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Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants: Job Description
Perform secretarial duties using legal terminology, procedures, and documents. Prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas. May also assist with legal research.
What Do Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Do?
The day-to-day responsibilities of legal secretaries and administrative assistants span:
- Organize and maintain law libraries, documents, and case files.
- Mail, fax, or arrange for delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses, and court officials.
- Prepare and distribute invoices to bill clients or pay account expenses.
- Prepare, proofread, or process legal documents, such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, appeals, motions, or pretrial agreements.
- Make photocopies of correspondence, documents, and other printed matter.
- Assist attorneys in collecting information such as employment, medical, and other records.
- Complete various forms, such as accident reports, trial and courtroom requests, and applications for clients.
- Receive and place telephone calls.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Top legal secretaries and administrative assistants draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills that matter most in this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Top Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
People in this occupation may also be known by titles such as:
- Accredited Legal Secretary
- Certified Legal Secretary Specialist
- Confidential Secretary
- Law Firm Administrator
- Law Office Assistant
- Law Secretary
- Legal Administrative Assistant (Legal Admin Assistant)
- Legal Administrator (Legal Admin)
Job Outlook
There are roughly 730,280 legal secretaries and administrative assistants working in the United States today. Employment is projected to grow by +10.5% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $55,524 |
| Hourly median | $26.69 |
| 10th percentile | $37,806 |
| 25th percentile | $46,665 |
| 75th percentile | $64,383 |
| 90th percentile | $73,242 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Salary by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $101,170 |
| New York | $74,400 |
| Delaware | $63,740 |
| Maryland | $63,110 |
| Rhode Island | $61,970 |
| Connecticut | $61,440 |
| Massachusetts | $61,440 |
| California | $61,320 |
| Minnesota | $61,300 |
| New Jersey | $60,400 |
| Washington | $59,680 |
| Alaska | $59,600 |
| Illinois | $58,070 |
| Hawaii | $57,030 |
| Colorado | $56,560 |
| Michigan | $56,030 |
| Oregon | $55,590 |
| Florida | $53,790 |
| North Dakota | $53,460 |
| Nevada | $51,540 |
| Virginia | $51,010 |
| Georgia | $51,000 |
| Maine | $49,950 |
| New Hampshire | $49,880 |
| Pennsylvania | $49,330 |
| Texas | $49,150 |
| Wisconsin | $48,980 |
| Guam | $48,660 |
| Arizona | $47,990 |
| New Mexico | $47,900 |
| Nebraska | $47,770 |
| Missouri | $47,650 |
| Oklahoma | $47,440 |
| Indiana | $47,260 |
| Vermont | $47,050 |
| West Virginia | $46,940 |
| Ohio | $46,710 |
| Alabama | $46,390 |
| Virgin Islands | $46,180 |
| Utah | $46,050 |
| South Dakota | $46,020 |
| Tennessee | $44,280 |
| Mississippi | $43,830 |
| North Carolina | $43,830 |
| Montana | $43,230 |
| Wyoming | $42,590 |
| Louisiana | $42,560 |
| Idaho | $41,920 |
| Kansas | $41,640 |
| South Carolina | $39,670 |
| Arkansas | $39,400 |
| Kentucky | $38,330 |
| Puerto Rico | $32,810 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Compensation for legal secretaries and administrative assistants differ across the country. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic | $68,180 | 19.3% | 1.45 |
| Far Western US | $60,391 | 20.1% | 1.26 |
| New England | $58,811 | 4.1% | 0.95 |
| Great Lakes | $53,157 | 13.2% | 1.07 |
| Rocky Mountains | $49,559 | 2.8% | 0.73 |
| Southwest | $48,651 | 10.2% | 0.86 |
| Southeast | $47,348 | 22.8% | 1.02 |
| Plains States | $44,700 | 5.8% | 0.88 |
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $106,130 | 990 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | DC | $88,600 | 2,800 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $81,210 | 2,810 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | CT | $75,620 | 530 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $74,400 | 14,530 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | CT | $73,740 | |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | FL | $67,980 | 510 |
| Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $67,300 | 190 |
Top Industries Employing Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
The largest employers of legal secretaries and administrative assistants work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 125,840 | $53,690 |
| Finance and Insurance | 2,420 | $59,990 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,730 | $43,470 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1,140 | $65,690 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 950 | $55,910 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 750 | $37,370 |
| Educational Services | 520 | $61,270 |
| Information | 350 | $74,260 |
Below are examples of industries where legal secretaries and administrative assistants work:
Tech Stack
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
- Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
- Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint (hot technology)
- Process mapping and design software: Microsoft Visio (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
The Day-to-Day Environment
Daily working conditions for legal secretaries and administrative assistants tends to involve the following characteristics:
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Contact With Others
- Telephone Conversations
- Importance of Repeating Same Tasks
Getting Started in This Career
Typical legal secretaries and administrative assistants positions require an associate’s degree as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
Similar Occupations
- Compliance Officers (Supplemental)
- Lawyers (Supplemental)
- Judicial Law Clerks (Supplemental)
- Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (Supplemental)
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants (Primary-Short)
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners (Primary-Short)
- Medical Records Specialists (Primary-Long)
- Private Detectives and Investigators (Supplemental)
About the Data
Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-6012.00 (Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants).
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