Facing soaring overhead costs, tort reforms and competition, employers are changing how they delegate legal services. These changes have opened doors of opportunity for those with or without a law degrees—including paralegals, legal assistants and legal secretaries.
Of these, legal secretaries are generally paid much higher wages than their administrative assistant counterparts. This is because legal secretaries are ... required to have specialized knowledge of the legal field and be able to perform a variety of duties with highly sensitive information. They may also work beyond the standard nine-to-five workday, but the payoff is great for individuals who enjoy challenges and rewards in equal measure. For a job well-done, loyal and ambitious secretaries in tern may be groomed for future advancement within a law firm
Legal secretaries support the work of attorneys and other legal professionals with a variety of administrative tasks, from providing research for court cases to filing legal documents in specialized databases. They must be familiar with technical terms and procedures, and may work alongside attorneys during actual court proceedings. Many legal secretaries are also public notaries.
While there is no specific formal training required to become a legal secretary in the United States, the specialized knowledge that a legal secretary needs to have can be acquired in degree programs online or in traditional classroom settings.
Employment prospects are very good for legal secretaries, since the demand for legal services is projected grow well into the next decade. Individuals with a background in law will be the most competitive candidates for the best-paying jobs.
