Legal Secretary Resume Examples 2023

Research Summary. We analyzed 9,750 legal secretary resumes to determine which ones land the most jobs. Below you'll find examples of resumes that can help you get an interview (and a job offer) from companies like Law Office and Robert Half. Here are the key facts about legal secretary resumes to help you get the job:

The average legal secretary resume is 369 words long
The average legal secretary resume is 0.8 pages long based on 450 words per page.
Litigation is the most common skill found on a legal secretary resume. It appears on 12.4% of resumes.

After learning about how to write a professional legal secretary resume, you can make sure your resume checks all the boxes with our resume builder.

Legal Secretary Resume Example


Frances Daniels Legal Secretary Contact Information Washington, DC (240) 555-3431 fdaniels@example.com Skills Counsel Law Enforcement Legal Documents Database New Leases Civil Litigation Word Processing Data Entry Proofread Customer Service Employment History Legal Secretary 2019 - Present Smith Washington, DC Developed and maintained filing and retrieval systems for 75 Social Security Disability clients. Provided research; calendaring; budgeting document revisions, expense checks, invoices; file management maintenance and travel arrangements. Typed briefs, memorandums, orders, and various, extensive legal documents for all five lawyers. Processed legal documents in a timely and efficient manner in order to comply with Superior Court and Federal Court deadlines. Legal Secretary 2017 - 2019 Bell Partners Atlanta, GA Worked for 3+ years doing word processing, using various types of software. Screened telephone calls and inquiries and directed them as appropriate. Leasing Agent 2016 - 2017 Bell Partners Atlanta, GA Conduct periodic monthly market surveys, to be submitted to the corporate office by the 12th of each month. Prepare and review both applications and lease agreements. Education Bachelor's Degree Management 2013 - 2016 Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale, IL


John Gomez Legal Secretary Contact Info Mansfield, CT (690) 555-9304 jgomez@example.com Skills Legal DepartmentPowerpointTrial PreparationProfessional StaffHRLegal DocumentsClient ContactMergersTravel ArrangementsFront Office Employment History Legal Secretary 2020 - Present American Civil Liberties Union Mansfield, CT Prepared trial notebooks and assisted in other trial preparation and discovery in litigation. Prepare, revise and finalize PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets and Word documents for client meetings. Coordinated day to day office tasks of scheduling appointments, phone communication and maintenance of deadlines for efficient office management. Time reports and travel arrangements. Stenographer Secretary 2016 - 2020 American Civil Liberties Union Mansfield, CT Served as communication link between Testing Director and Deputy Superintendent and between these officials and internal/external contacts. Supported peers with Software functionality in Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Publisher and PowerPoint. Corporate Legal Assistant 2013 - 2016 Hunt Companies Mansfield, CT Coordinate extensive travel arrangements both domestically and internationally for all team members Answer the telephone and screen and process incoming calls. Assisted in all aspects of trial preparation for pending litigation. Produced legal documents, including contracts and real estate closing statements. Composed documentation for amendments, mergers and dissolutions, prospectuses, and other related contractual agreements. Education Bachelor's Degree Political Science 2010 - 2013 University of Connecticut Mansfield, CT


Kimberly Woods Legal Secretary San Jose, CA kwoods@example.com (870) 555-8712 Experience Legal Secretary 2011 - Present Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and RosatiSan Jose, CA Transcribed Dictaphone tapes and voicemail messages General office, clerical, data entry, transcription and administrative positions. Maintained heavy trial preparation workload. Practice concentrated on personal injury and medical malpractice. Prepared and distributed a variety of confidential legal documents for plaintiffs, counsels, co-defendants, and clients. Departmental Secretary 2010 - 2011 HPSan Jose, CA Schedule all travel arrangements for leadership. Managed Multivendor Product Database, documented the NEW Multivendor Support Program, and participated in various Vendor Relation activities. Receive and make telephone calls and resolve questions as they arise. Organized regional sales meetings, made travel arrangements, etc. Paralegal Secretary 2005 - 2010 Fenwick & WestSan Jose, CA Coordinate heavy travel arrangements and hotel accommodations. Maintained their memberships in professional organizations, answered and screened telephone calls. Communicated regularly with clients, opposing counsel and judges. Arranged for the filing of legal documents. Skills Word Processing Event Calendars Epic Document Review Purchase Orders Trial Preparation JR Litigation Support Company Procedures Police Reports Education Certificate Business 2004 - 2005 San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA

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How your resume should look:

The job title on your resume should match your application for the role.
Ensure your work experience focuses on achievements, rather than responsibilities.
Recruiters and hiring managers suggest fitting your resume on one page.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Legal Secretary Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Legal Secretary templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Legal Secretary resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Legal Secretary Resume Format And Sections

1. Add Contact Information To Your Legal Secretary Resume

Your name should be the biggest text on the page and be at or near the top of the document.

Your address doesn't need to include your street name or house number - listing your city and state works just fine.

Your email address should be professional, but not your current work email address. It's not a good look to use your work email for personal projects (job-searching).

Your social media can be included if you have a fully-fledged LinkedIn page or another social media page that showcases your relevant skill set.

Legal Secretary Resume Contact Information Example #1

Dhruv Johnson

d.johnson@email.com | 333-111-2222 | www.linkedin.com/in/dhruv-johnson

Do you want to know more?

How To Write The Perfect Resume Header

2. Add Your Relevant Education To The Resume

Your resume's education section should include:

The name of your school
The date you graduated (Month, Year or Year are both appropriate)
The name of your degree

If you graduated more than 15 years ago, you should consider dropping your graduation date to avoid age discrimination.

Optional subsections for your education section include:

Academic awards (Dean's List, Latin honors, etc. )
GPA (if you're a recent graduate and your GPA was 3.5+)
Extra certifications
Academic projects (thesis, dissertation, etc.)

Other tips to consider when writing your education section include:

If you're a recent graduate, you might opt to place your education section above your experience section
The more work experience you get, the shorter your education section should be
List your education in reverse chronological order, with your most recent and high-ranking degrees first
If you haven't graduated yet, you can include "Expected graduation date" to the entry for that school

Check More About Legal Secretary Education

Majors

Business

22.5%

Legal Support Services

19.6%

Criminal Justice

8.2%

Secretarial And Administrative Science

5.5%

Legal Secretary Resume Relevant Education Example #1

Bachelor's Degree In Management 2013 - 2016

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Carbondale, IL

Legal Secretary Resume Relevant Education Example #2

High School Diploma 2014 - 2016

3. Next, Create A Legal Secretary Skills Section On Your Resume

Your resume's skills section should include the most important keywords from the job description, as long as you actually have those skills. If you haven't started your job search yet, you can look over resumes to get an idea of what skills are the most important.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when writing your resume's skills section:

Include 6-12 skills, in bullet point form
List mostly hard skills; soft skills are hard to test
Emphasize the skills that are most important for the job

Hard skills are generally more important to hiring managers because they relate to on-the-job knowledge and specific experience with a certain technology or process.

Soft skills are also valuable, as they're highly transferable and make you a great person to work alongside, but they're impossible to prove on a resume.

Example Of Legal Secretary Skills For Resume

Scheduling Appointments Skills
Scheduling appointments is the practice of finding a free slot with the person(s) you want to meet. The process of scheduling appointments involves finding mutually free time, negotiating follow-ups, sending reminders, and creating new appointments. Scheduling appointments is important to ensure that the timings of consecutive meetings do not clash with each other.
Subpoenas Skills
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.
Telephone Calls Skills
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.

Top Skills for a Legal Secretary

Source: Zippia.com

Litigation, 12.4%

Legal Correspondence, 11.2%

Dictation, 6.2%

Law Firm, 5.9%

Other Skills, 64.3%

Not sure which skills are really important?

3 Big Tips For Listing Skills On Your Resume

4. List Your Legal Secretary Experience

The most important part of any resume is the experience section. Recruiters and hiring managers expect to see your experience listed in reverse chronological order, meaning that you should begin with your most recent experience and then work backwards.

Don't just list your job duties below each job entry. Instead, make sure most of your bullet points discuss impressive achievements from your past positions. Whenever you can, use numbers to contextualize your accomplishments for the hiring manager reading your resume.

It's okay if you can't include exact percentages or dollar figures. There's a big difference even between saying "Managed a team of engineers" and "Managed a team of 6 engineers over a 9-month project."

Most importantly, make sure that the experience you include is relevant to the job you're applying for. Use the job description to ensure that each bullet point on your resume is appropriate and helpful.

Don't have any experience?

How To Show Your Experience On a Resume... Even When You Don't Have Any

Work History Example # 1

Legal File Clerk

Massage Envy

Sorted and classified content in terms of alphabetical or chronological order Assembled material that needed to be filed
Ensured the proper documentation before releasing patient radiology images to the patients, and medical institutes.
Managed company patent files Maintained attorney correspondence docket using MS Word application Reviewed and routed patent communication
Worked as back up for managing the Telecommunication/Paging System.
Typed subpoenas, pleadings and correspondence Kept files updated and docketed

5. Highlight Your Legal Secretary Certifications On Resume

Certifications can be a powerful tool to show employers that you know your stuff. If you have any of these certifications, make sure to put them on your legal secretary resume:

Professional Legal Secretary (PLS)
Certified Paralegal/Certified Legal Assistant (CP/CLA)
Word 2010 Certification
Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L)
Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA)
Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS)
Certified Legal Secretary Specialist: Executive Legal Secretary
Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM)
Nationally Certified Medical Office Assistant (NCMOA)
Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (NHA)

More Certifications For Legal Secretary

6. Finally, Add a Legal Secretary Resume Summary Or Objective Statement

A resume summary statement is a 1-3 sentence spiel at the top of your resume that quickly summarizes who you are and what you have to offer. In this section, include your job title, years of experience (if it's 3+), and an impressive accomplishment, if you have space for it.

Remember to address skills and experiences that are emphasized in the job description.

Are you a recent grad?

Read our guide on how to write a resume summary statement

And If You’re Looking for a Job, Here Are the Five Top Employers Hiring Now:

Common Legal Secretary Resume Skills

Litigation

Legal Correspondence

Dictation

Law Firm

Travel Arrangements

Scheduling Appointments

Transcription

Subpoenas

Word Processing

Real Estate Closings

Telephone Calls

PowerPoint

Administrative Tasks

Expense Reports

Court Dates

Secretarial Support

Legal Research

Civil Litigation

Management System

Bank Deposits

Probate

Office Equipment

Insurance Defense

Federal Courts

Interrogatories

Client Billing

Court Filings

Conference Calls

Trial Preparation

Estate Planning

Summonses

Routine Correspondence

Court Appearances

Dictaphone

Notary

Family Law

Legal Pleadings

Attorney Calendar

Client Appointments

Court Hearings

Court Officials

Commercial Litigation

Employment Law

Medical Malpractice

Arbitration

Court Reporters

Multi-Line Phone System

Client Interviews

Legal Forms

Legal Secretary Jobs

Links To Help Optimize Legal Secretary Resumes

Legal Secretary Resumes FAQs

What Are The Duties Of A Legal Secretary?

The duties of a legal secretary are to provide administrative and clerical support to one or more lawyers. These duties can vary but often include transcribing and proofreading legal documents, scheduling court depositions, hearings, and meetings to filing and organizing important documents.

What Should A Legal Secretary Put On A Resume?

A legal secretary should put all education, certifications, and work experience in relevant roles in reverse chronological order on their resume. Additionally, it will be important to note any relevant hard and soft skills you have developed in secretarial roles and other work experiences.

What Skills Do Employers Look For In Legal Secretaries?

The skills that employers look for in legal secretaries are technical knowledge of legal terms and documents, as well as strong communication skills. Employers look for legal secretaries who have all the normal secretarial skills and skills specific to the legal field.

Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.

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Updated May 19, 2023