Item saved to your backpack!

Legal secretaries are an integral part of law firms across the nation. They not only perform basic administrative functions but also complete legal research and other procedural duties. Those interested in careers as legal secretaries should have excellent communication and organization skills. In addition, since legal secretaries often have access to confidential information, these professionals must maintain a high level of personal ethics. Within the field, some professionals earn the designation of certified legal secretary specialist. Specialists have proven knowledge in certain legal areas as well as hands-on work experience.

Average certified legal secretary specialist salary for 2010

Salary information for certified legal secretary specialists is generally included in the broader category of legal secretaries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), these professionals earned median annual wages of $43,270 in 2010. However, because employers often value credentials and work experience, legal secretaries who are certified may command higher average salaries.

That appears to be the case according to Salary.com data. The website uses employer-reported information and calculates the average annual salary of entry level legal secretaries at $38,182. For those with a greater level of experience, average annual salaries jump to $49,693. Legal secretaries who visited Glassdoor.com and submitted their wage information report a range of annual salaries from $35,083 for government employees to $83,696 for those working in private law firms.

Salaries don't always depend only on employers, however. The state in which a job is located can also impact average annual wages as well. The BLS found the following states had the top mean annual salaries for legal secretaries in 2010:

1. District of Columbia: $60,750
2. Delaware: $50,280
3. California: $49,940
4. Colorado: $49,870
5. Connecticut: $49,350

However, many of these locations also have a high cost of living which can offset any gains in income. Using cost of living data supplied by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, the following metropolitan areas offer above average incomes and more affordable living:

1. Dallas, Texas: $49,130 in a state ranked 5^th in the nation for cost-of-living affordability
2. Atlanta, Georgia: $47,190 in a state ranked 9^th in the nation for cost-of-living affordability
3. Chicago, Illinois: $45,840 in a state ranked 18^th in the nation for cost-of-living affordability

Finding certified legal secretary specialist training online

While it is possible to become a legal secretary with only short-term vocational training, requirements for the certified legal secretary specialist designation are more rigorous. The certification is offered by Legal Secretaries International (LSI) to professionals wishing to specialize in one of the following areas:

• Business law
• Civil litigation
• Criminal law
• Intellectual property
• Probate
• Real Estate
• Executive legal secretary

To sit for the LSI examinations, individuals must have at least five years of law-related experience. Those who earn a two- or four-year degree can waive up to three years of the required work experience. Earning these degrees can be convenient with many certified legal secretary specialist schools running online programs.

Increasing job opportunities for legal secretaries

The BLS expects job growth for legal secretaries to be faster than average in the coming years. The need for these administrative professionals will be fueled by moderate growth in the legal services field. From 2008 to 2018, demand for qualified legal secretaries will increase 18 percent.

More legal career outlooks from Schools.com:

• Legal transcriptionist salary & career outlook
• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) coordinator salary & career outlook
• Paralegal salary & career outlook
• Accredited legal secretary salary & career outlook