Legal Secretary

Secretaries are the linchpins of business. Because they handle the minutiae of office life — everything from answering phones to filing documents to scheduling meetings — they are essential to business operations. So much so that the people they assist would probably be lost without them.

Nowhere is that more true than at a law firm, where the Legal Secretary is a lot like the first level in a house of cards; without it, the whole deck falls.

Similar to a Paralegal, but more administrative in nature, your job as a Legal Secretary is to support Lawyers by helping them with communications, paperwork and research. Sometimes assigned to a single Attorney, and sometimes to several, your day typically is spent on clerical tasks such as answering phones and taking messages; transcribing and managing correspondence; scheduling meetings; typing legal documents, including subpoenas, motions and briefs; researching laws and case histories; organizing the law firm’s legal library; and filing prepared legal documents at the courthouse.

Like most Secretaries, you’ll help manage your boss’ personal life when things get hectic, and might also be in charge of managing other administrative employees, including fellow Legal Secretaries, as well as Bookkeepers and Typists. Your primary responsibility as the Legal Secretary, however, is helping the Lawyer better serve clients by keeping accurate, detailed records; filing accurate, detailed documents; and doing accurate, detailed legal research.

Doing that requires not only superior administrative skills, but also specialized legal knowledge, which means you’re kind of like a superhuman Secretary — not more powerful than a locomotive, but certainly more valuable than the average Administrative Assistant.