How to become a legal secretaries
Official title: Legal secretaries
Also called: Legal pa, Secretary, Legal clerk, Legal aid clerk, Legal secretary, Legal administrator, Litigation secretary, Conveyancing secretary, Legal personal assistant, Probate clerk, Admin officer, Admin assistant
Legal secretaries file and maintain legal and other records, transcribe notes and dictation into typewritten form and perform other routine clerical tasks in legal practices.
Main tasks
- Types letters and legal documents such as wills and contracts
- Maintains court and clients’ records, organises diaries and arranges appointments
- Answers enquiries and directs clients to appropriate experts
- Attends meetings and keeps records of proceedings
- Delivers and collects documents
- Sorts and files correspondence and carries out general clerical work
How to become one
There are no formal academic requirements, although employers may expect candidate to possess a legal secretarial qualification. Entrants to professional legal courses typically require GCSEs/ S grades or equivalent qualifications. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2, 3 and 4.
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £26,968 a year The middle half earn £24,242 to £31,660.
- About 56,600 people work in this job now, and about 45,700 are projected by 2035. (-19.4%)
Related jobs
- Personal assistants and other secretaries
- Medical secretaries
- School secretaries
- Company secretaries and administrators
- Receptionists
- Typists and related keyboard occupations
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Questions people ask
How do I become a legal secretaries?
There are no formal academic requirements, although employers may expect candidate to possess a legal secretarial qualification. Entrants to professional legal courses typically require GCSEs/ S grades or equivalent qualifications. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2, 3 and 4.
How much does a legal secretaries earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £26,968 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £24,242 to £31,660.
Is a legal secretaries a growing career in the UK?
Employment is projected to fall 19% by 2035, from about 56,600 to about 45,700 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a legal secretaries?
Usually not. Only 24% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03