Job Description of a Legal File Clerk
Becoming a legal law clerk can be a great career move for someone who wants to eventually become a lawyer. This entry-level position allows you to see how a law firm runs--in the good times and the bad. This will give you a sense of whether you want to continue in the law field. The position will also let you build your organizational, oral and computer skills, as all three are utilized daily. Because law firms have so much paperwork, legal law clerks are typically in high demand.
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Maintaining Files
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Law firms can contain hundreds of boxes full of paperwork pertaining to their clients, ongoing cases and resolved cases. It would be time-consuming for lawyers to go through all of these files and boxes, so often they hire legal file clerks to do it for them. Therefore, one of the primary duties of a law clerk is to keep the boxes or file cabinets containing legal documents organized. They must be stored correctly to prevent damage, and must be arranged in such a way that the legal file clerk can easily and quickly access a document or file.
Off-Site Storage
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Paperwork can become more than abundant at law firms, which is why most purchase off-site storage spaces to hold their closed cases. The legal file clerk will have to access this site occasionally, as closed cases build up or a document being held off-site is requested. The legal file clerk must also develop an organized filing system for the off-site files.
Writing
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Many legal file clerks will have to do some writing. They will likely have to take notes during meetings with lawyers, compose emails from their bosses to their clients and take dictation. Therefore, competency in reading and writing is required. Because they do a lot of their work on the computer--especially when it comes to electronic filing systems--legal file clerks should also be comfortable with computers, the Internet and Microsoft Office or a comparable system.
Receptionist Duties
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Most law firms hire receptionists to man the phones and run the front of the office. In a small law firm, however, the legal file clerk may be asked to do this. Even in larger law firms a legal file clerk may have to fill in for the receptionist during her lunch hour or on her sick or vacation days. Legal file clerks may have to take on additional receptionist responsibilities, such as database entry, scheduling meetings or confirming appointments with clients, if there is little legal file work to do.
Qualifications
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Legal file clerks should be detail-oriented, responsible and able to meet deadlines. They must be good listeners and able to carry out specific orders. A bachelor's degree or law background is not required, as most people receive their training on the job.
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- Photo Credit Flickr: Stitch
