How long does it take to become a Legal Secretary?

It takes 4 years of professional experience to become a legal secretary. That is the time it takes to learn specific legal secretary skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 7 to 9 years years to become a legal secretary.

Is a legal secretary the same as a paralegal?

No, being a legal secretary is not the same as being a paralegal. A legal secretary serves in a more clerical capacity, typing, transcribing, and filing, while a paralegal typically assumes more legal responsibility, often writing legal drafts and creating legal correspondence on behalf of the attorney.

How To Become A Legal Secretary: What It Is and Career Path

What is a legal secretary and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Emily Allen-Hornblower

A Legal Secretary assists lawyers and helps them to prepare and arrange legal documents. They are trained and highly knowledgeable in legal processes and the documentation of legal cases, and they have an important function in the day-to-day life of a lawyer's office.

They have a wide range of responsibilities, from answering phones, scheduling appointments, and taking messages to preparing presentations, proofreading pleas and briefs, and preparing drafts for correspondence. They manage the documentation of legal cases, as well. They work in close contact with the attorneys, clients, witnesses, and courtroom staff.

To be a successful legal secretary, you need to be organized and constantly on your toes. You need to be able to multitask and perform under pressure, coordinating the execution of various tasks simultaneously. Being assertive and energetic is a must but, as you will interact with many different kinds of people, patience and understanding are essential qualities for you as well.

What general advice would you give to a Legal Secretary?

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Associate Professor of Classics, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

"I would say, think broadly. Your CV gives you an edge - you chose a course of study that is somewhat atypical, original (and a great conversation starter!) that gave you widely applicable skills.

I mean, who studies Classics? Who willingly subjects themselves to the rigors of Latin or Greek - or both? Who commits to navigating the intricacies of an interdisciplinary path that combines some of the most vital areas of inquiry for our time: social and cultural history, political science, philosophy, psychology, literary studies, material culture?

A go-getter. Someone who is passionate. And is Driven.

And you know what? Employers know that. They see that on your CV, and they think, wow - here is someone interesting and hard-working and who thinks out of the box. And they are right. Xerox saw that. Macy's saw that. The Air Force Intelligence Officer who hired one of our (female!) undergraduates as an officer saw that. The software engineer who hired another one of our grads to join his team as a full-time software engineer saw that. Oxford University Press in New York City saw that - and hired another recent grad as a full-time intern in their Higher Education Editorial Development department. SO: Classics majors, think big and broad. There is no restricted path for what is next.

So - Graduating seniors in Classics (and other Liberal Arts degrees), as you prepare to go forward into the world, you have good reason to go forth with pride, and enter the world after college, with all its question marks and inevitable bumps in the road, with confidence.
A Classics major is excellent preparation for the pursuit of a wide range of careers in a large number of fields, including, but not limited to, government, law, education, business, journalism, library science, publishing, foreign service, finance, the entertainment industry, museum, and preservation work, pharmaceutical sciences, music, and the arts, foundations, technology, web design, and labor relations. So think broadly. You've got this. "

ScoreLegal SecretaryUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $41,725

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.7

Growth Rate -8%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.87%

Asian 2.73%

Black or African American 7.45%

Hispanic or Latino 13.17%

Unknown 3.98%

White 71.80%

Gender

female 94.79%

male 5.21%

Age - 56

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 56

Stress Level

4.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.0

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.2

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a legal secretary

Explore legal secretary education requirements

Most common legal secretary degrees

Bachelor's

37.4 %

Associate

34.2 %

High School Diploma

14.0 %

Start to develop specific legal secretary skills

Skills	Percentages
Litigation	12.38%
Legal Correspondence	11.23%
Dictation	6.21%
Law Firm	5.91%
Travel Arrangements	4.31%

Complete relevant legal secretary training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New legal secretaries learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a legal secretary based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real legal secretary resumes.

Gain additional legal secretary certifications

Legal secretary certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific legal secretary certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for legal secretaries include Professional Legal Secretary (PLS) and Certified Paralegal/Certified Legal Assistant (CP/CLA).

More About Certifications

Research legal secretary duties and responsibilities

Interview clients and manage discovery response process including responses to interrogatories and production of documents.
Manage and perform paraprofessional and legal research functions relate to medical malpractice, products liability and general litigation.
Perform administrative tasks for managing partner and trial attorney at a medical malpractice litigation firm including daily transcription and stenography.
Draft and type probate documents, estate planning documents, discovery including interrogatories, correspondence.

Prepare your legal secretary resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your legal secretary resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a legal secretary resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Legal Secretary Resume templates

Build a professional Legal Secretary resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Legal Secretary resume.

Apply for legal secretary jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a legal secretary job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do legal secretaries rate their job?

3/5

Based On 1 Ratings

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Legal Secretary reviews

3.0

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2022

Pros

The interesting cases, typing briefs and long, detailed reports.

Cons

The attorneys

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2020

Pros

I like the most is what the legal assistants typically do in their daily duites.

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020

Pros

Arranging meetings typing shorthand handling phone calls and travel all with confidential

What is a legal secretary and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a Legal Secretary?

Legal Secretary career paths

Key steps to become a legal secretary

Explore legal secretary education requirements

Most common legal secretary degrees

Start to develop specific legal secretary skills

Complete relevant legal secretary training and internships

Gain additional legal secretary certifications

Research legal secretary duties and responsibilities

Prepare your legal secretary resume

Choose From 10+ Customizable Legal Secretary Resume templates

Apply for legal secretary jobs

How Did You Land Your First Legal Secretary Job

Average legal secretary salary

How do legal secretaries rate their job?

Legal Secretary reviews

Legal Secretary FAQs

How long does it take to become a Legal Secretary?

Is a legal secretary the same as a paralegal?

Search for legal secretary jobs

Legal Secretary jobs by state