Proofread drafts before they go out
Check each draft against earlier versions for mistakes in formatting, names and dates.
Career profile
Legal Administrative Assistant
Legal secretaries prepare legal paperwork, organize case records, and keep lawyers' schedules workable.
Does catching a wrong date before it turns into a mix-up feel satisfying? This job puts that habit to use.
A day in the life
Keep the court calendar right
You record court appearances, update the case log, and decide which calendar items need changing when dates shift.
Pull a case file together
Sort letters and records for the lawyer, then request missing medical or employment records if needed.
Get a client's bill ready
At some law firms, you log lawyers' hours and check draft bills before clients get them.
Quick facts
High school + job training
United States · 2025
$55,570/year
United States · May 2025
5.2% decline
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
High school + job trainingLegal terminology and office procedures can take several months to learn; hiring requirements vary.
Pay
$55,570/yearNational median for legal secretaries and administrative assistants; $26.72 per hour.
Outlook
5.2% declineEmployment is projected to shrink, with about 18,100 openings annually across the occupation.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy spotting small inconsistencies in writing.
- You like keeping records easy for someone else to find.
- You can listen carefully while sorting out another person's request.
Things to weigh
- Deadlines can press you to work quickly while accuracy still matters.
- Expect substantial desk time; public-facing offices also bring frequent calls and questions.
Where AI may help
Document software can help assemble forms, find files, and compare versions.
What people still lead
You still check details and resolve unclear requests with people.
What we can’t predict yet
As artificial intelligence and digital tools let attorneys prepare more documents themselves, the amount of drafting and coordination left to assistants may change.
Pay in context
Earnings
Compare pay for the same location and kind of employer.
The national midpoint
The May 2025 median was $55,570 annually, or $26.72 hourly. Half earned more and half less; this is not a starting salary.
The national spread
In May 2025, the 10th-percentile annual wage was $36,500 and the 90th-percentile wage was $91,730. These are wage percentiles, not starting and senior salaries.
Employer type matters
May 2023 annual averages were $56,600 in legal services and $54,000 in local government, excluding schools and hospitals. These are industry means, not the newer national median.
Openings despite a decline
The 2025–2035 projection combines a 5.2% employment decline with about 18,100 openings per year. Replacing people who leave the occupation creates openings even as total employment falls.
Getting started
Enter through office support
- What the route involves
- Bring a high school diploma or equivalent and strong typing and word-processing skills; learn legal-office routines on the job.
- What it can lead to
- An entry support role can build experience assisting legal secretaries and attorneys.
- What to check
- Some entry roles prefer previous office experience.
Study legal-office administration
- What the route involves
- Complete a legal administrative assistant program covering document drafting, office software, and business communication.
- What it can lead to
- You gain preparation for entry administrative roles supporting attorneys and paralegals.
- What to check
- A program is one preparation route; a bachelor's degree is typically unnecessary.
You support attorneys within their office's procedures. Choose between learning in an entry support job and building legal-office skills through a program.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Learn the office's routines
Build familiarity with legal terms and document procedures during your first months.
Handle a fuller case workload
Become dependable at maintaining case calendars, preparing court materials, and tracking incoming records.
Coordinate other support staff
A senior legal-secretary role may add training coworkers and organizing a unit's work. Advancement depends on the employer's requirements and available positions.
Where you can work
Larger law firms
You may support several practice groups, coordinate with other secretaries, and help turn attorneys' time records into client bills.
- Indoors
- Office
County legal offices
Court referrals, public inquiries, and reports to other agencies shape the work. You may keep proceeding logs and prepare materials for court.
- Indoors
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Create a fictional hearing notice and matching calendar entry. Ask someone to change three details in one copy, then find the mismatches and write a correction list. Notice whether careful checking feels satisfying or draining.
Stay safe: Use invented names and dates, with no real case information.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. 43-6012.00 — Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025–35. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2023 Occupational Employment and Wages — Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook — Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- Davis Wright Tremaine. Administrative Legal Secretary — San Francisco. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- College of DuPage. Legal Administrative Assistant, Certificate — 2026–2027 Catalog. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- County of Siskiyou. Legal Secretary / Senior Legal Secretary. Accessed 2026-10-03.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates. Accessed 2026-09-29.