Basic training manual for legal secretaries


















Refer to the University Catalog or speak to an Advisor to learn more. Earn credit for prior coursework completed at eligible institutions, including community colleges.

Your Experience Counts. Financial Aid FAQ. Employee Savings and Benefits. Credit for Military Training. International Tuition and Benefits. This legal secretary online training program is designed to help you acquire the knowledge, skills, and work habits employers seek when hiring legal secretaries or legal administrative assistants. This program provides you with the specialized knowledge and skills to seek employment as a legal secretary or legal administrative assistant in a variety of settings including law firms, government agencies, health services agencies, education services agencies, and legal departments of organizations in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.

Labor market, salary, and projected growth information are supplied by Emsi. Average salary range is based on national data. Projected growth represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period — at the state level and is based on your geographic location.

Actual outcomes vary by geographic area, previous work experience, and opportunities for employment. Purdue Global cannot guarantee employment placement, salary level, or career advancement.

Paralegals are not lawyers and cannot practice law or give legal advice. Graduates are not authorized to practice law and will not be eligible to sit for any state's bar examination.

This program was not designed to meet any specific state's requirements for licensure or certification, and Purdue Global makes no representations or warranties as to whether the degree or any individual courses meet such requirements. Refer to the University Catalog for additional information.

Purdue Global faculty members are real-world practitioners who bring knowledge gained through the powerful combination of higher learning and industry experience. Statistics include all Purdue Global faculty members and are not school or program-specific calculations. Connect with an Advisor to explore program requirements, curriculum, transfer credits process, and financial aid options.

Based on total number of degrees and certificates granted by Purdue Global compared to other Title IV institutions. Speak to an Advisor about transfer credit opportunities and see the University Catalog for the Prior Learning Assessment policy. Online Legal Secretary Certificate. Ready to learn more about the. Ready to Take the Next Step? Dual court system.

Organization Of U. Court System. Property Division. European Journal Of Legal Studies. Best Legal Software. Related Books Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Related Audiobooks Free with a 30 day trial from Scribd. Outstanding Leadership Stan Toler. No problem. Juliet Mthethwa. Brittany Merriman. Show More. Views Total views. Actions Shares. No notes for slide. Legal Secretary Handbook 1. It will also be furnished to the various county bar associations in the Central Florida area for distribution.

Suggestions to improve this handbook are welcome. Park Avenue, Sanford, Florida Contents I. Dealing with the Courts IV. Scheduling, Rescheduling, II. Form Orders III. You must know how each of them function in order to understand the system. The following is a brief description of the major components. II The Court Staff The Judge Circuit Judges and County Court Judges are judicial officers who preside over their respective trial courts, make rulings and enter judgments determining the controversies brought before them.

They hold public office and periodically run for election or reelection on a nonpartisan basis. All Judges are members of The Florida Bar and must have been members for at least five years before becoming a judge.

Most judges have been members for considerably longer than five years. Judges are bound by a strict code of ethics that limits their access to the public and litigants who appear before them. They are not allowed to speak to the litigants or their attorneys about a case unless the conversation takes place at a duly noticed hearing when all concerned have an opportunity to be present.

Members of law office staffs should not attempt to contact a judge directly for any reason and should never suggest that a client or witness do so. There are exceptions to the no contact rule. These hearings are on routine matters such as entry of a default or obtaining a commission for an out of state court reporter to take depositions. The Judicial Assistant is the closest staff member to the Judge.

The typical Judicial Assistant answers between fifty and one hundred telephone calls per day. Some Judicial Assistants are assisted by receptionists who screen calls, take messages and handle routine inquiries. There are times when a Judicial Assistant is not available to take calls from anyone.

If a Judicial Assistant is not available, your call will be returned as soon as possible or you might want to call back after thirty minutes or so. They are employed by the court to assist in research and the legal business of the court.

They have a variety of duties, mostly behind the scenes. A staff attorney is bound by the same ethical limitations as a judge when discussing pending cases. Normally, a Staff Attorney is assigned to assist the same judge or judges for a year or more at a time.

Some judges have their staff attorney review motions prior to hearings for possible ruling. This routinely occurs on Rule 1. See Sec. Coordinators In Seminole County, each division of the court has a trial coordinator. These include the civil, criminal and family 3 4. The trial coordinators manage the trial dockets of the judges assigned in their divisions and perform a variety of other duties. Questions relating to the trial docket should be addressed to the coordinators and not the Judicial Assistants.

In Brevard County, trial coordinators perform similar functions as the coordinators in Seminole County but questions relating to the trial docket should be directed to the Judicial Assistant.

The clerk is responsible to keep the records of the court and maintains all of the court files. Court files are located in the law department civil files , the criminal division criminal files , the probate division probate, guardianship and mental health files and the juvenile division juvenile delinquency and dependency files. Trial clerks keep minutes of court proceedings, act as evidence custodians, administer oaths to witnesses and jurors and perform other duties as directed by the judge.

Law office staff should direct questions relating to minutes of court proceedings to the trial clerk. The Sheriff The Sheriff is an elected official who serves a four year term and is elected in a partisan election. The Sheriff is responsible for courthouse security, transport of prisoners and administration of the county jail.

The Sheriff is also the chief law enforcement officer of the county and is responsible to execute the judgments of the courts. The bailiff is responsible for the personal security of the assigned judge, opens and closes court and assists in witness management in the courthouse. The criminal jurisdiction is limited to felony cases, including death penalty cases, unless a misdemeanor crime is charged along with a felony charge. Juvenile cases, delinquency or dependency are also assigned to the circuit court.

Circuit judges may issue writs of habeas corpus, certiorari, quo warranto and all writs necessary to complete the jurisdiction of the court. The County Court is a court of special jurisdiction. The County Court also considers actions assigned by special administrative order. In Seminole County, these cases include simplified dissolution of marriage actions and injunctions for protection against domestic violence. All judges are magistrates empowered to issue arrest and search warrants.

Please do not try to make your problem the 5 6. However, the Judicial Assistant can help you with questions about how the Judge calendars different matters and will assist you with questions about scheduling. Please respect the fact that the Judicial Assistant is very busy and keep the following in mind: Relationship with the JA Be polite! It is important to cultivate a friendly and professional relationship with the JA. Take the review below to test your knowledge.

In addition to typing documents, preparing them for sending is a large part of a legal secretary's position. Depending on the type of document, once it has passed the final draft stage and has been printed and signed, you will make collated copies and bind, package, and send them to the appropriate parties. You must include all marked exhibits to accompany the document in their proper order, as directed by your attorney. You must be organized from the outset to ensure that everything is packaged as it should be and all parties receive their copies.

Many law office documents require binding before being sent. This simply means that the document has thick paper covers attached to front and back and is bound with a plastic binder at the left side. Many large offices source this job out; however, there are occasions when time is of the essence and the documents must be bound in-house.

Medium-sized and smaller firms will nearly always bind in-house. A binding machine is rather simple to operate.

If you are not familiar with its operation, ask co-workers if you may watch when they bind a document. Covers will vary from office to office. Often you will have to create the typed front covers on your computer and then print them out on your printer; or, if there is a large number of covers that need to be made, perhaps 10 or more, print out one and copy the rest via the copy machine. The back cover is blank. Covers are often heavyweight, blue bond paper, but they may be of some other material or color.

The essentials of binding are as follows:. Make the required number of copies of the document to be bound. Create the front and back covers as per office procedure. Make the required holes along the left length of the document, including the covers, with the provided hole puncher on the binding machine.

Be sure to set the holes properly so that the text is readable when the "book" is opened and not too far to the left edge; a quarter-inch from the edge is the standard measure. Insert the male and female plastic strips through the holes and snap them into place. Place the length of the plastic strip and document into the binder and press the lever down firmly until set, usually a few seconds to a minute.

Set bound copy aside. Complete for all copies. The binder will heat the plastic strips so that a permanent bond is formed. This will keep the papers from coming loose.

If you are nervous about doing this for the first time, gather a few pieces of printer paper and do a trial run first. After you have bound a few copies, you will find this procedure to be simple and will get through it quickly. Packaging mail correctly is a job within itself.

Be sure that you have included all required copies of any documents, a check to the court if needed, a self-addressed stamped envelope SASE for the court to return copies of papers marked "filed," and any other required documentation. Mail will go out in one of four ways. Regular mail : This service is used for general documents, non-urgent letters, bills, and any documents your attorney essentially deems "no rush.

Often multiple, unassociated items will be set aside and mailed together at one time, rather than packaging and sending them one at a time. For multiple items being sent, it is advisable to use an in-house stamp machine if one is available. They do not get to the addressee any faster than regular mail; however, there will be a record of sending and receiving.

The procedure for packaging and sending is the same as for regular mail, but you must fill out the receipts that are attached to the envelope before sending and attach the customer receipt to the client file copy.

Each of these companies is separate and has no affiliation with the others. USPS is a government entity that offers overnight, express, and priority mail delivery. Your office may use one or more of these companies. Whatever carrier s your office uses will provide envelopes to the office for convenience.

Most secretaries keep a stack handy in their office or cubby at all times. Be sure to provide the correct sending information on the outside label. Give this package personally to the carrier, who usually picks up once per day; or to the receptionist to give to the carrier; or place items in the provided pickup box. Most major overnight carriers offer drop boxes inside or outside offices. Courier : Courier services must be called when needed. Provide the correct sending addresses and all pertinent information to the courier, as well as your contact information in case there are questions.

Courier services most often are used with urgent documents, particularly when there are many copies that need to be sent.

You will be advised if your attorney needs items sent via courier.



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