Legal secretary
Legal secretaries provide administrative support for lawyers and legal executives.
In this guide
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
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.
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
Related subjects
Most relevant
- Law - Legal secretaries work directly with legal documents such as wills, contracts, and court forms every day. They need to understand legal terminology, court procedures, and government regulations to prepare accurate paperwork and support solicitors effectively.
- English Language - Legal secretaries produce formal legal documents, transcribe dictation, and communicate with clients, solicitors, and courts. Excellent written English – including grammar, punctuation, and the ability to write clearly and precisely – is essential for this work.
- Business - Legal secretaries carry out a wide range of administrative tasks including diary management, record keeping, filing, and handling correspondence. Understanding how offices and organisations run helps them keep a busy legal practice operating smoothly.
Also relevant
- Computer Science - Legal secretaries use specialist legal software, document management systems, and databases to organise case files and produce documents efficiently. While they don't write code, understanding how digital systems work helps them manage and troubleshoot the technology they rely on daily.
- Politics - Legal secretaries benefit from understanding how government and the legal system are structured, since they handle documents related to legislation, regulations, and court proceedings. Knowing how laws are made and enforced provides useful context for the legal work they support.
- Sociology - Legal secretaries often deal with cases involving family disputes, housing issues, employment matters, and other social concerns. An understanding of how society is structured and the challenges people face helps them handle sensitive client interactions with awareness and professionalism.
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- specialist courses run by a professional body
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
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
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.
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.
Further information
You can get more advice about legal secretary careers from The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs.
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