Thursday, May 14, 2015

Legal Secretaries' Associations

Legal secretaries' have several different associations.


Legal secretaries perform a host of different duties in a law office or courthouse. Some of these duties include transcription, communications, typing and filing legal paperwork processed through a particular office. Different associations are available to legal secretaries in order to benefit their performance in the legal profession.


Purpose


Legal secretary associations are formed to enhance the networking ability of secretaries working in the legal profession. Most associations provide a list of job opportunities for qualified legal secretaries as well as career guidance like the programs found at the National Association of Legal Secretaries. The career guidance most associations offer pertain to the qualifications or duties necessary to attain a particular job. Jobs in a courtroom setting require different skills than a legal secretary in a large law firm.


Education


Legal secretary associations offer members educational opportunities by conducting training seminars or certification programs in order to enhance the knowledge and skills of legal secretaries. The San Antonio Legal Secretaries Association is a good example of the different types of educational opportunities available at a local association.


Along with training opportunities, legal secretary associations offer publication opportunities. The association offers publications where the legal secretary can write and submit an article about a particular legal issue in order to enhance the resume of a secretary. Teaching opportunities are also available through the association. Experienced legal secretaries can teach an educational program through the association in order to gain more experience and enhance a resume.


Publications


Associations offer members a host of different articles that cover the concerns of legal secretaries. Articles such as secretarial ethics, ways to act for a lawyer, legal office management and telephone techniques are published in newsletters or association magazines for legal secretaries to review. Legal Secretaries International also provides the members information about seminar dates, job openings, education dates and other knowledge-based information pertaining to the legal profession.


Locations


Most large U.S. cities have a legal secretary association. In California, Legal Secretaries, Incorporated has more than 40 chapters throughout the state, serving legal secretaries and other professionals in legal jobs.


Every state has similar organizations for local legal secretaries to join. National and international legal secretary associations are also available for legal secretaries working in the international departments of large law firms. Most of these associations provide education, certification, job listings and career guidance for all members in the association's area of coverage.

Tags: legal secretaries, secretary associations, career guidance, legal profession, legal secretaries