Introducing the 2022 Winners of the PA of the Year Awards

Last month saw the gathering of PAs, EAs and Office Managers, from across the UK, to celebrate the annual SecsintheCity PA of the Year Awards, sponsored by Tay Associates.

Boasting the splendour of the Ivy in London, the event saw hopeful nominees, friends, and supportive colleagues gather to celebrate the achievement of all those involved.

Having received an outstanding 700 nominations, the judges whittled down the nominees to just 19. 

Assess your Legal Administration Skills

Everyone in the legal profession is confronted with a degree of administration duties. As a legal secretary this is an area you are expected to lead on. You may have years of “admin” experience and already consider yourself an expert, but it can be very beneficial to take an assessment of your current skill level from time to time. You may also just be starting in the legal profession, so we will start with the basics before considering what kinds of advanced skills would help you achieve expert status.

Useful Blogs for Legal Secretaries and PAs

Blogs are a fantastic, but often shamefully underrated resource. Think about it, where else can you access free, constantly updated, and tailored information from some of the world’s lead thinkers in their area?

When considering blogs in those terms, many of you may be now thinking “Why don’t I read more blogs?” It could have a lot to do with how many bloggers there are out there- how do you know that you are getting the most accurate and relevant information for your search?

ILSPA has selected some of our favourite blogs to help you navigate the plethora out there:

All Things Admin

The Top Three Legal Myths

Many of us have a basic understanding of some aspects of the law, but there are a few areas where myths seem to persist. For example, is there such a thing as a Common Law wife or husband? Does a Will guarantee your wishes will be followed after your death? And if you break the law unwittingly because you genuinely didn’t know the action you took was illegal, the courts will be lenient. These are three commonly held beliefs – but how accurate are they?

Let’s take a look at each in turn: 

Myth 1: ‘Common Law Wife or Husband’.

Have you ever thought that living with a long-term partner gives you ‘legal’ rights in law similar to that of a married couple?

If so, then you are wrong! There is no such thing as a ‘common law wife or husband’.

Quiet Quitting: An Impossible Concept for the Admin Industry?

‘Quiet Quitting’ is the new buzz phrase, born from lockdown where people have started to re-evaluate their priorities and work/life balance. Gathering speed on social media, it essentially means ‘just staying within the parameters of your job description’ – doing no more, and no less, than what is required by your contract. For example, no more staying late at work, checking emails outside of your contracted work hours, or volunteering to do the ‘nice to have but not really necessary’ jobs, such as organising social events outside of office hours.

Mediation – A Solution to the Court Crisis

Partly because of the pandemic and perhaps because of years of chronic under-investment, the UK court system is under pressure. Case numbers are rising and the time taken for claims to reach trial is increasing year on year. More use of alternative dispute resolution is seen as a solution, so there is a proposal to make it compulsory in commercial disputes. We will consider the case for this and compare how compulsory mediation has worked in family matters where it has been a feature for nearly 10 years.

Matrimonial disputes and mediation

How to Network When Job Hunting

When it comes to job hunting, people get overwhelmed by the number of numerous strategies at their disposal. Some may send hundreds of applications to companies hiring employees, while others may reach out to acquaintances within the industry to help secure a job. Nonetheless, it all comes down to one thing – networking. Networking doesn’t mean pestering people with your problems. With limited time on our hands, it is only possible to network with a few people, especially those within your field. 

Achieving Personal and Professional Growth

Personal and professional growth comes from acting in ways that support our health, values, and goals. Turning our awareness towards what we really want from life and doing things that make us happy enables us to live more authentically and in alignment with ourselves.

You may have developed unhealthy habits or have responsibilities which are holding you back. A great way to break free of these and develop a more positive way of being is to create a code of conduct for yourself. You can do this by making a list of directives you would like to follow. At first you can brainstorm anything which comes to mind, then you can go through your list and refine it, focusing on the things that really matter.

Here are some examples of directives for you:

Legal Secretary Vacancies November 2022

Here is a selection of vacancies from our Legal Secretary Jobs Board this month:

Private Client Legal Secretary – Venn Group 

Location: Birmingham

Salary: Market Related

Legal 500 law firm based in Birmingham is seeking a motivated Legal Secretary to join their progressive Private Client department.

You will require you to have a professional and personable attitude whilst supporting multiple Fee Earners within the department. This role will require you to undertake diary and file management, liaise with clients and third parties, organise conference and meeting calls and file Wills and HMRC forms.

View the full job description here:           

What it is like to be a Legal Assistant at TLT LLP

Introducing, Dr Avi Bhangal

I am a legal assistant working at TLT LLP, a UK law firm headquartered in Bristol which was named Law Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 2021. Prior to this role I had completed my LLB/LPC/LLM/PhD at the University of Huddersfield, in West Yorkshire.

Whilst studying I had the opportunity to take part in many legal roles including a mini pupillage. 

Working at TLT LLP

In September I started work with TLT LLP working in the Financial Service Disputes and Investigations department. As this was during Covid-19, I was remote working but treated it as a normal working day with normal working hours. 

My day overview