Legal Secretary Job Description
A concise, role-specific job description template to help you attract experienced legal secretaries. Use the sections below to build a clear advert and shortlist efficiently.
What does a Legal Secretary professional do?
A Legal Secretary provides professional administrative and document-management support to solicitors and legal teams, handling drafting, diary management, client contact and file maintenance to keep matters progressing smoothly.
Legal Secretary job description template
Use this employer-ready example as a starting point, then replace the placeholders and adjust the content so it accurately reflects your vacancy.
Legal Secretary
About the role
[Organisation name] is seeking a skilled Legal Secretary to support our [team/practice area] in [Location]. You will produce and proofread legal documents, manage solicitor diaries and client correspondence, maintain case files and liaise with clients and external parties. This is a [permanent/temporary/part-time/full-time] role offering [Salary or range] and opportunities for training and career development.
Key responsibilities
- Prepare, format and proofread legal documents, correspondence and court bundles to professional standards.
- Manage partner/solicitor diaries, arrange hearings/meetings and coordinate witness attendance.
- Open and maintain client files, ensuring accurate file notes and case records are kept up to date.
- Liaise with clients, courts, barristers and other professional contacts by phone, email and post.
- Process incoming and outgoing mail, e‑documents and e‑filing requirements where applicable.
- Transcribe dictation and maintain accurate templates, precedents and matter-specific documents.
- Assist with billing data entry, time recording or fee-earner support where required.
- Ensure compliance with confidentiality, file retention and data-protection procedures.
Essential skills and experience
- Previous experience in a legal secretarial or legal administrative role in a law firm or in-house legal team.
- Strong document-production skills, including accurate proofreading and formatting.
- Competent use of Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable with digital file management.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and customer-service skills for client contact.
- Organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple matters and meet deadlines.
- Discretion and understanding of confidentiality and data-protection obligations.
Desirable
- Experience with legal case-management or document-management systems.
- Familiarity with the area of law handled by the team (e.g. conveyancing, litigation, family, corporate).
- Typing speed and experience transcribing dictation or audio recordings.
- Experience of fee/time recording and basic billing processes.
- Relevant secretarial or legal-administration training or certification.
What we offer
- Pension scheme contribution (employer to specify)
- Annual leave entitlement (to be specified)
- Flexible working / hybrid options (if available)
- Training and professional development budget (details to be provided)
- Life assurance or income protection (if offered)
- Season-ticket loan / travel allowance (if offered)
How to apply
Apply with your CV and any additional information requested. Make the interview process, closing date and any assessment stages clear where known.
Use this as a starting point rather than a final advert. The strongest version will reflect the real role, salary, location, systems, responsibilities, benefits and working arrangements.
What is a Legal Secretary role?
Legal secretaries provide essential administrative and clerical support to solicitors and legal teams. Their tasks include preparing and managing legal documents, maintaining accurate case files, scheduling hearings and client meetings, and handling routine client contact. Strong attention to detail, confidentiality and time-management are central to the role, which often involves working across several active matters simultaneously.
Core duties
Drafting and formatting documents, diary management, client liaison and file administration that keep legal matters progressing.
Skills & tools
High standard of document production, familiarity with Microsoft Office and aptitude for case-management software and e‑filing.
Working patterns
Roles exist at different seniority levels; hours are typically office-based but hybrid arrangements are increasingly common.
Progression
Experienced legal secretaries can move into senior secretarial, paralegal or practice-support roles with additional training.
Typical Legal Secretary responsibilities
Responsibilities should reflect the real scope of the vacancy rather than every task someone in this profession might ever complete.
Prepare
Prepare, format and proofread legal documents, correspondence and court bundles to professional standards.
Manage partner/solicitor diaries
Manage partner/solicitor diaries, arrange hearings/meetings and coordinate witness attendance.
Open and maintain client files
Open and maintain client files, ensuring accurate file notes and case records are kept up to date.
Liaise with clients
Liaise with clients, courts, barristers and other professional contacts by phone, email and post.
Process incoming
Process incoming and outgoing mail, e‑documents and e‑filing requirements where applicable.
Transcribe dictation
Transcribe dictation and maintain accurate templates, precedents and matter-specific documents.
Assist with billing data entry
Assist with billing data entry, time recording or fee-earner support where required.
Ensure compliance with confidentiality
Ensure compliance with confidentiality, file retention and data-protection procedures.
Legal Secretary skills and experience to look for
Keep the essential list focused on what the person really needs to perform the role. Move useful-but-trainable experience into desirable criteria.
Usually worth prioritising
- Previous experience in a legal secretarial or legal administrative role in a law firm or in-house legal team.
- Strong document-production skills, including accurate proofreading and formatting.
- Competent use of Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Excel) and comfortable with digital file management.
- Excellent written and verbal communication and customer-service skills for client contact.
- Organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple matters and meet deadlines.
- Discretion and understanding of confidentiality and data-protection obligations.
Useful where relevant
- Experience with legal case-management or document-management systems.
- Familiarity with the area of law handled by the team (e.g. conveyancing, litigation, family, corporate).
- Typing speed and experience transcribing dictation or audio recordings.
- Experience of fee/time recording and basic billing processes.
- Relevant secretarial or legal-administration training or certification.
See our guide to what to include in a job advert before publishing.
How to write a Legal Secretary job advert
Small role-specific details can make the advert much easier for suitable candidates to assess.
Be specific about tasks
List the routine tasks the post-holder will perform (e.g. court bundle preparation, diary co‑ordination, CPR/time recording). This helps candidates self-select.
Name the practice area
Indicate the team or area of law (conveyancing, litigation, family, commercial) so applicants understand the subject-matter and required experience.
State working pattern clearly
Specify full/part-time hours, hybrid working options and any required office hours for hearings or court attendance.
Highlight essential systems
If you require experience of specific case-management systems or transcription, list these as desirable rather than mandatory unless absolutely needed from day one.
Use transparent requirements
Keep essential criteria realistic and measurable (years of experience, document-production skills) and place preferred extras in the desirable section.
Legal Secretary salary considerations
Salary for Legal Secretary roles varies by experience, location, practice area and employer size. When setting a range, consider the complexity of the caseload, the seniority of the role and the local labour market rather than a single national figure.
depending on experience
- Use a genuine range
- Separate variable pay
- Avoid “competitive” alone
- Match salary to seniority
What Legal Secretary candidates will want to know
Practical details can influence whether a suitable candidate applies, even when the title and salary are attractive.
What are the working hours and flexibility?
Candidates will want clarity on start/finish times, whether core hours are expected, and any requirement to attend court or evening meetings.
Is the role office-based, hybrid or remote?
Legal secretarial duties often require on-site presence for paper files and hearings; specify any hybrid working arrangements and expectations.
Which practice areas will I support?
Applicants need to know the legal areas they will handle so they can assess fit and highlight relevant experience.
What software and systems will I use?
Detail whether candidates will use specific case-management systems, e‑filing platforms or transcription tools and whether training is provided.
Will background or confidentiality checks be required?
Employers typically carry out identity checks and references; explain if additional clearance or checks are required for client-sensitive work.
What training and progression are available?
Candidates often want to know about opportunities for internal promotion, paralegal training or funded courses.
Where to post a Legal Secretary job
Legal Secretary vacancies attract applicants from both traditional job boards and specialist legal-administration communities. Use a mix of broad UK job sites for reach and legal/administrative niche boards or professional networks to find candidates with sector experience. Also consider local advertising for practices that rely on in‑office presence and internal employee referrals for hard-to-fill, confidential roles.
Related legal / administration job descriptions
Recruiting for a slightly different role? These templates may be a closer fit.
Legal Secretary job description FAQs
Do legal secretaries need formal qualifications?
Formal qualifications are not mandatory for many legal secretary roles. Employers commonly prioritise proven experience, strong document-production skills and confidentiality. Relevant secretarial or legal-administration courses can be advantageous and may be listed as desirable.
Should I require previous law firm experience?
Previous law firm experience is beneficial, especially for specialist practice areas, but some firms successfully recruit from general administrative backgrounds and provide on‑the‑job training for legal procedures.
Which checks should I carry out before hiring?
Standard checks include identity verification, right to work, employment references and, where appropriate, criminal-record or regulated-sector checks. Ensure your vetting is proportionate to the role and documented in your hiring policy.
How long should the advert and candidate specification be?
Keep the advert concise (one to three short paragraphs) and use a separate person specification to list essential and desirable criteria. Clear, focused adverts attract better-matched applications.
Should I pay a higher rate for typing or transcription skills?
Speed and accuracy for transcription are valuable and can justify a higher offer or a clear progression pathway. Consider including minimum typing-speed expectations as desirable rather than essential unless indispensable.
Is hybrid working appropriate for this role?
Hybrid working can work if digital case management is in place and core office duties (court bundle preparation, hearings) are covered. Specify expected office days and any client-facing requirements in the advert.
Ready to hire a Legal Secretary?
Use this template to create a clear job advert, customise the essential criteria and publish across appropriate job boards and legal networks. When ready, include interview and vetting steps to ensure candidates meet confidentiality and competency requirements.
