Career Experiences

On the evening of Thursday 12 November, 20 of the UK’s most talented Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants and Office Managers celebrated their successes at the ninth annual PA of the Year Awards.

We are looking for the brightest and most talented Legal PAs for the PA of the Year Awards 2020. If you work in a law firm and want to celebrate the achievements of a colleague, or if you’re a Legal PA yourself whose hard work deserves some recognition, then we want to hear from you.

Craig Johnson is a LL.B Law Student, NALP Licensed Paralegal and Fellowship Member of the ILSPA. Craig is currently a Senior Paralegal at Court Assistance UK and has a BSB License to Instruct Counsel. 

We would like to introduce you to an exceptional graduate, Alexander Nair. Alexander enrolled on our Legal Secretaries Diploma course at the beginning of May and qualified with a distinction within a month!

Starting a new job can be a daunting experience for even the most experienced professionals, but starting a new job remotely presents even greater challenges still. We spoke with experienced Executive Assistant Gina Haynes who shared details about her recent experience of on-boarding remotely and her advice for starting a new job while working from home.

Charlotte O’Brien was an experienced PA working for a Director of multiple companies. When her PA role required her to get involved in a High Court case, she felt she needed a better understanding of law and decided to study ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma. From there, her interest in law grew and she decided to make the move into working as a Legal Secretary. 

We are often asked whether you can study ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma course with no Legal Secretary experience. The answer we always give is that the course is suitable for all levels of experience from beginners to experienced professionals. Tracey Jenkins, an ILSPA Student, decided to enrol on the course when she left her position in administration.

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.

When Charlotte Moon enrolled for ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma course in 2011, she knew that she wanted a career in law but probably never imagined that one day she would be opening up her own department in a law firm. Charlotte in now a Senior Caseworker specialising in Family Law and has just completed her Level 6 Law and Practice Diploma.

When Leah Taylor decided to finally pursue her goal of becoming a Legal Secretary, the first thing she did was enrol on ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma course. Upon completion of her qualification, Leah secured a fantastic role at Clifford Chance.