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Good morning,
I came across this interesting article on eHow that explained what a legal secretary is. They play a very important role in any company. Read it below.
“What Is a Legal Secretary?
By Natasha Lawrence, eHow Contributor
A legal secretary is a person who works in a law firm, for attorneys or in some area of the legal field or government. First and foremost, she is part of the support team that is involved with and takes on certain responsibilities in the legal process when an attorney represents a client. Most of the work the legal secretary handles is paperwork, but depending upon the type of case, she understands the importance of proper legal procedure, obtaining relevant information, documentation preparation, filing dates, follow-through, court hearings, and other necessary steps pertinent to a particular case. Legal fields can include
real estate , family law, criminal, civil procedure, worker’s compensation or estate planning.
History
The history of the legal secretary goes back thousands of years to the beginnings of the written word when it was necessary to keep business records and transactions, recording history, and the decisions of governments or ruling classes . The Sumerians of Mesopotamia in 2500 BC were one of the earliest to keep records on clay tablets using a stylus. Over the centuries, the educated scribe became an important and well-respected figure in society. Accuracy and speed were required to record dictation. In the modern world of the 20th century, women held secretarial positions in the legal arena, taking dictation in shorthand notes. The dictating machine gave way to transcribing from a recorded voice. Although this device was used in all manner of business and legal professions, the legal secretary evolved into an individual who was given specific responsibility in the handling and processing of cases from her supervisor, a member of the state Bar Association who had passed required testing and was licensed to practice in that state.
Significance
The significance of the legal secretary is to take on specific responsibilities and tasks that fall into her domain. These include the opening of a file containing pertinent information on a case and the client, correspondence, preparation of legal documents, maintenance of a court calendar, scheduling appointments, depositions, billing information, preparation for trial, and ultimately closing a case. Additional responsibilities may include legal research, meeting with clients, and creating periodic reports and updates on the status of cases. The legal secretary is required to have certain skills that include typing, computer knowledge and software programs such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and the ability to conduct research on the Internet.
Types
There are many different types of legal secretaries. A legal secretary who specializes in estate planning may be involved primarily in the drafting and preparation of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney and other relevant documents. A corporate legal secretary prepares articles of incorporation, as well as forms and other documents needed for filing with the Secretary of State’s office or with the Internal Revenue Service to officially create an new business entity. A legal secretary specializing in family law will focus on preparing documents related to divorce, adoptions, marital settlements, changes in child support, visitation or custody issues.
Benefits
The benefits of being a legal secretary as opposed to a secretary in a general business brings not only added responsibilities, but an increase in salary and/or bonuses. Sometimes, a legal secretary also acts as a paralegal depending on the size of the law firm and the number of attorneys in that firm. The larger the firm, the more legal secretaries it requires. Also, a legal secretary may be promoted to paralegal status who is required to submit billing hours for work that would otherwise be done by an attorney; however, all the work he or she does is under the supervision of an attorney. Today, a legal secretary may pass a state examination that covers a variety of legal areas to become a Certified Paralegal, thus enhancing demands for her services in addition to greater pay.
Expert Insight
It is beneficial to the legal secretary and any ambitions she may have for advancement and/or job security to become familiar to specific areas of the legal profession and there are many to choose from. Certain areas will appeal more than others and they include corporate, family law, criminal, real estate, probate and others. Depending on where the legal secretary seeks employment, the more legal areas he or she is familiar with, the better the chances of employment with possibilities for advancement. With Internet capabilities and many courts having their caseloads available for viewing online as to documents filed and important dates, the legal secretary’s value and usefulness to her employer continues to grow. No doubt, there will be other avenues pertinent to the role of legal secretary that will reveal themselves to make this position grow in importance.
Read more: http://www.ehow.com/about_4578947_what-legal-secretary.html#ixzz2xYPiUUBP ”
