| Differences between Legal Secretaries & Paralegals |
Differences Between Legal Secretaries and Paralegals
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Legal Secretaries are sometimes referred to as ‘Paralegals’. This, in reality, is not the case as they
are unable to be ‘fee earners’ unless they have a ‘Paralegal’ qualification.
The work which they do is ‘billable’ not as ‘legal fees’ but as ‘disbursements’, which cover items such
as photocopying, postage, administration work and so on. All their work should be opened to possible
scrutiny in case of an ‘Order for Taxation’ if there is a complaint. Attendance Notes and File Notes
must always reflect the time spent attending meetings and courts and the administrative work done.
Work carried out by legal secretaries differs from that of general secretaries. Most general
secretaries carry out filing, photocopying, arranging meetings, making appointments, a bit of reception
duty, if necessary, typing letters or other general correspondence. Legal secretaries primary task
involves dealing with property transactions, preparing and filing court papers, arranging for service of
summons or other court orders with Process Servers, carrying out searches for bankruptcy, property
registrations and a host of other aspects. A large percentage of their work is typing and within such
busy environments, their typing speeds are expected to be in excess of 60wpm.
This makes it difficult for a person to be accepted within a legal office if they have no previous
knowledge or experience. Prior to our creation of the Legal Secretary Courses in 1988, legal
secretaries were in desperately short supply and many general secretaries were left frustrated at not
being able to obtain lucrative jobs as Legal Secretaries.
Many businesses have since entered the training market to take advantage of this very popular
development. Some are operating as 'institute', or 'association' which could be misinterpreted as
having the authority of governing bodies. In many instances, they are training providers and are not
governing bodies.
The legal secretarial world is not entirely the preserves of females as some legal secretaries are male.
Paralegals’ work is billable as ‘legal fees’ which are based on the amount of time spent on clients’ legal
affairs. Their hourly rate is a fraction of that charged by solicitors and as such, their contribution to
legal services is invaluable, especially in these cost-conscious days. Paralegals are crucial for the
continued competitiveness of legal services!
While some Paralegals are expected to do a great amount of their own typing, some will have access
to legal secretaries who will do their typing, leaving them to concentrate on providing excellent legal
service to designated clients.
are unable to be ‘fee earners’ unless they have a ‘Paralegal’ qualification.
The work which they do is ‘billable’ not as ‘legal fees’ but as ‘disbursements’, which cover items such
as photocopying, postage, administration work and so on. All their work should be opened to possible
scrutiny in case of an ‘Order for Taxation’ if there is a complaint. Attendance Notes and File Notes
must always reflect the time spent attending meetings and courts and the administrative work done.
Work carried out by legal secretaries differs from that of general secretaries. Most general
secretaries carry out filing, photocopying, arranging meetings, making appointments, a bit of reception
duty, if necessary, typing letters or other general correspondence. Legal secretaries primary task
involves dealing with property transactions, preparing and filing court papers, arranging for service of
summons or other court orders with Process Servers, carrying out searches for bankruptcy, property
registrations and a host of other aspects. A large percentage of their work is typing and within such
busy environments, their typing speeds are expected to be in excess of 60wpm.
This makes it difficult for a person to be accepted within a legal office if they have no previous
knowledge or experience. Prior to our creation of the Legal Secretary Courses in 1988, legal
secretaries were in desperately short supply and many general secretaries were left frustrated at not
being able to obtain lucrative jobs as Legal Secretaries.
Many businesses have since entered the training market to take advantage of this very popular
development. Some are operating as 'institute', or 'association' which could be misinterpreted as
having the authority of governing bodies. In many instances, they are training providers and are not
governing bodies.
The legal secretarial world is not entirely the preserves of females as some legal secretaries are male.
Paralegals’ work is billable as ‘legal fees’ which are based on the amount of time spent on clients’ legal
affairs. Their hourly rate is a fraction of that charged by solicitors and as such, their contribution to
legal services is invaluable, especially in these cost-conscious days. Paralegals are crucial for the
continued competitiveness of legal services!
While some Paralegals are expected to do a great amount of their own typing, some will have access
to legal secretaries who will do their typing, leaving them to concentrate on providing excellent legal
service to designated clients.
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© 2000-2012
Wendy Souter
Author
6 Articles
© 2011
Author
6 Articles
© 2011