How To Become A Legal Receptionist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a legal receptionist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Legal receptionists welcome visitors and answer phone calls at law firms. Their responsibilities include scheduling appointments and managing mail and deliveries. They may also work at government offices, courthouses, and corporate legal departments.

To ensure success as a legal receptionist, applicants should exhibit excellent communication skills and general office administration competency. Outstanding legal receptionists are polished professionals who create a positive first impression.

In this role, candidates will be required to welcome visitors and answer calls. Legal receptionists' duties include scheduling appointments, handling inquiries, and managing mail and deliveries. They may also be required to assist with filing.

In most cases, they should have a high school diploma. However, some employers may prefer some formal office education or training and experience in a law office. Additionally, many employers provide on-the-job training.

ScoreLegal ReceptionistUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,592

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

8.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.84%

Asian 5.74%

Black or African American 11.19%

Hispanic or Latino 23.86%

Unknown 4.32%

White 54.05%

Gender

female 94.02%

male 5.98%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

7.2

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.4

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a legal receptionist

Explore legal receptionist education requirements

Most common legal receptionist degrees

Bachelor's

36.8 %

Associate

31.3 %

High School Diploma

17.0 %

Start to develop specific legal receptionist skills

Skills	Percentages
Law Firm	15.47%
Paralegals	9.36%
Litigation	8.78%
Telephone Calls	8.41%
Phone Calls	6.64%

Complete relevant legal receptionist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New legal receptionists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a legal receptionist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real legal receptionist resumes.

Research legal receptionist duties and responsibilities

Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Establish accurate accounts for each guest upon check-in according to their requirements and ensure guest paperwork or documentation are filed appropriately.
Prepare outgoing correspondence with FedEx, and USPS.
Create PowerPoint presentations for use in court.

Prepare your legal receptionist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your legal receptionist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a legal receptionist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable legal receptionist resume templates

Build a professional legal receptionist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your legal receptionist resume.