How to become a Legal Secretary in the England or Wales
I hope you find the following information on Legal Secretarial/PA jobs useful.THE ROLELegal secretaries assist in all aspects of running a law firm. The legal secretaries¡¦ jobs can include basic tasks such as word processing, audio-typing and dealing with general clerical work. Some legal secretary work can include meeting clients, arranging meeting and some even attend court or police cells.Legal Secretary jobs can incorporate all areas of law – from criminal and civil law to property, family, corporate, private client and banking.SKILLS and INTERESTSIf you are looking for a Legal Secretary job you should:Have an interest in lawHave excellent secretarial skillsBe PC literateBe accurate and methodicalBe discreet when dealing with confidential informationHave a good standard of English, spelling and grammarWork well under pressure and be good a meeting deadlinesOf course, a polite friendly manner helps!A mix of these skills would provide a solid foundation for anyone looking for jobs as a legal secretaryClick here for Legal Secretary jobsQUALIFICATIONSThere are no formal qualifications to becoming a Legal Secretary, athough a high standard of general education is required. To become a Legal Secretary office and administration experience is useful as is some existing knowledge of the law.Career DevelopmentEmployers often offer on the job training. There are different pathways that lead to legal secretarial qualifications:** The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PA¡¦sThe Institute of Legal Secretaries and PA¡¦s offer a diploma that¡¦s has been recognised as the most comprehensive qualification for Legal Secretaries. The diploma is extremely useful if you are looking for jobs as a Legal Secretary. The syllabus for the general diploma is divided into five main units:Outline of the English Legal SystemOutlines of the Law of Contract and the Law of TortConveyancing and an outline of Land LawCivil LitigationSuccession (Wills, Probate and Administration)The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PA¡¦s also offers courses for Legal Secretaries who would like to specialise in one are of law.The subjects covered are:- Civil Litigation- Company and Corporate Law- Conveyancing- Criminal Law and Practice- Matrimonial Law and Family Practice SuccessionClick here for Institute Of Legal Secretaries Website and further information: http://www.institutelegalsecretaries.com** ILEX Legal Secretaries Certificate & DiplomaILEX offer a Legal Secretaries Certificate (Level 2) and a Legal Secretaries Diploma (Level 3)The ILEX Paralegal Programmes (ILEXPP) for Legal Secretaries are now considered the benchmark for those aspiring to or working in a legal environment as secretaries or personal assistants. Reflecting the National Standards in Administration, the programmes offer: a flexible route,
no entry requirements (although a Grade C or above in English Language GCSE is desirable),
a choice of when and where to study, task based assignments which are all accompanied by up to date training manuals.”The ILEX Legal Secretaries Certificate covers the following areas:Legal Word ProcessingAdministration in the Legal EnvironmentCommunication Skills in the Legal EnvironmentInformation Processing in the Legal EnvironmentThe ILEX Legal Secretaries Diploma covers the following areas:Advanced Legal Word ProcessingAdvanced Administration in the Legal EnvironmentAdvanced Communication Skills in the Legal EnvironmentAdvanced Information Processing in the Legal EnvironmentClick here for ILEXPP Website and further information on the ILEX Tutorial (Training to be a Legal Secretary) Web pages** OCR (RSA) Legal Word ProcessingOCR(RSA)offers specialised qualifications in legal text and legal word processing. The course is for those with previous word processing experience who wish to specialise in legal work. This programme is ideal for those who are in employment or wish to gain employment in the legal sector. You will be taught about the production of a range of documents in a legal context. Legal styles and formats. Legal terminology and English grammar are also covered
Legal Text Processing is part of the OCR (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA) suite of qualifications in text processing which are widely recognised by employers as benchmark qualifications in text processing.Candidates who are successful in achieving accreditation will be able to extend their range of text processing skills at intermediate level and progress to different optional units within the suite of units at Level 2 or to progress to the OCR Text Processing Advanced (Level 3) qualification.Legal Secretaries work in all areas of law from solicitors offices, barristers chambers through to law courts, police stations and within in house legal teams. It is possible to start as a legal secretary and work towards becoming a legal executive, paralegal or a licensed conveyancer. You could even study for a law degree.