Legal Secretary Job Description

Legal secretaries have a variety of duties focused around assisting lawyers and clients. They may do factual or legal research at all levels of a case and will often organize meetings, appointments and dates for attorneys.

Definition

A legal secretary works under general supervision to perform administrative and support functions for an attorney or judge.

Office Types

Legal secretaries can work in a variety of offices. Those include corporations, law offices, governmental agencies and nonprofits.

Education Required

There is no formal education requirement for a legal secretary. Many have experience in secretarial work as well as in law, whether law enforcement or studying law classes in college.

Secretarial Duties

Legal secretaries are in charge of organizing many office affairs, including organizing dates for hearings, printing and organizing motions for attorneys and filing motions with another attorney or with the court. They may also do more routine office work such as filing, faxing and answering the phone.

Legal Duties

Legal secretaries may also work in fact finding for trials, hearings or motions. They may do legal research and help an attorney interact with clients.

Prohibitions on Legal Secretary Actions

Legal secretaries may not give out legal advice to a client--only an attorney may do that.

Resources

• The National Association of Legal Assistants