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Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Perform secretarial duties using legal terminology, procedures, and documents. Prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas. May also assist with legal research.

Related: Court Reporters & Simultaneous Captioners Court, Municipal, & License Clerks Executive Secretaries & Executive Administrative Assistants Paralegals & Legal Assistants Secretaries & Administrative Assistants

Industries: Professional, Science, & Technical Government

Summary
Details

Assist attorneys in collecting information such as employment, medical, and other records.
Complete various forms, such as accident reports, trial and courtroom requests, and applications for clients.
Mail, fax, or arrange for delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses, and court officials.
Prepare, proofread, or process legal documents, such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, appeals, motions, or pretrial agreements.
Schedule and make appointments.
Receive and place telephone calls.
Draft and type office memos.
Organize and maintain law libraries, documents, and case files.
Review legal publications and perform database searches to identify laws and court decisions relevant to pending cases.
Prepare, proofread, or process legal documents, such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, appeals, motions, or pretrial agreements.
Make travel arrangements for attorneys.
Attend legal meetings, such as client interviews, hearings, or depositions, and take notes.
Submit articles and information from searches to attorneys for review and approval for use.
Make photocopies of correspondence, documents, and other printed matter.
Prepare and distribute invoices to bill clients or pay account expenses.
Draft and type office memos.

Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

59680/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

28.69/hr

Currently Employed

2,930

Yearly Projected Openings

290

Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Cooperation
Self Control
Stress Tolerance

Digital cameras
Digital duplicators
Digital voice recorders
Laser fax machine
Microfiche or microfilm viewer components or accessories
Notebook computers
Pagers
Paper shredding machines or accessories
Personal computers
Photocopiers
Pocket calculator
Premise branch exchange PBX systems
Scanners
Special purpose telephones
Typewriters
Word processors

Accounting software
Analytical or scientific software
Calendar and scheduling software
Cloud-based data access and sharing software
Data base user interface and query software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
Electronic mail software
Expert system software
Human resources software
Information retrieval or search software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Video conferencing software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

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Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

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