Peer to Peer Magazine

December 2012

The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association

Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/96072

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asking for broader skill sets that include practice assistance, project management and advanced expertise with databases, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF technology. Lawyers also look to their legal secretaries for technical assistance. However, with lawyers working longer hours and firms reducing or eliminating secretarial overtime, there may be a void when it comes to on-demand support when and where the lawyers require it. • Logistics: Management is also concerned with how to manage secretarial work requirements and performance. Who will oversee their work: lawyers, human resources or a secretarial manager? In many firms, it's a combination of the three, creating conflicts in priorities and expectations. How will planned and unplanned leave be managed when lawyers' time in the office doesn't match the secretaries' workday, and workloads vary far more than the secretarial resources? How will management handle secretaries who don't adapt to technology changes? What training should be provided to close skills gaps? If there are aptitude challenges, can individual responsibilities be changed? Can performance be tied to compensation, despite concern that honest performance evaluations are hard to obtain? Today, appropriate academic programs for legal secretaries do not really exist. Vocational schools and community colleges do not have curricula that address the current and future skill sets required of the legal secretary. As a result, some firms hire college graduates who need work experience and provide them with on-the-job training that meets their administrative needs. Several firms are also conducting educational sessions on how to effectively utilize the legal secretarial staff. Redesigning the Role of Legal Secretary How can a firm go about redesigning the role of legal secretary? We recommend a five-phase approach: • Set Goals: During this phase, it is very important to be mindful of the firm's culture. Know the firm's business drivers that are contributing to the need for role redesign, and be prepared to share them. Describe what success looks like for the firm when the secretarial role is redefined. It is imperative that expectations are defined for both the lawyers and the secretarial staff so business needs can be met and people understand where they fit into the plan. Peer to Peer 19

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