What Do Legal Secretaries Really Do?

Although many may have heard about a legal secretary, what exactly do they do? What sort of training, if any, do they need? How much money can the make?

A legal secretary’s job is to assist lawyers in their work. While that may seem simple at first, it is a broad-reaching profession. Their duties can be split between secretarial duties and legal duties, although there can be some overlap. The secretarial side of things can include organizing office business, filing, faxing and answering the phone as well as printing up motions for attorneys and filing these same motions with the respective court or with other attorneys. The legal side of their work may include fact finding before a trial or doing the same for hearings or motions. They may be called upon to perform legal research or assist a lawyer in interacting with clients.

The one thing a legal secretary absolutely cannot do is give legal advice. This is because they are not required to have a law degree or training of any kind, although many will have some legal knowledge through courses they have taken or on the job experience. Secretarial experience gained either through training or work history is vital to them performing their duties. Familiarity of legal proceedings will greatly assist a person on their quest to become a legal secretary. Many colleges offer classes and programs that can focus on the legal secretary position, although no degree is required or offered for legal secretaries. There is a National Association for Legal Secretaries which offers a certification exam open to those who have completed a business course or law course or have at least one year of general office experience.

The average salary for legal secretaries in the United States will depend on where the person lives and what type of company or organization they work with. Average across the US is around 39,000 with starting salaries running as low as 22,000 and some earning as much as 75,000 dollars per year. Years of experience and training levels will obviously affect this.

Being a legal secretary can be a good way to move beyond being a basic secretary into a more exciting career. It can also be a good way for someone looking to join the legal or law enforcement field to gain a deeper understanding of how the field works.