16 Key Attributes Legal Secretaries Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Alex Garcia

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Legal secretaries perform secretarial duties using legal terminology, procedures, and documents. Prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas. They may also also assist with legal research.

The core tasks that legal secretaries are likely to carry out include:

Prepare and process legal documents and papers, such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, appeals, motions, and pretrial agreements.
Mail, fax, or arrange for delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses, and court officials.
Receive and place telephone calls.
Schedule and make appointments.
Organize and maintain law libraries, documents, and case files.
Make photocopies of correspondence, documents, and other printed matter.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that legal secretaries would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for conventional work environments. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 100%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 96.2%

Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 94.8%

Being honest and ethical.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 94.4%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 93.2%

Being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 90.2%

Maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 87%

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 87%

Accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.8%

A willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.6%

Developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 84.8%

Being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.8%

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Attribute Type: Knowledge Score: 81%

Persistence in the face of obstacles.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 81%

Establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 80.4%

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Attribute Type: Abilities Score: 80%