Legal Secretary
A demanding yet rewarding position, legal secretaries are employed across London, helping to ensure the offices of barristers and solicitors run smoothly.
Hundreds of legal secretaries are employed across London, helping to ensure the offices of barristers and solicitors run smoothly.
As well as jobs in and around the main Inns of Court in the centre of London, legal secretaries also work in smaller, local legal practices and even in charities and local authorities across the capital.
Though basic responsibilities are likely to include simple administrative tasks such as filing, note-taking and phone-answering, legal secretaries are expected to be knowledgeable about the British legal system and are often called upon to provide employers with more hands-on help.
Professional and Academic Requirements
Unlike being called to the Bar, there is no one fixed route to becoming a legal secretary in London.
For some candidates, evidence of good numeracy and literacy skills, combined with a solid record of providing secretarial and administrative assistance in a high-pressured environment - preferably with some legal context - will suffice to be taken on by a law firm or practice.
However, many employers, and especially those in the Inns of Court or the major City legal firms, will be more demanding and are likely to require candidates to have more specialist qualifications.
These can be obtained through courses run by the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs, and include the Legal Secretaries Diploma.
Additionally, excellent computer skills, including the ability to type at speed and with good accuracy, will also be a major advantage going into this field.
Personal Attributes
Due to the varied nature of the role, legal secretaries are required to be highly organised individuals, with a keen attention to detail and the ability to juggle several jobs at once, deal with pressure and meet exact targets.
One other personal attribute that employers will look for when recruiting for a legal secretary is a good personality.
As well as dealing with solicitors and other legal professionals, secretaries usually serve as the first point of contact a third party will have with a firm or chambers, making good communication skills and a pleasant demeanour all-important.
Potential Rewards
Some legal secretary jobs offer a standard salary for an administrative position, with remuneration not even exceeding £20,000 per year, even in London.
However, more experienced secretaries who have demonstrated their worth to a firm are likely to command higher salaries, with employers in the City most likely to offer attractive packages over the longer-term.
Aside from the pay, some City employers may offer their legal secretaries annual bonuses, though these are by no means guaranteed.
Furthermore, some legal secretaries enter the profession as a means of subsidising their own legal studies within a useful environment, with the ability to deal with documents close up on a daily basis standing them in good stead for their own future careers.
Possible Drawbacks
As before, the salary of a legal secretary can often be little more than the money earned by any other administrative worker in London, though the work can often be more challenging and the employers more demanding.
Furthermore, those with a keen interest in the law may find themselves bored with some of the more mundane tasks that come with the job.
Biggest Employers
London is home to dozens of multinational law firms, as well as to hundreds of smaller legal practices.
Among the biggest recruiters of legal secretaries are the likes of Linklaters, Clifford Chance, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper, Slaughter and May, Eversheds and Lovells.
All of these recruit year-round, with details available on their individual websites, while other positions are likely to be published in the national press or specialist legal industry publications such as the Lawyer.
