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Legal secretary

Alternative titles for this job include

Legal secretaries provide administrative support for lawyers and legal executives.

Average salary (a year)

£20,000 Starter

to

£45,000 Experienced

Typical hours (a week)

36 to 38 a week

You could work

9am to 5pm

How to become

Explore the different ways to get into this role.

How to become a legal secretary

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • specialist courses run by a professional body

College

You could take a course in audio transcription, legal word processing, or a qualification like a Level 3 Diploma for Legal Secretaries.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

More Information

Apprenticeship

You could get into this job through an intermediate and advanced apprenticeship in legal services or as a paralegal.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

More Information

Work

You could start as an admin assistant with a legal business or organisation and then apply for a trainee position. For most trainee legal secretary jobs you'll need excellent word processing skills of around 45 to 50 words a minute.

Other Routes

You could complete qualifications offered by The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx). Both have information about part-time and online distance learning courses.

More Information

Further information

You can get more advice about legal secretary careers from The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs.

What it takes

Find out what skills you’ll use in this role.

What it takes

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • administration skills
  • legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • concentration skills
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • customer service skills
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently

What you’ll do

Discover the day to day tasks you’ll do in this role.

What you'll do

Day-to-day tasks

In this role you could:

  • produce legal documents like wills and contracts
  • prepare court forms and statements
  • handle confidential information
  • work from solicitors' written notes and audio files (dictation)
  • deal with clients
  • make appointments and manage diaries
  • accompany solicitors to court or police stations
  • deliver and collect documents
  • do general administrative work like record keeping and filing

Working environment

You could work in an office, in a court or at a police station.

Career path and progression

Look at progression in this role and similar opportunities.

Career path and progression

With experience you could become a senior secretary, PA or office manager in larger firms.

With further qualifications, you could become a legal executive, paralegal or licensed conveyancer.

You could also work towards training as a solicitor or barrister.

Current opportunities

Find apprenticeships, courses and jobs available near you.

Current opportunities

Apprenticeships In England

Paralegal Apprentice (Ashfords, Bristol)

  • Wage: £17,000.00 Annually
  • Location: Cheese Lane, Bristol

Paralegal Apprenticeship

  • Wage: £10,296.00 to £20,319.00 Annually
  • Location: SMALL HEATH, BIRMINGHAM

Courses In England

CILEX Certificate for Legal Secretaries Certificate 2

  • Provider: The Manchester College
  • Start date: 01 September 2024
  • Location: Manchester

Jobs In the United Kingdom

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