What Is a Legal PA?
A Legal PA is a personal assistant or legal secretary who specializes in providing administrative and secretarial support specifically for the legal profession. Their duties are similar to those of administrative assistants or legal receptionists, but a Legal PA has skills that are more finely tuned to the world of law. In-house, a Legal PA manages cases and documents, maintains client contact, updates case information and schedules. When it comes to court appearances, a Legal PA organizes filings and submissions , handles correspondence and ensures adherence to procedures and timelines. Legal PAs need to be well organized and capable of managing multiple tasks such as answering the telephone, taking incoming call messages, preparing correspondence, organizing papers, reviewing files and other general clerical duties. Although they must be good with people, a Legal PA also needs to be able to work independently and handle a large amount of paperwork. Unlike a general PA or legal secretary, a Legal PA requires specific knowledge of law and procedure, which is why they are found primarily in law firms, in-house legal departments, courts, tribunals and public institutions.
Legal PA Skills
Beyond educational requirements, the essential skills that a Legal PA should possess contribute significantly to their effectiveness on the job. An acute attention to detail is arguably the most important of those skills, as a minor oversight or error could have dire consequences for a client or their case. For instance, if it were discovered that pleadings had not been properly filed, this could result in a case being thrown out of court and the client losing potential damages or their civil action altogether. Thus, a Legal PA must have a strong and active understanding of legal terminology to craft and record such documents.
Legal PA’s are expected to have very strong organizational skills, overseeing multiple attorneys and hundreds of clients at once. When working with a law firm with multiple attorneys, the Legal PA is expected to coordinate each attorney’s calendar and ensure that a given attorney is never double-booked or has missed an important appointment. Additionally, the Legal PA is responsible for ensuring that their supervisor(s) never misses or is late to an appointment or session. This means coordinating travel schedules, verifying that all contact data is current, and reducing or eliminating conflicts of interest that could hinder their employer. Legal PA’s are also required to understand today’s technologies. Most Document Management Systems and case management software require training and maintenance. On a daily basis, the Legal PA is expected to write legal documents, track cases, file briefs, and organize and research evidence. Most Document Management Software is built to save time and help attorneys organize their files, whether physical or digital. Failure to maintain and keep up with a DMS could endanger the security of a case and consequently jeopardize a client’s interest.
Typical Duties of a Legal PA
On any given day, a Legal PA will go about a wide variety of tasks to support the team of solicitors and barristers. Managing the daily schedule and ensuring that all lawyers are where they need to be at all times is a crucial task. A simple oversight can wreak havoc on a busy schedule, so every day starts with a review of the calendar to see what appointments and obligations are on the horizon. The next item on the agenda is the correspondence that must be handled. Legal matters will sometimes hinge on deadlines, so being able to manage these tasks in order of urgency and importance is essential. Without such management and facilitation, opportunities could be missed and legal matters can take a downward turn. Legal PAs have to deal with a lot of time-sensitive material, and this is a factor in why they need to be at the top of their game at all times. There are always tight deadlines to meet, letters to draft, and visitors to attend to, so Legal PAs must be constantly aware of what is required of them and how to prioritise it. Aside from schedule management and correspondence duties, Legal PAs may have a hand in anything from recruitment and administration to document management and advising senior level staff. Essentially, Legal PA work comes down to being the ultimate utility player for solicitors. You never know from one day or hour to the next exactly what you are going to need to do to support the firm you are representing. That is why it is crucial to have Legal PAs on hand who can capably handle whatever need arises.
Confidentiality Matters
A Legal PA must also be aware of the importance of confidentiality, as they will often be privy to some of the most private, sensitive and personal information. Corporate clients will share confidential business material, and individual clients will discuss matters that could have serious implications for them, should the inappropriate person become privy to it. Whether it’s handling private contracts, HR matters, or personal details about a divorce, Legal PAs will be responsible for some very sensitive information.
Should an error or mistake be made in this regard , it wouldn’t only be the Legal PA’s reputation that was at stake; the very future of the law firm could be compromised. When dealing with private data, there is no space for error or misunderstandings, even if it is an internal communication that is shared across the wrong teams.
When managing sensitive data, from a route in and out of computer programs to the filing system and folders on the server, everything needs to be secure and private. This will extend to using secure email systems, where all correspondence is monitored, to ensuring all paper documents are stored in secure filing cabinets.
Becoming a Legal PA
There are no formal legal qualifications necessary to undertake a role as a legal PA. However, excellent keyboard skills and a good command of English and grammar are essential. Previous legal or PA experience is also highly desirable.
The majority of legal PAs and secretaries have undertaken an accredited secretarial course and have completed their Pitman’s or City & Guilds courses. Most employers look for typists who have completed the Pitman’s dictation test, as a very high level of accuracy is required when transcribing legal documentation.
This is a profession that is really more about experience than it is about paper qualifications, but if you don’t come from legal secretarial experience or academia you will find it very hard to get into this profession. Many firms do not offer training contracts, so you will need to have previous experience.
In London, many legal secretarial colleges provide on-the-job experience by supplying students to law firms. You can also apply directly to firms to see if they need any temporary secretarial help.
Career Progression for a Legal PA
The path to advancement for a Legal PA is clear: they can aspire to become a Lawyer or a Paralegal. We have summarised below the routes to each of these roles.
Becoming a Lawyer
To become a Lawyer, you would need to study either a law degree or a qualifying law degree (GDL). You then need to complete the Legal Practice Course (LPC) and then secure a two-year training contract with a law firm, where you would obtain a training certificate.
After completing your training contract, you can apply for admission to the roll of solicitors (i.e., qualified lawyer status). You can then specialise in an area of law which matches your interests.
Becoming a Paralegal
To become a Paralegal, you would need to undertake training in the area of law that you want to specialise in , i.e. civil litigation, commercial law, employment, family law, personal injury, etc. This would usually be a paralegal diploma at a local, reputable college.
As you progress through the ranks from PA to Paralegal, you would need to network with Lawyers in order to gain insight into what they are looking for in their Paralegals. You may also be encouraged by a Mentor to gain additional training or secure formal qualifications (like a diploma in the practice area of the lawyer for whom you work).
Starting out as a Legal PA can be a valuable way to gain experience in the legal sector and networking with other professionals in order to understand what means to be a Paralegal or a lawyer.