How Do I Become A Legal Secretary?

If you enjoy being fully immersed in the legal world, then you may enjoy life as a legal secretary. Without a legal secretary at a law firm, it is safe to say that a law firm could easily fail. Legal secretaries perform many important tasks that assist lawyers. A legal secretary is responsible for doing everything from answering the phones to typing important pleadings for lawyers. A legal secretary may also be responsible for preparing court documents, doing legal research and ensuring that a law library is fully updated. Maybe you have asked yourself, “How do I become a legal secretary?” If you want to become a legal secretary, then you should try to obtain your paralegal certification as soon as possible.

What’s it like to be a legal secretary?

When you become a legal secretary, you will probably work about 40 hours a week. You may need to work longer hours depending on the case load of a law firm. During extremely busy times, you may end up staying at the law firm as late as the attorneys. When you work as a legal secretary, you will be incredibly busy everyday. You may be given a list of things to do from the managing attorney at the law firm. You may need to do important legal research, draft court documents and meet with clients. When you become a legal secretary, you will always be learning about the law. Part of being a successful legal secretary is having the ability to react quickly to changes in a case. You should be able to work in a high-stress and high-paced atmosphere. You should also be comfortable in handling new assignments from partners. Partners may hand you a legal document that they expect to be fully researched in a short amount of time.

Education Requirements

If you want to become a legal secretary, then you should obtain a paralegal certification from the local community college or university. You only need to go to school for two years in order to become a legal secretary. Some people choose to obtain an undergraduate degree in legal studies before they decide to attend law school. It can be helpful for you to obtain this type of degree and work for a few years as a legal secretary. Gaining this experience will help you determine whether you truly want to become a lawyer. You will be able to see exactly what a lawyer does on a daily basis. By working for a few years as a legal secretary, you may also be able to gain benefits in your law office. Your law office may decide to pay your way through law school so that you can become a lawyer for the firm. Working as a legal secretary can get your foot in the door and provide other incredible opportunities to you in the future.

Salary & How to Get a Job

The typical salary of a legal secretary is $30,000 to $50,000. A legal secretary may earn a greater salary if he or she decides to become a managing secretary at the law firm. Managing paralegals can earn anywhere from $55,000 to $70,000 a year. To obtain a job as a legal secretary, you should simply seek out open positions at law firms. You will probably have a more difficult time in obtaining a job at a large law firm. You should try to obtain a position at a small firm in the beginning of your career. This will give you more responsibility and allow you to learn tasks such as filing legal documents with the court.