As a Legal Secretary, you will sometimes find yourself needing to compile well-researched documents. The hallmark of any respectable reference document is its citations. Without citations to the sources of your information, your research is quickly rendered useless, as it is not verifiable in any way.
Fortunately MS Office makes it easy to add citations to documents quickly and easily.
You can add your citations by following these steps:
This month we are looking at some of the latest developments in the world of wills and probate.
The Law Society Wills and Inheritance Protocol
A new protocol published in July 2013 was linked to the Law Society’s Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme. The protocol is not currently compulsory for Solicitors unless they are members of the Quality Scheme.
The protocol sets out the ‘preferred practice’ for will drafting, probate and estate administration and covers areas of practice that commonly give rise to risks and errors. The protocol is intended to form the policy that a legal practice should follow to help it meet the high-quality service standards that clients expect. A few examples of key points that are covered on will drafting include these:
If you can minimise nervousness in the run-up to your interview, you’ll be in a good position to perform well on the day. It’s worth remembering, though, that a few nerves and being under a little stress can be good for you, according to the latest medical research. Being under slight stress is likely to fire you up, make you more alert, able to tune out distractions and think creatively – all great aids to an impressive job interview! Interviewers expect you to be a little nervous too, and will take that into account.
The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs offers a variety of popular distance learning courses which will help you to advance your legal knowledge and skills. Our Legal Secretaries Diploma and Single Subject Legal courses are studied by thousands of Students throughout the UK and overseas.
Distance learning courses are sought by Students each year because of the benefits this study method offers. Attending a college or university can be beneficial to receive direct contact with a tutor; however, studying the course at home brings its own benefits.
In review, 2013 proved a mixed year for UK law jobs. Against a backdrop of the planned changes to Legal Aid provision and personal injury law and regular news of law firms falling into administration – particularly at the mid-tier level – there was generally felt to be more optimism about law job prospects and salaries than has been felt in the previous three or four years.
At Simply Law Jobs, we can confirm an upward trend in law job postings, which is extremely encouraging for our registered jobseekers. Our figures show that during 2013 the number of law vacancies posted rose by 16% compared to the previous year – up from 117,258 in 2012 to a massive 136,362 in 2013.
The United Kingdom maintains its roots of government, but perhaps it is time for some major changes to occur. Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England all have a say in the UK government, but is there fairness in the representation? Currently all countries have the ability to decide on what happens in the United Kingdom government, which is not a bad thing if you consider that major legislative changes can affect all four countries. However, what about local Westminster changes that affect only England?
The year 2014 is very important for employment law. The current laws were introduced in the mid-1990s, so with it being nearly 20 years later, it stands to reason the UK government would be looking to change employment laws to meet current requirements and changes that have occurred to employment as a whole. Several proposed changes have been put into the works, with most of the employment changes occurring in April 2014. These new laws will have a greater impact on some employees than on others.
“The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw
Those legal professionals who are effective in client communications are those who stop, for just a moment, to reflect upon who their clients are, the client’s personal makeup and whether they are in the legal field familiar with legal terminology. To be effective is to know that both the receiver’s and the communicator’s interests and backgrounds are considered. That means a good communicator has listened to his receiver.
If you are preparing for a legal secretary job interview, make sure you don’t stumble on a question that many people simply forget to plan for, and live to regret. “Tell us what you can bring to this role?” is an incredibly obvious question, and you’re guaranteed to hear it at just about any job interview.
Yet somehow many of us struggle to have a knockout answer lined up, and therefore risk not sounding committed to the job in question and failing to sell ourselves effectively.
In front of a packed and vocal crowd attending the annual Legal PA of the Year awards ceremony, Gemma Boyle from Addleshaw Goddard (Manchester) was named 2013 Legal PA of the Year.
Gemma, still very emotional and dazed after receiving her award, said: “I just want to say how honoured I am that everyone at AG felt I was good enough to be nominated - let alone shortlisted or even win! Everyone at AG has been very supportive over the last 10 years and I feel fortunate that I get to work for Andrew and the Delivering Differently team and help lead the exciting changes the firm is making. I'm really looking forward to the next 10 years at AG!”