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Legal administrative secretary skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Mike Peterson Ph.D.,

Eric Sader

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical legal administrative secretary skills. We ranked the top skills for legal administrative secretaries based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.0% of legal administrative secretary resumes contained litigation as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a legal administrative secretary needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 legal administrative secretary skills for your resume and career

1. Litigation

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use litigation:

Provided administrative and secretarial support in practice areas such as litigation, corporate and capital markets.
Coordinated firm-wide calendar and managed litigation document deadline process.

2. Travel Arrangements

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use travel arrangements:

Coordinated domestic and international travel arrangements, scheduled meetings, and maintained firm calendar.
Coordinate travel arrangements and prepare complex account reconciliations involving foreign exchange rates.

3. Real Estate

Real estate is land that has buildings on it. This kind of property consists of permanent improvements either natural or man-made, which include, houses, fences, bridges, water trees, and minerals. There are 4 types of real estate namely; residential real estate, commercial real estate, industrial real estate, and vacant land.

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use real estate:

Draft legal documents such as wills, probate, real estate, divorce documents, etc.
Scheduled court appearances, legal appointments and real estate closings.

4. Law Firm

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use law firm:

Performed secretarial and administrative duties in a small law firm for a personal injury/criminal/traffic attorney.
Worked for (7) Attorneys, and (3) Paralegals in a medical malpractice law firm.

5. Subpoenas

Subpoenas are formal and legal documents issued mostly by a court or some other government agency that demands the presence of the person the document is addressed to, to show up at court. Subpoenas are issued to individuals whom the court wants to appear either as a witness in a particular case in order to testify or to provide any evidence such as an object or a document.

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use subpoenas:

Prepare subpoenas for victims and witnesses necessary to facilitate a trial of Defendants.
Accept and distribute Subpoenas for trial for Doctors, Medical Records Dept.

6. Paralegals

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use paralegals:

Provided administrative support for senior partners, associates and other paralegals.
Entered billing for department paralegals.

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7. Expense Reports

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use expense reports:

Arrange travel itineraries/accommodations, expense reports and related scheduling.
Entered time, expense reports and client bills.

8. Legal Research

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use legal research:

Assisted with legal research and maintained all files for legal department.
Conduct legal research on a variety of issues.

9. Word Processing

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use word processing:

Instructed co-workers and supervisors in Word Processing, Graphics and other software programs.
Developed mail merge documents within word processing software.

10. Schedule Appointments

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use schedule appointments:

Schedule appointments, court appearances and depositions Type memos and correspondence.

11. Telephone Calls

Telephone calls are a communication means through which a caller is connected to the called party. The call is done through a telecommunications device called a telephone. The caller can use a landline, mobile phone, or satellite phone to make the call.

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use telephone calls:

Screen telephone calls, ascertain their nature, and assist clients with information pertaining to their cases.
Drafted and typed office memos, schedule and make appointments and receive and place telephone calls.

12. Bank Deposits

Any money that a customer chooses to leave with their bank account is a deposit. Deposits can vary in amounts and different banks have limits on the deposits their customers can have as a minimum. Banks charge customers for deposits especially when a teller is used by the customer to deposit money into their account.

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use bank deposits:

Reconciled and maintained corporate checking account, including bank deposits and withdrawals.
Managed accounts receivables including credit/debit card transactions and bank deposits.

13. Secretarial Support

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use secretarial support:

Provided legal secretarial support to sole practitioner and asset recovery specialist.
Provided secretarial support to the Personnel and Administration Manager.

14. Court Dates

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use court dates:

Drafted correspondence and pleadings, prepared court documents and calendaring of all pertinent deadlines and court dates.
Maintained and coordinated calendar for court dates/deadlines, discovery requests and responses.

15. PowerPoint

Here's how legal administrative secretaries use powerpoint:

Designed effective PowerPoint presentations for in-house and client meetings.
Assisted with trial preparation and documents, charts, tables and PowerPoint Presentations.

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What skills help Legal Administrative Secretaries find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on legal administrative secretary resumes?

Dr. Mike Peterson Ph.D.

Department Chair and Associate Professor of English, Dixie State University

Writing skills have always been valued by employers, but anything that shows an ability to write, produce, or communicate in digital spaces will stand out. While employers are becoming increasingly comfortable having employees work and collaborate digitally (from home or elsewhere), they may still be reluctant to train employees how to do that. They want to see evidence that applicants will know how to use technology and stay productive without extensive training and without a supervisor having to stand behind them. That isn't to say training won't take place, but employers want to use their valuable time and resources training employees on their own systems, policies, and procedures; they don't want to have to show new-hires how to use Zoom, how to format a memo, how to write an email, or how to co-edit a document using OneDrive.

What type of skills will young legal administrative secretarys need?

Eric Sader

Lecturer, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University Bloomington

The emphasis on high-level interpersonal skills is expected to continue. More than ever, graduates need to expect the unexpected in a turbulent and changing world. Those employees who best have exemplified leadership, active listening, patience, flexibility, and responsibility during recent months are assuredly ones management will look to for future promotions and advancement opportunities. Absolutely, technology is more important than ever, but what is it about personalities that we often see as "tech-savvy"? Sure, it helps to have grown up in the Internet age, but more broadly these personalities are often those who crave learning and new experiences, who are willing and eager to adapt to new modalities. And these traits are not limited to students of any age, with rewards far beyond the keyboard.

What technical skills for a legal administrative secretary stand out to employers?

Amanda Carpenter

Director, California State University Channel Islands

-Data analytics skills are critical technical skills that stand out to employers in today's market. According to NACE (2018), the use of data analytics is projected to have the most significant impact on an organization's operational efficiency and revenue generation.
-Source (NACE): www.naceweb.org

What soft skills should all legal administrative secretarys possess?

Brandy Bailey

Career Coach, Ohio University - Lancaster Campus

Soft skills may vary depending on the employer, industry, and personal opinions. My biggest ones are communication skills, adaptability, self-awareness, teamwork, problem-solving, intercultural competency, creativity or innovation, and time management.

What hard/technical skills are most important for legal administrative secretarys?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

In addition to production software skills, including MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, we often taught database skills using MS Access. Every employer has an employee database and a customer/client database that requires input and sometimes maintenance by office personnel. Keyboarding (65+ wpm), basic bookkeeping/accounting, and filing skills are a must.

Do you want to know more?

List of legal administrative secretary skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a legal administrative secretary resume and required skills for a legal administrative secretary to have include:

Litigation
Travel Arrangements
Real Estate
Law Firm
Subpoenas
Paralegals
Expense Reports
Legal Research
Word Processing
Schedule Appointments
Telephone Calls
Bank Deposits
Secretarial Support
Court Dates
PowerPoint
Client Billing
Office Equipment

Legal Correspondence
Administrative Tasks
Probate
Estate Planning
Interrogatories
Trial Preparation
Management System
Office Procedures
Court Filings
Civil Litigation
Office Administration
Conference Calls
Summonses
Dictaphone
Status Reports
Arbitration
Office Management

CLE
Notary
QuickBooks
Calendar Management
Legal Papers
Legal Assistants
Client Appointments
Court Appearances
Family Law
Appointment Calendar
Court Orders
Federal Courts
Attorney Calendar
Court Officials
USPTO
Legal Briefs

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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