Legal Secretaries

Perform secretarial duties utilizing legal terminology, procedures, and documents. Prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas. May also assist with legal research.

tasks jobzones knowledge skills abilities work_activities work_context interests work_styles work_values

Tasks

• Draft and type office memos.

• Complete various forms, such as accident reports, trial and courtroom requests, and applications for clients.

• Attend legal meetings, such as client interviews, hearings, or depositions, and take notes.

• Submit articles and information from searches to attorneys for review and approval for use.

• Review legal publications and perform database searches to identify laws and court decisions relevant to pending cases.

• Assist attorneys in collecting information such as employment, medical, and other records.

• Organize and maintain law libraries, documents, and case files.

• Make photocopies of correspondence, documents, and other printed matter.

• Schedule and make appointments.

• Receive and place telephone calls.

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Job Zone

• Name: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed

• Experience: Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

• Education: Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.

• Job training: Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.

• Examples: These occupations usually involve using communication and organizational skills to coordinate, supervise, manage, or train others to accomplish goals. Examples include funeral directors, electricians, forest and conservation technicians, legal secretaries, interviewers, and insurance sales agents.

• Svp range: (6.0 to < 7.0)

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Knowledge

Browse Knowledge

• Clerical
  Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.

• Law and Government
  Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

• Customer and Personal Service
  Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

• English Language
  Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

• Computers and Electronics
  Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

• Economics and Accounting
  Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

• Administration and Management
  Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Mathematics
  Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

• Communications and Media
  Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

• Geography
  Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

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Skills

Browse Skills

• Reading Comprehension
  Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

• Writing
  Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

• Active Listening
  Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

• Time Management
  Managing one's own time and the time of others.

• Speaking
  Talking to others to convey information effectively.

• Active Learning
  Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

• Learning Strategies
  Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.

• Social Perceptiveness
  Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Judgment and Decision Making
  Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

• Coordination
  Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

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Abilities

Browse Abilities

• Near Vision
  The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

• Oral Comprehension
  The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

• Written Comprehension
  The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

• Oral Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

• Written Expression
  The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Speech Recognition
  The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

• Deductive Reasoning
  The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

• Information Ordering
  The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

• Speech Clarity
  The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

• Problem Sensitivity
  The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

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Work Activities

Browse Work Activities

• Performing Administrative Activities
  Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.

• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
  Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.

• Communicating with Persons Outside Organization
  Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.

• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

• Monitoring and Controlling Resources
  Monitoring and controlling resources and overseeing the spending of money.

• Getting Information
  Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

• Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
  Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

• Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

• Scheduling Work and Activities
  Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

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Work Context

• Telephone
  How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?

• Letters and Memos
  How often does the job require written letters and memos?

• Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
  How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

• Contact With Others
  How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?

• Face-to-Face Discussions
  How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?

• Importance of Repeating Same Tasks
  How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job?

• Time Pressure
  How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines?

• Spend Time Sitting
  How much does this job require sitting?

• Structured versus Unstructured Work
  To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals?

• Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
  How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?

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Interests

Browse Interests

• Conventional
  Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

• Enterprising
  Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

• Investigative
  Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

• Social
  Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

• Realistic
  Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

• Artistic
  Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

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Work Styles

• Attention to Detail
  Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

• Integrity
  Job requires being honest and ethical.

• Dependability
  Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

• Cooperation
  Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

• Independence
  Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.

• Stress Tolerance
  Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

• Initiative
  Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

• Self Control
  Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

• Achievement/Effort
  Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

• Persistence
  Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

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Work Values

Browse Work Values

• Activity
  Workers on this job are busy all the time.

• Working Conditions
  Workers on this job have good working conditions.

• Company Policies and Practices
  Workers on this job are treated fairly by the company.

• Security
  Workers on this job have steady employment.

• Moral Values
  Workers on this job are never pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

• Working Conditions-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

• Support-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

• Compensation
  Workers on this job are paid well in comparison with other workers.

• Supervision, Human Relations
  Workers on this job have supervisors who back up their workers with management.

• Relationships-Mean Extent
  Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

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