Reasons for Earning a Legal Secretary Associate Degree
Students enrolled in a legal secretary associate degree program acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to assume positions as specialists in legal word processing or a legal secretary. For a student considering a career in law, the legal secretary route may be the way to go. Students will get a basic understanding of the law, and from there can determine if they want to pursue more training to become, for example, a paralegal or lawyer. Legal secretaries also can advance within their own realm. They can assume managerial responsibilities within a law firm.
Would-be legal secretaries would be well-served to find a curriculum that contains or get additional training in LexisNexis. Lawyers and other legal professionals use the information database to research case law and perform background checks. According to the LexisNexis Web site, www.lexisnexis.com, the company has a range of databases and services that it provides to, among other industries, the legal profession. Students should note that many job listings for legal secretaries request this skill.
Career Related Information
Legal Secretaries Economic Outlook and Growth of the Industry
Legal secretaries should see a healthy amount of job opportunities in their field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field should see average growth (between 9 and 17 percent) through 2014.
Legal Secretaries Salary Information
Legal secretaries earn a modest salary, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov. These professionals average $36,720 annually in compensation. The next step up would be a paralegal, a position that averages, $39,130, according to the bureau. It should be noted that these figures are greatly affected by geography, office size and the applicant's skill level.
Degree Specific
Typical Courses for a Legal Secretary Associate Degree
In order to complete a legal secretary degree program, students will be required to take a variety of courses that will give them the background in business and office procedures applicable to a law setting. A sample curriculum is likely to include classes in:
- English
- Business communications
- Accounting
- Business Math
- Administrative management of an office
- Dictation
- Transcription
- Legal terminology
- Shorthand
- Procedures in a Legal Office
- Proofreading/Editing
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Financial accounting
- Keyboarding
- Legal Research
- Computer Science
- Computer Applications for Business
Skills Obtained in a Legal Secretary Associate Degree
Legal secretaries work with people, documents and files and perform a wide variety of duties in a specialized field. To that end, a typical legal secretary program may instill within the graduate the following skills:
- Interpersonal skills
- Critical-thinking skills
- Decision making skills
- Communications (written and oral) skills
- Computer skills
- Research skills
- Mathematical skills
- Organizational skills
- Legal skills
- Typing skills
- Data entry skills
- Grammar and spelling skills
- Transcription skills
- Management and supervisory skills
- Office procedural skills
- Shorthand skills
- Computer application skills
