If you have covered Constitutional Law in some detail, you will appreciate just how difficult it can be to get Private Members’ Bills pushed all the way through both houses of Parliament in order to become law. Only a very small percentage of these bills acquire Royal Assent and become statutes. Therefore, it is interesting when a Private Member’s Bill appears to be attracting more attention than usual, especially when it covers such an important aspect of family and criminal law. 

At present, there are many people who believe that the laws surrounding child neglect do not go anywhere near far enough to protect the youngest members of our society. Whilst they do cover ‘intentional neglect’, which basically means protection against physical neglect, there are absolutely no provisions in law to protect a child’s emotional, spiritual, educational and moral needs.

Studying with the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs can be done by distance learning from home. This facility allows you to be in complete control of your time. With most people now having a computer and Internet access, taking a distance learning course is becoming a very popular way to study. 

You Can Start Your Course at Any Time of Year

You can commence study at any time of the year with ILSPA. While the Legal Secretaries Diploma course takes on average three to six months to complete, you can take the course over a period of one year. 

You Can Choose Your Own Study Time

As a Legal Secretary or PA, you may be required to proofread a document before it is sent out. This means checking it over carefully yourself or reading it out loud with someone else who also has a copy. You may even be asked to just look something over for someone. If you are given a proofreading task, it is useful to know some tips, as it can be easy to read the body of the text quickly and not notice small, but important, errors.

Firstly, make it easy to read. When checking a document, try to do so from a paper copy, rather than reading it from a computer screen. If the document has a particularly small font, it is helpful to enlarge it so it is then easier to read.

Consistency

It’s official – employers have zero patience when it comes to CV grammar and spelling. When asked, ‘What is the biggest turn-off for you to see on a candidate’s CV?’ the top answer employers gave was poor grammar and spelling mistakes, according to a recent survey. Recruitment consultancy Nicoll Curtin asked 550 companies, and a massive 65 percent pointed to CV errors as their ultimate bugbear.

Shoddy spellchecking and proofreading aren’t exactly a ringing endorsement of your knowledge of basic office technology or attention to detail, are they? For enthusiastic, well-trained legal secretaries and PAs, it’s vitally important to demonstrate these basic skills.

This month we are doing something a little different and looking at the big picture so far as English law is concerned. This is something that is covered in the first unit of ILSPA's Legal Secretaries Diploma so that students can get a good grasp of how English laws are created. By knowing something about the ‘big’ picture, you are showing an interest in the same thing that intrigues many lawyers.

The topic of online trolls and bullies is hot news at the moment, but it’s also been around for some time. The tragic death of Hannah Smith has highlighted this issue and brought to the attention of parents and other people that while online media has its benefits, it hides a dark flaw and allows people to abuse and bully. Unfortunately many people clearly feel that nothing can or will be done to prevent such overt abuse.

There are current laws in place which would cover trolling and bullying. 

The Protection of Harassment Act 1997 

This month we will consider a recent publication by the Legal Ombudsman about client care¹ and note what lessons might be learnt. The leaflet contains many general points about client care, but in particular it focuses on vulnerable clients such as the elderly and issues they might have. This is a subject that those who have completed the Wills, Probate and Administration unit of the Legal Secretaries Diploma course will be familiar with. 

Following the massive success of last year’s awards and after months of preparation and work behind the scenes, nominations for the Legal PA of The Year Awards are now OPEN!

Shining a light on the UK's most inspirational Legal PAs and Secretaries, the Legal PA of The Year Awards is the only ceremony of its kind fully supported by the legal profession.

The categories open this year are:

A lack of self-confidence is often the underlying cause of a lack of job offers. So what can you do to pump up your feelings of self-worth and personal positivity before an interview?

Career experts are increasingly advising job candidates to work on issues of self-awareness as part of their job interview preparation. The more confident you feel on the day of an interview, the easier it will be to cope with stress and to respond well to interview questions. The aim, then, is to arrive for an interview with the mindset: “Yes, I really do have what it takes to do this job. I would be an asset to this company, and here’s my chance to show how.”

Here are five ways to help you get to that stage:

Conduct research

Employment law updates are not broadly announced unless you look for them. On 29 July 2013, updates to current employment legislation were made under government reforms. There were only a handful of planned reforms that launched on 29 July; nevertheless, these reforms should be highlighted for both employers and employees. 

National Minimum Wage Increase

This reform is not being launched until October, yet the increases were announced and it’s the one update that employers in particular keep their eye on. 

Planned increases are as follows: 

• 21 years and over – £6.31
• 18-20 years – £5.03
• 17 years and under – £3.72
• Serving apprentice – £2.68

Flexible Parenting Leave