How to become a legal secretary
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- specialist courses run by a professional body
College
You could take a course in audio transcription, legal word processing, or a qualification like a Level 3 Diploma for Legal Secretaries.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course
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Apprenticeship
You could get into this job through an intermediate and advanced apprenticeship in legal services or as a paralegal.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
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Work
You could start as an admin assistant with a legal business or organisation and then apply for a trainee position. For most trainee legal secretary jobs you'll need excellent word processing skills of around 45 to 50 words a minute.
Other Routes
You could complete qualifications offered by The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs and the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx). Both have information about part-time and online distance learning courses.
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Further information
You can get more advice about legal secretary careers from The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs.