Without people in the legal profession holding legal jobs,
there would be a lot of chaos in the world. Lawyers, judges, district
attorneys, paralegals, court reporters, and other workers all work to keep
order, put criminals in jail, and help innocent people clear their name. They
negotiate deals with each other for prison sentences, fines, or other
punishments, they spend hours doing research for court cases, and they give the
innocent (and guilty) a platform to plead their case.
A legal secretary is one type of legal job. The secretary
handles a variety of legal secretarial and related duties in a legal setting
such as a law office. He or she schedules hearings, prepares legal documents
and correspondence, dockets cases and maintains court dockets and diaries. They
support attorneys by performing clerical and administrative functions, receive
and screen visitors and telephone calls, answer questions about pending cases,
administrative and court rules, and appeal procedures, schedule and arrange
meetings, arrange transportation for attorneys and clients, compose legal
documents such as pleadings, briefs, opinions, complaints, administrative
decisions, orders, and subpoenas from verbal or written instructions,
dictation, shorthand notes, rough drafts, or other materials. Secretaries
transcribe legal dictation, insert legal citations into documents, take minutes
of meetings, proofread and edit materials for correct grammar, spelling,
punctuation, format, syntax, and content, and prepare reports for attorneys.
A court clerk is responsible for preparing dockets of cases
to be called, retrieving information for judges to read in court cases,
reaching out to witnesses, and obtaining other information for the court. They
perform a variety of administrative tasks for the courts, prepare dockets of
cases to be called, secure information about court cases for judges, intact
witnesses, lawyers, and attorneys, process legal documents, manage court
records, schedule court cases, audit files to ensure accuracy and completeness,
prepare, file, and forward documents, and assemble all documents needed for a
trail. They identify and request missing material, review documents to ensure
procedures are accurate, record minutes of court proceedings, transcribe
minutes, administer oath taken by jurors and witnesses., and prepare and
maintain docket of scheduled cases.
A lawyer is responsible for counseling clients on legal
matters and acting as an advocate on behalf of a client during criminal and
civil trials. He or she presents evidence and argues in court to support client
and suggests courses of legal actions regarding business and personal matters.
They represent clients in court during criminal and civil trials, specialize in
areas such as bankruptcy, probate, international, elder, or environmental law,
counsel clients about their legal rights and obligations, suggest courses of
action, research the intent of laws and past judicial decisions and incorporate
findings into suggestions, and apply law to specific circumstances.
They conduct extensive research before trials, interview
clients and witnesses, take statements, prepare opening and closing arguments,
confer with judges and other attorneys, present evidence and exhibitions,
and describe crime scenes. They request
for evidence to be present for trials, help protect claims to copyrights,
programs, and product designs, advise insurance, companies about legality of
transactions, help companies write policies, protect companies from unwarranted
claims, represent companies in court, and represent individuals who have been
charged with crimes and argue their cases in courts of law.
