Legal administration makes the seemingly impossible happen on short notice. Clients think that law offices are run by attorneys, partners, and themselves (who else pays the bills?). It’s the admin team of junior and executive assistants, though, who keep the show going.
Getting a job in legal admin
To work as an admin assistant in a law office, you don’t need to have a university degree. Some admin assistants come straight out of high school, having done work experience along with their certificate.
In the graph above, many clerks/assistants have a Year 12 or a Bachelor/Degree level education. This can mean that they’re either starting work after finishing high school, or getting an entry level job in legal as an assistant. Those with a degree are sometimes changing careers.
Getting qualified
To work efficiently in legal administration, you’ll need a Certificate III in Business Admin (Legal). Some students might go to a campus and learn in a classroom, but a more popular option is taking the course online. Boutique colleges like Melissa Mahoney Legal College, are small and specialised. They provide only legal courses for students who aspire to work in that field.
The Certificate is broken into thirteen units that provide basic training and preparation for a law office. General units include:
- Writing simple documents
- Organising schedules
- Developing keyboard speed and accuracy
There’s specialised units based around work that admin assistants will complete daily. These units are:
- Assisting with planning in a legal practice
- Using legal terminology
- Applying legal knowledge to daily tasks
Why do it online?
Getting an education online is the new norm, even though students in far-flung areas have done it for years. Online study lessens the pressure of turning up to class on time. Students don’t have to worry about missing coursework either because they can just pick up where they left off.
Providers like Melissa Mahoney allow students to access their course 24/7. If a student is working full-time or still at school during the day, they can continue their classes ‘after hours’. They can start after finishing their homework, or get back on the computer in the middle of the night to complete that last assignment. There’s little danger of saying you have “no time to study” because students have a year to complete the Certificate.