. Legal Secretaries find their careers enjoyable and rewarding as their work can be very interesting. Legal Secretaries produce legal documents, complete legal forms, type professional correspondence from dictation, liaise with clients and respond to enquiries, as well as performing many other important duties.
Career prospects are very good, and you can obtain a higher position and salary through gaining experience. Legal Secretaries can be promoted to positions that give them more responsibility, or they can work their way up through the legal profession, going on to become Paralegals or Legal Executives with the right training. Their role provides them with a good grounding in law and legal procedures, and valuable experience can be gained on the job.
The Legal PA Role
Legal PAs act as personal assistants to one or more bosses and deliver a very high-quality service to their clients. They can be the first point of contact and sometimes make decisions on behalf of their bosses.
They can do similar work to Legal Secretaries but often take on more responsibility with senior administrative tasks such as marketing or dealing with accounts and budgets. They are responsible for managing personal timetables and diaries, together with organising events and engagements and making travel arrangements. Legal PAs are greatly depended upon by their bosses and need to be reliable and committed.
General Duties
- Producing and completing legal documents and forms
- Sending professional correspondence through the post and via email
- Answering telephone calls and providing accurate information
- Typing letters and legal documents from dictation
- Organising and filing
- Recording important dates and information
- Diary management
- Preparing court forms and statements
- Attending court
- Arranging appointments and meetings
- Liaising with clients
- Performing legal research
