Train as a Legal Secretary or Legal Executive in Cork - Pitman Training Career Plan Q & A Series

Legal secretaries, legal executives and legal receptionist roles are on the up and demand has been steadily growing in Cork for a while now. In general, it is a varied and busy role, that demands the ability to work in a fast – paced environment combined with the ability to work on your own initiative.

In terms of professional skills needed, strong Microsoft Office such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook and high speed typing skills are needed along with excellent business communication, organisational and administrative skills. An understanding of the basics of Irish Law and familiarity of legal terms would be an advantage also.

Read on for some commonly asked questions and answers about these careers and hopefully you will be armed with the knowledge you need to make your decision about venturing down this path!

Q What qualifications would you need?

A While you won’t need a university degree, you will need foundation qualifications such as a Diploma to get started. Highly regarded courses in Cork such as the Legal Receptionist Diploma, Legal Secretary Diploma or Advanced Legal Secretarial Diploma with Pitman Training are widely recognised in Industry throughout Ireland and enjoy an excellent level of graduate employment.

Q What types of salaries could you expect?

A The average salary in Cork for Legal Secretaries is currently €26,847 annually. Salary range rises significantly with years of experience along with any specialist skills acquired such as in Wills and Probate, Family Law, Civil Litigation or Conveyancing for example.

Q What does your average day look like?

A As you would expect with roles such as these, every day can be different. However, one of the key areas would be typing up of legal documents. This can be either copy or audio typing, such as wills, contracts, leases and court documents, depending on whether or not you are working in a specific legal department. If you were working in a Solicitors office you may find that often the Legal Secretary will attend a court session or police cells with the Solicitor. Often you will find they also provide support for the day-to-day office tasks such as organising diaries, taking enquiries from clients and other general administration duties.

Q What is the Cork jobs market currently like for Legal Secretarial jobs?

A This area has been buoyant in the Cork and Munster region of late with plenty of new job opportunities. Some recent examples in the past fortnight for jobs in Cork being advertised are these Legal Secretary Probate & Conveyancing, Legal Secretary, Legal Secretary roles, with many roles posted regularly on the Law Society of Ireland website. Demand for professional and well qualified legal office and executive staff will most certainly always be high.

Q Is work experience or an internship a good idea?

A If you have no prior office work experience, then it is an excellent idea to look for work experience or an internship in a legal office. Work experience combined with your formal training certification will certainly give you the best chance when searching for a job. A minimum of one year work experience is the usual looked for within this field.

Educational Training centres such as Pitman Training are regularly contacted by businesses looking for specialist secretarial students and graduates to place in either a work experience setting or indeed with a view to interviewing for a paid position. If you are looking for career advice about jobs and training in these areas, one of the best steps you can take is to check out your local Pitman Training centre.

We offer over 400 flexible learning, full and part-time Cork courses in a wide range of subjects from IT, Technical training courses, Programming to Web Design, Management courses, Digital Marketing, Accounting, Event Management, Medical Secretarial and Legal Secretary training.