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

Legal PA – Elliott James Recruitment Ltd     

Location: Cheltenham

Salary: £25,000

Excellent opportunity for a PA to provide secretarial support at a high level within one of Gloucestershire’s top law firms. The successful candidate will have previous experience in a similar role.

View the full job description here:

https://www.institutelegalsecretaries.com/jobs/candidate/job/161488/ 

Legal Secretary – Residential and Commercial Conveyancing – Vivash Brand LLP      

Location: North Cheam

Salary: £24,000

SecsintheCity – the only job board dedicated to PAs, EAs and Office Support Professionals – is searching for outstanding Legal PAs and EAs to be winners at the eighth annual PA of the Year Awards.

While an abundance of high calibre nominations has already been submitted for this year’s event, we know a wealth of talent and achievement remains untapped. With limited time left to nominate yourself or a colleague, we want to hear from you today.

Your questions answered

Alongside event judge and Chief Executive of Tay Associates Susanna Tait, SecsintheCity recently answered some of the questions that are most frequently asked about the PA of the Year Awards.

What do you look for in a Legal PA, EA or Office Manager?

We recently had an excellent opportunity to sit down and speak with Gemma Williams, Paralegal at the largest news publisher in the UK, Reach PLC. In this interview, Gemma shares some invaluable insights into her Paralegal career so far, as well as some expert advice for aspiring Paralegals.

Tell me about the education route you took to become a Paralegal and your legal work experience prior to working for Reach PLC.

People learn in different ways. So, if people learn in different ways, then it is only logical that they should study in different ways. When you are studying, you may prefer to read out loud, rewrite text or even act something out to commit it to memory. You may like lists, colours or Post-its around the house. Your preferred study method gives a good indication of what sort of learner you are. Once you know this, you can establish which practices will help you and which are not really going to work. You can read more about the different types of learners here. In this article, we will be focusing on visual learners – people who need to see new information in order to truly learn it.

The term ‘business support’ can be quite a broad term but in general terms, jobs that fall under the category ‘business support’ are roles that provide administrative support to a business. Typical roles include; PA, Secretary, EA, Team Leader and Secretarial Manager.

A career in Business Support requires a large variety of transferrable skills that, if used wisely, can open your door to pretty much anything. Here is a breakdown of some of the typical roles we recruit for in Business Support and how these job roles can help you progress your career.

Admin / Office Support / Office Administrator

Many fields of work are competitive, attracting far more candidates for every open position than some might believe. Law firms receive large quantities of applications for every role advertised. Narrowing the field by hand could be an almost insurmountable task. Reading every application takes time and can result in missing some of the best candidates.

Hence why law firms often test their candidates. This is a far faster method in finding candidates who can do the job required of them. But no fear, there are just as many benefits to a candidate as there are to the employer.

Which tests might you need to complete?

There are two broad types of tests that could be used when recruiting for a legal role:

An efficient, effective PA is the beating heart of any successful team and the key to the success of a senior executive.

Due to developments in technology, working practices and working environments, the PA role has changed dramatically over the years.

During my 15+ years’ experience of recruiting PAs, I’ve seen the role constantly evolve – allocations have increased, agile working has come into play for many firms and today's PAs need to keep up with these changes to continue to add value. It’s no longer enough to be a super minute taker or a speedy typist; firms within Professional Services are looking for much more.

What employers want from their PAs

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

Legal Secretary – Family Law – Stuart Gordon Solicitors     

Location: Leeds

Salary: £20,000 - £24,000

This is an opportunity to help a lot of people, and progress in your career too. From audio typing and clerical work to preparing documents and correspondence, you’ll support several of Stuart Gordon’s experienced Family and Children lawyers on a wide range of issues. You’ll support their clients too, either over the phone or in person. Put simply, you’ll be a vital part of the team.

View the full job description here:

Thousands of people are working as Paralegals without realising it. How do you find out if you are one of them – and what you should do?

Many people are working within a company performing certain tasks day in, day out, not realizing that what they are doing may class them as a “Paralegal”.

Why should this matter? Why should you be “pigeon-holed”?

In this current climate, giving yourself a lift up the ladder can help your career and certainly your status within an organization.

After the success of last year, we are happy to announce a newly formed partnership between The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs and Legalex 2020.

On the 18th and 19th of March 2020, the London ExCeL will host the most forward-thinking Legalex to date, housing 150 cutting-edge suppliers and 100+ educational, CPD accredited seminars from some of the world’s top legal experts and innovative thinkers – leading the industry as the most accomplished event for ambitious and successful legal firms looking to modernise their practices.

Legal Secretaries and PAs will get the opportunity to network and meet with representatives from firms, learn about new tools and innovations in their area, and update their knowledge in specialist areas of their role.