STEP 1
Build the Ideal Candidate Profile
To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.
How To Hire A Legal Secretary
Admin & OfficeComplete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Legal Secretary hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.
LEGAL SECRETARY RECRUITMENT GUIDE
What does a Legal Secretary do?
A Legal Secretary provides administrative support to lawyers in a law firm. Most of the tasks include typing documents, organizing calendars, sorting and preparing court documents. A Legal Secretary helps the attorney to work more efficiently.
Day to day tasks of a Legal Secretary
- Help in preparing legal documents such as appeals, motions, and petitions.
- Organize and maintain the lawyer’s calendar by keeping important appointments on track.
- Type and edit legal documents.
- Act as the receptionist in the office and attend to visitors or clients.
- Answer and screen phone calls.
- Organize and sort all documents ensuring they are updated and accurate.
- Organize court documents accordingly and prepare before deadlines.
LEGAL SECRETARY DEFINITION
A Legal Secretary’s primary responsibility is to provide administrative and clerical support to a lawyer in a law firm. Because of this, it is important that a Legal Secretary is diligent and organized.
HIRING PROCESS
Legal Secretary Hiring Process
STEP 2
Write A Job Description Based On Skills
Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.
STEP 3
Selecting The Ideal Candidate
See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.
STEP 4
Interview Top Performers
Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.
STEP 5
Making An Offer
Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.
BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Skills needed for a Legal Secretary
A Legal Secretary must be an excellent communicator–verbally and written. They will be dealing with a lot of legal documents and will be working closely with the lawyers and clients. It would be beneficial to have knowledge of legal terminologies and procedures as this will help efficiencies and understanding of supporting lawyers.
- Reliability
- Information Management
- Productivity
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS
How to write a Legal Secretary job description
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Legal Secretary job description:
- Job Title
- What position are you hiring for?
- Summary
- What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
- Responsibilities
- An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
- Requirements
- Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
- Benefits
- Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sample skill tests for a Legal Secretary
Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library
Question 1
ProductivityQuestion Type: Text
Describe a situation when you "went above and beyond the call of duty" for your company. What did you do, and why were you willing to do it?
Question 2
Information ManagementQuestion Type: Text
You've been asked to attend a meeting with a client of a new case. When you arrive at the meeting, the client is the partner of your best friend. You know your friend has no idea of this situation, but you think they deserve to know. How do you handle this situation?
Question 3
ReliabilityQuestion Type: Text
It's 3pm and you are about to head into a meeting. You have overcommitted yourself and won't have a task completed for one of the lawyers that you said you wouldWhat do you do?
INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS
How to interview a Legal Secretary
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.
Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.
MAKING AN OFFER
How much does it cost to hire a Legal Secretary?
The US average for a Legal Secretary according to Salary.com is $51,324, while Payscale.com reports it at $57,467. The lowest recorded salary is at $35,000, and the highest is at $84,000. Some companies offer additional pay through performance bonuses and commissions.
United States
Legal Secretaries’ salaries in the United States range from $35,000 - $84,000. The average falls between $51,000 - $57,000. Salaries vary depending on the educational background, additional skills, years of experience in the field, and the location.
Source: Source: Salary.com; Payscale.com
United Kingdom
Legal Secretaries’ salaries in the United Kingdom range from £21,000 - £52,000 (GBP). The average falls between £23,000 - £37,000 (GBP). Salaries vary depending on the educational background, additional skills, years of experience in the field, and the location.
Source: Source: Glassdoor.com; Talent.com
Australia
Legal Secretaries’ salaries in Australia range from $44,000 - $84,000 (AUD). The average falls between $57,000 - $75,000 (AUD). Salaries vary depending on the educational background, additional skills, years of experience in the field, and the location.
Source: Source: Talent.com; Payscale.com