The Right Stuff
Legal administrators should be able to handle all administrative aspects of a law office, and exhibit professionalism, decorum, and leadership even in the midst of a crisis. They should follow the instructions of the law firm partners, the firm owner, or board of directors, and implement their requests precisely, even if they disagree with the directives given. Legal administrators should be good listeners who enjoy people with a variety of personalities and are able to focus on people's attributes. A legal administrator should be a multitask person with a positive attitude and good interpersonal skills.
A legal administrator must have the insight and wisdom to understand the workings of the firm she or he is in. When establishing internal controls and interacting with staff it is imperative that legal administrators recognize if their firm is one that rewards strong individualist, secretive, or territorial behavior. If the firm is this type, it will not be able to handle strong internal controls and employee evaluation. Understanding the firm's organizational environment is the key to a legal administrator’s effectiveness.
What Legal Administrators Do
A legal administrator’s duties can include everything from managing human resources to finances to space planning. For example:
- Legal administrators may select and implement employee benefits pack ages, select office furniture and decor or relocation, or hire new staff.
- Legal administrators investigate different options available for the fulfillment of a particular need, analyze the strengths, weaknesses, and cost efficiency of each, and recommend the best choice.
- Legal administrators manage the staff of a firm. They scrutinize preferred work styles, daily routines, habits, and even temperaments of staff members. They should have operational knowledge of all employees' expertise and competencies.
- They draft and revise employee handbooks and must be intimately familiar with all aspects of the guide.
- They identify issues of concern of staff members, train and develop employee skills, and conduct performance evaluations and salary surveys. Legal administrators are responsible for ensuring that the firm or organization has the right staff with the right stuff at the point of hire and development.
- Legal administrators manage the firm's operation. They generally have a background in accounting in order to address accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, and benefits.
- They manage safety and security issues, information systems and technologies, purchasing and logistics, mail room operations, and vendor relations. They also prepare cash flow budgets, establish internal controls, and implement client trust accounts. In order to effectively manage a law office, legal administrators should have experience in many of the positions available in a law firm.
What the Job Is Really Like
Attorneys do not have to know how to successfully run a business or even handle trust accounts in order to graduate law school. Attorneys rely on their legal administrators to manage their offices. Legal administrators have a high level of responsibility and pressure to make sure they meet the partners' standards. According to Jeanne Day, a legal administrator, one of the biggest differences between working for a corporation and a law firm is that in a corporation you have one boss, but in a law firm your bosses are each of the individual firm partners-you have to answer to each one of these partners for your actions.
Getting In and Moving Up
Managing the business affairs of a law firm requires special expertise. Among other things, a legal administrator must remain up to date on new technology, management trends, and changes in the way law practices are structured. Additional education and the acquisition of certifications will help legal administrators to get into their positions and move up. Certifications available that may help legal administrator s increase their value to a firm include Certified Legal Manager (CLM), Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS), and Certified Human Resource Specialist (CHRS). A legal administrator should also consider additional education and the acquisition of other memberships and certifications that his or her staff members may have.
Employment Forecast
Legal administrators are primarily employed in private law firms, legal service clinics, corporate and university legal departments, government legal agencies, court systems, charitable legal agencies, or other organizations engaged primarily in the practice of law. Because the legal profession is growing, it is expected that the available legal administrator positions will grow as well.
A Few Key Points to Remember
- As a legal administrator you should have knowledge of employment issues, payroll, and benefits at a minimum, unless an employer is willing to train you for further duties.
- You should have some law office experience.
- You should be an expert at interpersonal communications and be a real "people pleaser."
- Legal administrators are known under different titles and have different areas of responsibility that cause pay rates to vary.
