Career Advice

At the Office Show towards the end of 2012, National PA Day celebrated Britain’s estimated 600,000 highly skilled Personal Assistants, showcasing the increasing importance of PAs working in offices throughout the nation. The aim of National PA Day was to promote this exciting and stimulating profession amongst well-educated, career-minded young people.

This event also saw the release of a survey conducted amongst nearly 1,500 PAs to find out about their pay, qualities and career prospects as well as other interesting information about their roles. Here are some of the results:

Applications for the trainee Legal Secretary scheme offered by Berwin Leighton Paisner usually take place in January of each year, however, they will now be starting in February or March instead.

Those of you who are interested in the scheme, have a little more time to make sure that you have a top quality CV and think about what you can offer the firm.  As well as presenting a copy of your CV, you will need to complete an application form outlining your skills, attributes and capabilities so it is good to be prepared.

Top London law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) has been running a trainee Legal Secretary (TLS) scheme for over 10 years with a fantastic success rate. The last five years alone have seen 100% retention, with all the programme’s trainee Legal Secretaries securing permanent secretarial positions within the firm.

 We all know that the economy has been going through difficult times, due to the banking crisis and turmoil in the Eurozone. There are signs of it turning around, however, and this is reflected in the job market. In particular, there is something of a mini-boom happening in the legal industry in London.

I expect at some point in your life – perhaps more than once – you’ve said this. When you’ve said it, you most probably meant something like “I wish some significant good fortune will come my way soon!”

Reading the Daily Express on my flight to Spain on 25 June, I came across a small article on a poll carried out by the children’s literacy charity, ‘Volunteer Reading Help’.  In their study of 500 Chief Executives, Managers and other high earners, they found that hard work, charm, persistence, warmth, intelligence and a sense of humour were high amongst the ingredients for success. It also revealed that luck, fate and good timing also help.

As you work your way through the Legal Secretaries Diploma course, there may be a part of you that feels anxious about how you are going to secure a job as a Legal Secretary or PA. This is perfectly understandable, as you are only human. Rest assured that some of the other students will be feeling exactly the same way. The good news is that there are some excellent resources on offer when you decide to study through the Institute, and these include CV help, career guidance and access to a wealth of information that could really help you to move forward.

Well, actually, no! You’re not its greatest asset, but you are part of its second-greatest asset, and that is something, in itself, to think about! Why? I’ll tell you later.

What, then, is your firm’s greatest asset? It’s their clients. Why? Well, without them there would be no firm, no business, no partners and no staff, because there would be no money coming in! So clients are extremely important – you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to appreciate that – as Aleksandr Orlov Meerkat would say – ‘Simples’!

The term “Paralegal” is used in most jurisdictions to describe a professional who assists qualified lawyers. This is the case in the US. However, in England and Wales the profession has yet to agree on a definition, and thus much confusion has existed in this area. The term, introduced in the UK in 1987 by the National Association of Licensed Paralegals, defines a “Paralegal” as a person who is qualified through education and training to perform substantive legal work; who requires knowledge of the law; and who is not a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Legal Executive.

Thank you to all of the Student and Affiliate Members who attended the presentations for Berwin Leighton Paisner's Trainee Legal Secretary Scheme. This is an exciting opportunity to work for an award-winning international law firm. You can find out more information about the scheme and download the application form by visiting www.blplaw.com/TLS.

An excellent opportunity has arisen for ILSPA Students. Please read further if you are interested in joining a trainee Legal Secretary scheme run by the law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP), which is based in London.