Technology Tips

There are a number of skills which you will require regularly whilst using Microsoft Office Word, especially if you are studying our Legal Secretaries Diploma course or working as a Legal Secretary. This article provides step-by-step instructions for some of the most regularly used tools so that you can master these commonly used skills.

Please note that the majority of Law Firms currently use Microsoft Office 2010, we have therefore based our advice on this version of the program. You may find that your version differs slightly, however, the directions should be similar across most other versions.

Setting page margins

In this age of text-speak and abbreviations, it is quite common for emails to drift into an informal format. When messaging your friends or family, this is completely acceptable; however, it can easily lead to a lazy style of emailing when contacting organisations. This can infer that you don’t care, or be taken as rudeness, and you certainly do not want those connotations within your professional life. This article highlights the key things to remember when writing a professional email. If you follow these rules, you are less likely to make an error in an emailed job application, when contacting organisations, or when sending an email for work. Following the simple rules below will ensure that your emails always represent you in the most professional way.

Format

As new developments in artificial intelligence and automation continue to influence modern life, one thing is for certain: no industry will be immune to change – not even the legal profession, a sector historically known for its reluctance to move in line with the times.

Today, a technological revolution has come knocking on the door of this prestigious profession, promising cost-efficiency, enhanced productivity and client satisfaction. Lawyers know they must respond, but they aren’t wrong in recognising that the integration of cognitive computing will change the face of the sector forever.

Where professionals in the legal sector could once lean entirely on their knowledge and experience of the law, today’s law graduates must prepare themselves for a brave new world.

Tech-savvy

A signature has been used as a formal obligation and personal certification for centuries, but are you ready to potentially sign your life away on the electronic dotted line? The use of electronic signatures in everyday life is now commonplace, with as many as four in ten signatures written in the UK to sign for deliveries, often using an electronic device.

E-signatures are efficient and easier to enforce, with the improvement for general customer service a significant benefit. However, uncertainty in their admissibility has meant that the uptake within law firms and businesses has been slow — most are concerned that e-signatures could still be challenged in court.

Track Changes is one of the features of Microsoft Office Word which you may not have come across before, but which is an invaluable tool. When you first come to use it, you may find it confusing, but once you are familiar with it, you will find it indispensable and really quite straightforward. In this article, we will help you familiarise yourself with the key features of Track Changes.

What is Track Changes for?

From delays and fare increases to navigating foreign cities and language barriers, there are seemingly endless challenges for business travellers and Legal PAs tasked with booking travel. In recent years, there have also been incidents domestically and worldwide, bringing concern about employee safety and security to the forefront of business travel management. Such challenges, coupled with financial pressures and the need to respond to clients at the drop of a hat, have given rise to new technology aimed at solving these problems and supporting employee duty of care.

Employee tracking

Are you unwittingly scaring off potential employers because of basic social media mistakes?

Social media is a fantastic tool for connecting with people and finding work. It’s no secret that many prospective employers check the social media platforms of potential candidates before offering them interviews. However, it’s all too easy to let yourself down and jeopardise your chances of securing that dream career with a careless status update.

While this seems obvious for professional sites like LinkedIn, the content on your other profiles can also affect your career progression. We’ve put together some social media mistakes to avoid to help boost your chances of getting that next big job.

Choose an appropriate photo

SecsintheCity has just launched its new mobile app, which allows jobseekers to get the latest PA, EA and admin jobs direct to their phones as soon as they’re posted.

The app allows users to apply for the latest jobs with global brands, FTSE-listed firms and market-leading recruiters by:

• Saving searches to get notifications when relevant jobs are posted
• Uploading their CV to iCloud, Google Drive or Dropbox to apply for jobs on their iPhone
• Shortlisting jobs to apply for later

A few years ago I wrote a really detailed blog about dealing with confidential electronic documents and paperwork. This is obviously an important subject for assistants because we have to, have to, have to keep our Executive’s confidence. We must be trustworthy and, as hard as it is, keep all confidential matters to ourselves.

Today I thought I would write an update on my blog from a few years ago and concentrate on electronic documents. With cloud technology, the increased use of email and other electronic forms of communication (Slack, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc.), we have to be even more aware of how we deal with confidential and information that is discussed and communicated through technological channels. Here are my ten top tips on dealing with confidential electronic documents.

A current hot topic in the world of online technology and social media is that of data protection and the integrity and security of our personal online information. Whilst this has always been an important area – and one that has been regulated to some extent by the Data Protection Act 1998 – a number of high-profile cases relating to personal data breaches have made many online users examine the codes of practice that online enterprises work to when storing, managing and transferring their personal information. Such considerations are especially pertinent to the legal industry, given the highly sensitive nature of information that will be stored.