What is a junior legal secretary?

Jul 13, 2022

Written By Helena Kudiabor

If you’re considering a legal career, it’s important to remember that solicitors and barristers are not the only career options in the field. A career as a legal secretary means that you’ll be playing a vital role in the legal sector, performing the duties necessary for the smooth running of a legal office.

What is a junior legal secretary?

Legal secretaries undertake the general tasks that are necessary for a legal office to run smoothly. A typical day might include producing legal documents such as wills and subpoenas, delivering and collecting documents, preparing court forms and making appointments.

Legal secretaries are similar to administrative assistants, but in the legal field, meaning they also get involved in administrative work such as filing and record keeping.

When you begin your career as a legal secretary, you’ll start out as a junior legal secretary. This means that you’ll have less legal responsibilities, and the majority of your work will be administrative tasks such as answering the phone.

Junior legal secretaries are also supervised by a legal secretary, who will teach you how to operate the necessary electronic systems and monitor your progress. As you improve, you’ll be given increased responsibilities and a higher salary.

What’s the difference between a junior legal secretary and a paralegal?

While paralegals and legal secretaries both work to assist solicitors, there are key differences between the two roles. Paralegals are often required to have more specialised legal knowledge, as they provide specific legal advice to solicitors. Tasks undertaken by a paralegal include legal research, conducting interviews and preparing arguments for solicitors to review.

This is in contrast to the role of a legal secretary which is more administrative, and does not require specific legal knowledge. Furthermore, to become a paralegal, you must have an undergraduate degree in any subject, where legal assistants only need good GCSEs.

How can I become a junior legal secretary?

There are many different ways to become a legal secretary. You can take a college course to help you with the skills necessary or a training course designed for those interested in a legal secretary career. There’s also the option of completing an apprenticeship in the legal sector.

Many legal secretaries also start off as administrative assistants, and become secretaries as they progress.

What skills are important to become a legal secretary?

Soft skills are just as important as academic qualifications when it comes to a career as a legal secretary. You’ll need to be organised, good at working in a team, have strong interpersonal skills and good IT skills.

These skills can easily be developed outside of the legal world, for instance at school or at a job outside of the legal sector.

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