Career Experiences

Coming from a completely non-legal background, Hollie Nixon was unsure of the best way to start her career as a Legal Secretary. Upon hearing about ILSPA through a fellow student on her Open University degree, she decided to take the plunge and enrol for our Diploma. Now, less than a year later, Hollie has secured her first Legal Secretary position. We caught up with her to find out why she believes her Diploma was so important during her job search, and what advice she would give to other people looking to start working in the profession.

How did you hear about ILSPA?

Craig Harris is a multi-award winning Executive Assistant, who currently works for Shelter UK. Some of his recent awards include our trusted partner SecsintheCity’s Social Media PA of the Year 2018 and Pitman’s Super Achiever PA of the Year 2017. Having forged an impressive and successful career as an Assistant, Craig is now working to promote inclusion and diversity within the profession.

In January 2018 he co-founded the LGBT Admin and Assistant Network, and dedicates much of his time to speaking publicly about his aim to be a role model for all Assistants, especially aspiring male Assistants considering making the leap to the profession.

Jemina Blake studied ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma back in 2012. After graduating she worked for one of the leading law firms in the South East and continued to study. She completed a Level 4 Diploma in Paralegal Studies with NALP and a Level 5 Diploma in Business Management. Now Jemina has used her impressive experience and qualifications to start her own business, My Legal Transcription. ILSPA spoke with Jemina about what initially interested her about the law, why she chose to become a Legal Secretary and how she turned that into a business of her own.

How did you become interested in working within the legal profession?

On the 8th November 2018, the 7th annual PA of the Year awards took place at the prestigious Ivy Restaurant in London. Hosted by SecsintheCity – the UK’s only job site dedicated to Personal and Executive Assistants – the ceremony recognises and champions the very best talent and achievements in the industry.

We asked Amy Franklyn, Legal EA at Bird & Bird LLP and winner of the Legal PA of the Year award, to give us a rundown of her career thus far and tell all about the glamorous awards ceremony.

Q: How did you become an EA?

This month ILSPA has the pleasure of catching up with a former student of ours, Melinda Toth. Melinda enrolled for our Legal Secretaries Diploma course last year and after successfully completing her qualification in early 2018, went on to secure her very first Legal Secretary role not long after with MW Solicitors. We had a few questions for Melinda about how she found her qualification, and what advice she would give to recent graduates of the course when starting their Legal Secretary job search.  

What was the reason you decided to train to become a Legal Secretary?

Since starting her legal career as an Administrative Assistant at a well-known global law firm over 15 years ago, Michelle Clarke has progressed to the point where she is now working as a Fee Earner in her current firm, Land Law LLP. Along the way, she studied ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma and went on to study ILSPA’s Civil Litigation Advanced Diploma. Michelle kindly spoke to ILSPA about her career, her studies and the exciting new opportunity as a Fee Earner.

How did you come to work in the legal profession?

Karen is a highly accomplished Legal Secretary/PA with over 32 years’ experience in the legal profession. She has been a Member of the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs since 2009 and was awarded the status of Lifelong Fellow of the Institute in 2016. Karen currently works as a Legal Assistant/PA for Roche Legal, an acclaimed boutique firm of private client solicitors based in York.

We recently spoke to Karen about her career, current position and what advice she would give to other Legal Secretaries just starting out in the field.

What does your role involve at Roche Legal?

This year marks the 100th anniversary of women gaining the vote in the UK. A year after this was granted, the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act was passed, and women could become qualified lawyers for the first time. To celebrate the progress made in women’s rights, we’ll be taking a look at five inspirational women who have made their mark in the legal industry over the past century.

Gwyneth Bebb

1889 – 1921

Rebecca Bouhsine is a successful Legal Secretary and current Student here at the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs. Having previously completed ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma and our Civil Litigation Advanced Diploma, Rebecca is currently working towards her Criminal Law Advanced Diploma with us. Rebecca kindly took time out of her busy schedule to talk to us about her role, her studies and what advice she would give to others who want to enter the profession.

What does your role involve at Voisin Law?

With the PA of the Year Award nominations now open, we caught up with previous Legal PA of the Year Rachel Newman to discuss the PA of the Year Awards, talk about her career as a Legal PA and garner some top tips for other Legal employees in the industry.

Tell us about your experience of the 2014 PA of the Year Awards.