What does a senior legal secretary do?

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.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a senior legal secretary are more likely to require skills like "litigation," "travel arrangements," "discovery responses," and "subpoenas." On the other hand, a job as a district court administrator requires skills like "court operations," "police reports," "court administration," and "administrative capacity." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Secretaries are employees who are responsible for many of the administrative needs of the office. They are usually assigned to executives or to a specific department. They manage schedules and appointments, often handling the calendar in the office. They are also responsible for keeping files organized, whether physical or digital copies. During office meetings, secretaries are in charge of documenting the minutes of the meeting and highlighting the action steps that need to be taken. They may also be assigned to check on concerned departments who need to present deliverables in the next office meeting.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, senior legal secretary responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "administrative tasks," "word processing," "expense reports," and "dictation." Meanwhile, a paralegal/office manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "payroll," "real estate closings," "bank accounts," and "affidavits." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior legal secretary is likely to be skilled in "discovery responses," "dictation," "insurance defense," and "proofread," while a typical legal administrative secretary is skilled in "paralegals," "schedule appointments," "bank deposits," and "office administration."

Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior legal secretaries and secretaries, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior legal secretary might have more use for skills like "litigation," "discovery responses," "subpoenas," and "legal research." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of secretaries require skills like "customer service," "payroll," "meeting minutes," and "financial statements. "