The October edition of our Legal Secretary Journal has been published.

As always, be have provided useful articles which are suitable for trainee and experienced Legal Secretaries. Whether you are wanting to secure your first role as a Legal Secretary or you are experienced and want to advance your professional skills, we have presented topics that will appeal to you.

We were delighted to talk to Karen Chirnside who is one of our Fellowship Members and was awarded lifetime Membership by her firm Roche Legal. Karen has worked as a Legal Secretary/PA for over 32 years. She provides a great insight …

Last year, over 2000 legal professionals completed the TotallyLegal salary survey, allowing them to put together an audience insights report that revealed details about the professional lives of the participants.

The survey demographics showed that in 2017 Legal PAs were one of the most likely job titles to receive a pay increase, with 61% of Legal PA respondents taking home a higher salary year on year.

There was, however, significant salary imbalance between genders in Legal PA roles, with male legal PAs taking home more per year than their female counterparts. The gender pay gap for Legal PAs was the largest job …

There are some great vacancies on ILSPA's Legal Secretary Jobs Board at present. If you are new to the legal field, you might be looking for a trainee or junior position to get your foot in the door. When performing a search for a trainee position, make sure that you put 'Trainee Legal Secretary' or 'Junior Legal Secretary' in the 'Job Role' section of the search box on our jobs board. In doing this, you will bring up results that are specifically suited to your level of experience.

You can see an example of a search performed for a Trainee Legal Secretary role in …

When working as a Legal Secretary or PA, your daily role will involve you having to communicate with a wide range of different people. Whether you are taking instructions from your boss, giving information to clients or liaising with your colleagues to gain advice, you will need to be able to communicate effectively.

Good communication skills are a key part of being a successful Legal Secretary. They are also of great benefit to you in your personal life. So, why not think about taking a course to improve these skills? We could all do with learning how to communicate better in life. …

If you are interested in enrolling on our next evening class which starts on Wednesday 24 October, we have an early bird discount available at the moment. To receive £100 off the course fee all you need to do is enrol before the 1 October. This means that the course fee will be £700 instead of £800. You can pay in full or by interest free instalments.

ILSPA's Legal Secretaries Diploma course is recognised by law firms and legal recruiters. It will provide you with the legal knowledge and practical skills you need to become a competent Legal Secretary. You do …

In this month's edition of our Legal Secretary Journal, we published an article which provides advice to new Legal Secretaries and PAs. We spoke to a range of experienced Legal Secretaries/PAs and gained some excellent insights. One of the most interesting questions we posed to them was 'What is your favourite thing about your role?' We received some great answers like:

'I really enjoy working directly with clients to help and guide them through the legal system and to give support and understanding where required. I also enjoy drafting work and performing research for upcoming projects/events.' 

Karen Chirnside, Legal PA …

There are many benefits of becoming a VA. One of the main benefits is being your own boss. Imagine being able to dictate your own workload and timetable, as well as have a better work/life balance!

If you are a competent Legal Secretary or PA, this is a career option you could seriously consider. Maybe you have a young child who you would like to spend more time with at home, or maybe you have had enough of working within an office environment. There are many resources out there which can help you achieve your goal and understand the ins and outs of being a Virtual Assistant. …

Just a little reminder to submit a nomination for Legal PA of the Year as the deadline is approaching soon! If you’re a dedicated Legal PA or have a colleague who you think should be recognised for their hard work, please submit your nomination as soon as possible. Winning Legal PA of the Year is a fantastic accomplishment to achieve in your career.

Last years' PA of the Year winner was Lynn Lennox, who is PA to a Director at The Law Society. The year before we are very proud to say that one of our graduates, Georgie Theobald, (pictured) won the title! …

After studying the Legal Secretaries Diploma and gaining your qualification, you will be ready to start looking for work. There are a few steps you should take to ensure that you are successful in securing a job.

As well as creating a high quality CV which is tailored for a Legal Secretary role, you will need to prepare for interviews. It is natural to feel nervous when you are being interviewed for a position you want. You need to make a good impression by coming across as calm, confident and knowledgeable, although nerves can get in the way of this sometimes. We love …

If you would like to improve your word processing skills, learn more about working with spreadsheets, become familiar with using Outlook or learn how to conduct a PowerPoint presentation, take a look at Prodigy Learning's self-start e-kits. They provide LearnKey Video Training for Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) which is self-paced and flexible, with a personal instructor right on your desktop. LearnKey's course design and skilled instructors ensure candidates learn exactly what is needed to achieve certification.

Earning a MOS Certification can help you differentiate yourself in today's competitive job market. It helps broaden your employment opportunities by proving that you have …