A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession.

Background

In the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profess ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, a legal secretary is a person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secretaries help by preparing and filing

legal document Legal instrument is a legal term of art that is used for any formally executed written document that can be formally attributed to its author, records and formally expresses a legally enforceable act, process, or contractual duty, obligation, or ...

s, such as appeals or

motions In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer and me ...

. It is not unusual for a larger firm to place managerial duties on a particular legal secretary. Much like a paralegal, a legal secretary is responsible for locating relevant information for cases. This type of person would be called a "paralegal" in the UK. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the Commonwealth, a legal secretary is a secretary experienced in working for a law firm or

in-house Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

legal department. They assist by giving administrative support to lawyers and are significant members of a team of professionals who work together. The work of a legal secretary varies. They deal with a wide range of challenging legal and business issues, combining their skills with modern technology. In Ceylon, it used to refer to the head of islands legal arms such as the Attorney General's Office and the Legal Draftsman's office during the British colonial period.

Educational background

There is no specific educational requirement in most

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

s for legal secretaries. However, unlike an administrative assistant, a legal secretary must be familiar with legal procedures. Many colleges and universities offer programs geared towards this career, however, there is not a degree associated with that of a legal secretary. Rather, students are enrolled in existing legal courses, which have been established for those who wish to pursue a career in law, such as a lawyer or

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

. In the UK, they provide secretarial and clerical support to solicitors, barristers and the law courts. Their primary responsibilities are to deal with correspondence and preparation of legal documents such as wills, divorce petitions and witness statements. A legal secretary should have excellent secretarial skills together with a knowledge of law and

legal procedures Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. They must be computer literate and have a good standard of English. People can acquire the legal skills they need through training companies, local colleges or some law firms are willing to train people themselves.

References

External links

National Association of Legal Assistants

The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs

NALS... the association for legal professionals

The Legal Secretary Journal - DEDICATED
{{DEFAULTSORT:Legal Secretary Legal professions Office and administrative support occupations

Background

Educational background

See also

References

External links