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Legal Secretaries
What they do?
Legal secretaries perform some or all of the following duties:
A. May perform other general office work as required including preparing financial statements.
B. Prepare and key in correspondence and legal documents, such as deeds, wills, affidavits and briefs, from handwritten copy, shorthand and machine dictation using computers
C. Review and proofread documents and correspondence to ensure compliance with legal procedures and grammatical usage
D. Schedule appointments, meetings and conferences for employer
E. Set up and maintain filing systems, utilizing knowledge of legal records and procedures and frequently controlling confidential materials and documents
F. Open and distribute regular and electronic incoming mail and other material and co-ordinate the flow of information internally and with other departments or organizations
G. Determine and establish office procedures and routines
What education do I need?
1. Completion of secondary school is usually required.
2. Completion of a one- or two-year college or other program for secretaries or legal secretaries is usually required.
3. Most recent entrants have a community college diploma, and almost 3 in 10 have a trade/vocational certificate.
High School Subject that will help:
1. English
2. Computer-related courses
3. Keyboarding
What can you expect to make:
The average hourly wages for Legal Secretaries is $17.09/HR, which is close to the average for occupations in the business, finance and administration sector and are below average for all technical, professional, and skilled occupations. These wages grew at an average rate from 2002 to 2004.
Average Wage
Expected Wage by Age
Unemployment:
4% of Legal Secretaries are unemployed. This rate is close to the average for technical, professional, and skilled occupations.
Unemployment
Trends in Unemployment
Current Job Outlook:
The job outlook for Legal Secretaries is considered Average because:
1. Employment grew at an average rate.
2. The retirement rate is above average, and the number of retiring workers contributes to job openings.
3. Hourly wages ($17.09) are close to the average ($18.07), and the rate of the wage growth is close to the average.
4. The unemployment rate (4%) is close to the 2004 average (7%).
Future Job Prospects:
Your job outlook will continue to be Average because:
1. The employment growth rate will likely be below average.
2. The retirement rate will likely be above average and the number of retiring workers should contribute to job openings.
3. The number of job seekers will likely match the number of job openings.
Highest Concetration:
The highest concentrations Legal Secretaries are found in Quebec and British Columbia while the lowest concentrations are in Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
Unionization Rate:
The unionization rate (14%) is below the average (32%) for all occupations.
Useful Experience:
1. Computer literacy
2. Project organization
3. Record-keeping
Part Time Workers
Part time workers:
12% of Legal Secretaries are employed only on a part-time basis. There were 29,000 workers employed in these occupations in 2004, an increase of 1% since 1997.
Age Demographics
Age Demographics:
The earlier-than-average retirement age (60) combined with an expected older-than-average age (44) of worker will likely result in an above-average retirement rate to 2009.
