Legal secretaries as a valuable asset.

Legal secretaries are valuable assets and valuable clients. The Legal Secretary works as an extension of the lawyer and is frequently the firm's "front man," dealing with clients when they have questions or while the lawyer is otherwise engaged. When properly trained, the Legal Secretary can be a wonderful tool in assuring the client that everything is going smoothly.

Organizations are more likely to optimise their total performance if the secretarial job is developed to its full potential; consequently, the qualification and development of secretaries is critical. In order for an organisation to prosper, its entire workforce must be laser-focused on achieving organisational goals. Secretaries must grasp these goals and recognise the critical role they play in ensuring that the organisation achieves them.

This is particularly true in a law firm. Because of the nature of the job, Legal Secretaries must have a wide range of abilities that go beyond those required in other fields. Legal Secretaries, for example, must comprehend the law and legal procedure so that they understand not only how to accomplish specific jobs but also why certain actions are performed. This gives them, their employers, and their clients faith in their job.

It's a win-win situation for everyone. A properly trained Legal Secretary who has been given authority and respect is driven, efficient, and proud of his or her work. As a result, the firm's performance and loyalty improve, resulting in larger profits.

A qualified Legal Secretary can also assist the legal firm's profitability by taking on extra responsibility. Many chores can be delegated to a Legal Secretary who understands what she is doing and, more importantly, why she is doing it. When you give a Legal Secretary additional authority, the effects can be surprising. The lawyer frees up billable time by having the confidence to transfer certain responsibilities to a Legal Secretary. For example, one hour of billable work every day at ￡200 per hour would equal ￡1000 per week. This would equate to ￡52,000 over the course of a year (discounting holidays).

Legal secretaries are also valuable assets because they assist in completing the work necessary by clients in order for them to pay a firm for its services. It is therefore critical for Legal Secretaries to ensure that they deliver great service to clients in order to make a favourable impression. If the client ever required legal aid again, they would return. As a result, legal secretaries are incredibly useful to organisations, and their value increases or decreases depending on how successfully their job is established.

Owen Reed is an industry-leading legal recruitment firm at the cutting edge of Legal Support, Virutal PA's, Document Production and Proofreaders. It is were Legal Secretaries might discover a professional "home" - a sense of belonging - because it provides not only training but also ongoing development.