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LEGAL SECRETARY

Training and Qualification Required to be a Legal Secretary

May 6,2018
Introduction
A legal secretary is a category of worker within the legal profession. Legal secretaries help by
preparing and filing legal documents, such as appeals or motions. It is not unusual for a larger
firm to place managerial duties on a legal secretary.
Qualifications

 Be at least 18 years old (or 21 in some states)

 Have a high school diploma or GED certificate
 Have secretarial or administrative support skills
 A background in the general legal field is helpful
 Possess effective communication skills
 Be very detail oriented

Skills

Legal secretaries are expected to:

 Handle a myriad of tasks requiring multitasking ability

 Prepare correspondence and type legal documents, including pleadings, motions,
discovery documents, and subpoenas
 Meet the legal filing deadlines
 Create spreadsheets and index and update pleadings
 Schedule depositions and draft correspondence and routine legal documents such as
deposition notices and legal invoices

Knowledge

 Proficient in Tera view, Cyberbank, Word and PcLaw

 Possess excellent communication and writing skills
 Perform administrative duties including opening and closing client files, docketing,
billing, and accounting
 Administer to office and file organization
 Expedite the flow of work
 Establish office procedures that promote efficiency and confidentiality
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Ethical Standards

In the legal world, ethical behaviour is of the utmost importance. Lawyers and paralegals must
represent the highest ethical standards so they can realistically claim to uphold the law. Each
state defines what constitutes the “practice of the law,” but paralegals must avoid the following
tasks, which can be performed only by lawyers:
 Establishing an attorney-client relationship
 Setting the fee to be charged for legal services
 Offering a legal opinion

A paralegal's conduct is guided by bar associations' codes of professional responsibility and rules
of professional conduct.

Documents Processed

In the legal department, the legal secretaries process the following documents:
 Legal documents
 Responses and lists of documents
 Correspondences
 Affidavits of records
 Meeting agendas, schedule meetings and rooms
 Title/Registry searches and register documents at Land Titles
 Bylaws, council reports and agreements

Some of the terms a legal secretary needs to be aware of are:

Bankruptcy-

The Legal procedure for liquidating a business (or property owned by an individual) which
cannot fully pay its debts out of its current assets. Bankruptcy can be brought upon itself by an
insolvent debtor (called “voluntary bankruptcy”) or it can be forced on court orders issued on
creditor’s petition (called “involuntary bankruptcy”).
Two major objectives of a bankruptcy are: Fair settlement of the legal claims of the creditors
through an equitable distribution of debtor’s assets, and to provide the debtors an opportunity for
fresh start.
Bankruptcy amounts to a business failure, but voluntary winding up does not.

Will-

A Will or testament is a legal document by which a person, the testator, expresses their wishes as
to how their property is to be distributed at death, and names one or more persons, the executor,
to manage the estate until its final distribution.
Though it has at times been thought that a "will" was historically limited to real property while
"testament" applies only to dispositions of personal property (thus giving rise to the popular title
of the document as "Last Will and Testament"), the historical records show that the terms have
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been used interchangeably. Hence, the word "will" validly apply to both personal and real
property.

Petitions-
A formal written request, typically one signed by many people, appealing to authority in respect
of a cause.

Affidavit-
A written statement confirmed by oath or affirmation, for use as evidence in court.

Power of Attorney-
A Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document giving one person (attorney) the power to act
for another person (the principal). The agent can have broad legal authority or limited authority
to make legal decisions about the principal's property, finances or medical care.
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Works Cited

“What Is a Legal Secretary?” What Is a Paralegal What Does a Paralegal Do,

www.paralegaledu.org/legal-secretary/.
“NALA Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility.” Nala.org, nala.org/certification/nala-
code-ethics-and-professional-responsibility.
“How to Be a Legal Secretary | Legal Secretary Training.” Careers in Immigration | Employment
and Jobs, legalcareerpath.com/legal-secretary/.