How to hire an executive legal secretary

How to hire an executive legal secretary, step by step

Here's a step-by-step executive legal secretary hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an executive legal secretary job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new executive legal secretary
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your executive legal secretary job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an executive legal secretary for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An executive legal secretary's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, executive legal secretaries from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   Here's a comparison of executive legal secretary salaries for various roles:

   Type of Executive Legal Secretary	Description	Hourly rate
   Executive Legal Secretary	Secretaries and administrative assistants perform clerical and administrative duties. They organize files, prepare documents, schedule appointments, and support other staff.	$13-30
   Paralegal/Office Manager	A Paralegal/Office Manager is responsible for distributing cases to paralegals and assuring their timely completion, as well as supervising the services provided by them. They train paralegals on statutes, recorded judicial decisions, and other legal articles or documents.	$19-37
   Legal Clerk	A legal clerk is responsible for performing administrative and clerical duties to legal offices and organizations to ensure smooth legal business operations. Legal clerks sort and distribute documents to the appropriate personnel, update information on the database, schedule appointments, respond to clients' inquiries and concerns, and document meeting objectives... Show more	$11-23

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Litigation
   • Law Firm
   • Travel Arrangements
   • Proofread
   • Expense Reports
   • Dictation
   • Transcription
   • Phone Calls
   • Subpoenas
   • Telephone Calls
   • Administrative Tasks
   • Secretarial Support
   • Real Estate Transactions
   • Federal Courts

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage a team of five to prepare over 100 UCC-1 forms to meet a 48 hour deadline.
   • Prepare daily transcription from dictation.
   • Send out discovery (interrogatories, requests for production, etc . )
   • Log heavy volume of summonses and complaints to prepare for express delivery.
   • Prepare, file and/or serve complaints, motions, briefs, orders, answers, pleadings and subpoenas.
   • Develop legal pleadings for court and prepare eviction notices, probate documents, and property titles for clients.

   More executive legal secretary duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the executive legal secretary job description is a good way to get more applicants. An executive legal secretary salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for an executive legal secretary in Tennessee may be lower than in Alaska, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level executive legal secretary. Additionally, an executive legal secretary with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average executive legal secretary salary

   $43,888yearly

   $21.10 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level executive legal secretary salary

   $29,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 20, 2026

   Average executive legal secretary salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	New York	$48,709	$23
   2	California	$47,551	$23
   3	New Jersey	$46,982	$23
   4	Florida	$39,228	$19
   5	Arizona	$39,015	$19

   Average executive legal secretary salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Gusto	$47,437	$22.81	5
   2	Quaker Ridge Golf Club	$39,106	$18.80

4. Writing an executive legal secretary job description

   An executive legal secretary job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of an executive legal secretary job description:

   Executive legal secretary job description example

   • Ability to maintain confidentiality.
   • Strong command of the logistics of office workflow.
   • Strong emotional intelligence and calming demeanor.
   • Superior verbal and written communication skills.
   • Proficient in Microsoft 365.
   • Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
   • Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is required, advanced degree is a huge plus.
   • At least five years of executive assistant experience.
   • Experience managing multiple calendars.
   • Willing to work some weekends and perform other related duties as assigned.
   • Experience booking travel and hospitality reservations via concierge services.
   • Must type at least 40 words per minute.

   What We Do for You:

   • Highly competitive pay.
   • Unlimited opportunities for growth and advancement.
   • 15 days PTO accrued on day one.
   • 9 additional paid holidays.
   • Team outingsand sponsored events.
   • 401K with discretionary matching.
   • Company-paid HMO medical insurance with HSA options.
   • Great dental, vision, and life insurance programs.
   • Free parking or commuter reimbursement programs.
   • Pet insurance option included with benefits.

   Wilshire Law Firm celebrates being an equal employment opportunity provider to all people in accordance with all applicable laws. We are happy to make reasonable accommodations to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions throughout all terms of employment as well as the entire application process.

   Strive for excellence. Fight for justice. Foster unity. Join Wilshire Law Firm.

   Company DescriptionWilshire Law Firm, PLC, is excited to be among Southern California’s largest plaintiff personal injury, employment, aviation, and class action law firms. U.S. News & World Report recognized us as a Best Law Firm in 2020, 2021, and 2022. To date, our team of over 300 legal professionals has recovered over $1 billion for our clients, providing exceptional service every step of the way. In 2020 alone, our firm recovered 20 of the top 50 Personal Injury Settlements in California.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find executive legal secretaries for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your executive legal secretary job on Zippia to find and recruit executive legal secretary candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit executive legal secretaries, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new executive legal secretary

   Once you've found the executive legal secretary candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new executive legal secretary first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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