A day in the life of a...legal secretary

A Day in the Life of a Legal Secretary
By Sheila Parissien FILS

I am pleased to be able to say that no two days are ever alike in the life of a Legal Secretary! Legal matters reflect the ups and downs of everyone’s life.  The good, the bad and the ugly! Divorce, family matters, buying and selling property – life’s rich tapestry.

I am involved in both commercial and residential conveyancing so the job is very busy and varied.  No two transactions are ever alike and certainly no two sets of clients are the same.  I am often asked: “how long will it take?” – my stock answer is: “do you know how long a piece of string is!”  That is the only sensible reply I can give.

More often than not the most simplest of matters turns into a protracted complicated affair and yet other matters which you may think will be long and arduous turn out to be straight-forward – you can never tell.

However, the more experience and knowledge you gain then, of course, the more you can deal with and handle because you are able to recall similar situations and, hopefully, remember how to deal with it.

The post arrives in the morning and is sorted and inevitably this will dictate how the workload will be distributed that day.  Of course, urgent telephone calls or faxes may interrupt and stop the work flow but, generally, the day’s work is in order and in accordance with the correspondence that needs to be dealt with.

Once exchange has taken place on a sale and or purchase then the file is then given to the Secretary to take charge of and see through to the end – ie, completion.  A checklist is already on the file so it is easy to follow the list and prioritise the jobs.

Sometimes telephone calls come in thick and fast from both clients, estate agents and solicitors and these have to be given priority to deal with.  However, it is much more satisfactory to have a clear, uninterrupted day because it is so easy to forget to do something and it is far more conducive to have continuity.

Quite often I start the day with a whole of priorities to get on with and find at the end of the day I have not been able to do any of that set work because of more urgent jobs being given throughout the day.  This cannot be helped and it is something you get used to.

I never stop learning and the role changes all the time because of, for example, dealing with HIPS or a new computer software package.  It certainly makes the day go quickly and there is never a dull moment.

On the whole, I enjoy being a Legal Secretary and like the idea of seeing a job through from start to finish.  The majority of clients are very grateful when everything goes through smoothly and it is rewarding when you know a job is well done.

For more information visit: www.institutelegalsecretaries.com