Description
Legal administrative assistants perform a variety of secretarial and administrative duties in law offices, legal departments of large firms, real estate companies, land title offices, municipal, provincial and federal courts and government.
Job Titles
- Administrative assistant – judicial
- Administrative assistant – legal
- Collection legal assistant
- Commercial law administrative assistant
- Commercial law legal assistant
- Commercial law secretary
- Corporate finance legal assistant
- Corporate law administrative assistant
- Corporate law legal assistant
- Corporate law secretary
- Corporate records legal assistant
- Estate administrative assistant
- Estate secretary
- Family law legal assistant
- Foreclosures legal assistant
- Insurance legal assistant
- Judicial assistant
- Labour law legal assistant
- Legal administrative assistant
- Legal assistant
- Legal assistant – criminal law
- Legal secretary
- Legal stenographer
- Litigation administrative assistant
- Litigation legal assistant
- Litigation secretary
- Mortgage and real estate legal assistant
- Oil and gas rights legal assistant
- Real estate administrative assistant
- Real estate secretary
- Tax legal assistant
- Trademark administrative assistant
- Trademark secretary
- Wills and estates legal assistant
Main Duties
- Prepare and key in correspondence and legal documents, such as deeds, wills, affidavits and briefs, from handwritten copy, shorthand and machine dictation using computers
- Review and proofread documents and correspondence to ensure compliance with legal procedures and grammatical usage
- Schedule appointments, meetings and conferences for employer
- Set up and maintain filing systems, utilizing knowledge of legal records and procedures and frequently controlling confidential materials and documents
- Open and distribute regular and electronic incoming mail and other material and coordinate the flow of information internally and with other departments or organizations
- Determine and establish office procedures and routines
- May supervise and train other staff in procedures and in the use of current software
- May attend court, meetings or conferences to take notes, minutes and dictation
- May perform other general office work as required including preparing financial statements.
Workplaces
- All levels of government
- Federal courts
- Land title offices
- Law office
- Legal departments of large firms
- Municipal courts
- Provincial or territorial courts
- Real estate firms
Skills
- Oral Communication: Active Listening
- Oral Communication: Oral Comprehension
- Reading Comprehension
- Time Management
- Writing
Abilities
- Speech Recognition
- Near Vision
- Verbal Ability
- Written Comprehension
- Written Expression
Personal Attributes
- Attention to Detail
- Adaptability
- Collaboration
- Stress Tolerance
- Active Learning
Similar Occupations
- Paralegals and related occupations (42200)
Source: OaSIS
Employment Outlook
The employment outlook will be moderate for Legal administrative assistants (13111) in Prince Edward Island for the 2022-2024 period.
The following factors contributed to this outlook:
- Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
- A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
- There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
The majority of legal secretaries work in law offices, real estate brokerages and in public sector offices, across all levels of government. Staff turnover will occur as some legal secretaries obtain additional training and progress to other professional law occupations, such as, paralegals. Generally, vocational training is usually required and knowledge of word processing, spreadsheet and database software is important. Candidates with post-secondary education may have better job prospects. Industry-specific knowledge and experience will be an asset. Continued population growth by way of immigration will support the demand for workers in this occupation over the forecast period.
Here are some key facts about Legal administrative assistants in Prince Edward Island:
- Approximately 150 people worked in this occupation in May 2021.
- Legal administrative assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
- Legal services (NAICS 5411): more than 95%
- The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
- Full-time workers: 93% compared to 84% for all occupations
- Part-time workers: 7% compared to 16% for all occupations
- 68% of legal administrative assistants work all year, while 32% work only part of the year, compared to 59% and 41% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 45 weeks compared to 41 weeks for all occupations.
- The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
- Men: 7% compared to 51% for all occupations
- Women: 93% compared to 49% for all occupations
- The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
- no high school diploma: n/a
- high school diploma or equivalent: n/a
- apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 21% compared to 11% for all occupations
- college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor’s: 62% compared to 25% for all occupations
- bachelor’s degree: 14% compared to 17% for all occupations
- university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: n/a
Source: Job Bank
Prevailing Wages
| AREA | LOW | MEDIAN | HIGH |
|---|---|---|---|
| PEI | $15.30 | $17.95 | $29.49 |
| Canada | $17.31 | $25.00 | $40.93 |
Training
| TRAINING PROGRAM | INSTITUTION | CREDENTIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Administration | Holland College | Diploma |
| Administrative Assistant | Holland College | Certification |
| Bilingual Administrative Assistant | Collège de l’Île | Certificate |