What’s in a Role? Fluid’s A-Z of Legal Administration

Over the past decade, the legal market has observed significant change, driven by advancements in technology, changing market demands, and heightened competition to retain key talent. These changes have impacted the roles and responsibilities of legal support professionals, leading to a shift in the skills and competencies required for success in the industry, and a myriad of new job titles have consequently emerged over this period.

However, with this wide range of job titles comes a degree of confusion for many of our new and experienced support staff. From receptionists to legal administrators and office managers, each role has its own responsibilities and duties. By understanding the different roles involved in the legal support industry, individuals can choose a career that best suits their skills and interests.

So, what is really in a role? Fluid Legal Support Specialist, Emily Watson explains from her observations in the modern-day NZ legal market.

 

• Anti-Money Laundering (AML) & Compliance Specialist

A compliance and anti-money laundering specialist (or administrator) is responsible for ensuring that a law firm or legal organisation is complying with all relevant laws and regulations. They may be responsible for tasks such as conducting risk assessments, developing policies and procedures, and training staff on compliance issues.

 

• Legal Administrator

A legal administrator is a more modern and collaborative term that broadly incorporates the work of legal PAs, secretaries, and office administrators. They are responsible for managing the administrative functions of a law firm or legal practice, directly supporting several authors, typically within one practice area.

 

• Legal Assistant

A legal assistant provides support to lawyers and legal professionals. They may be responsible for tasks such as conducting research, drafting legal documents, and managing client files. This may be on a solely administrative basis, but may also incorporate some chargeable work.

 

• Legal Secretary

A legal secretary is the most traditional term used to describe legal support professionals, providing administrative support to multiple authors. They are often responsible for more manual tasks such as typing legal documents, invoicing, managing calendars, and scheduling appointments, but also stretch to incorporate the more modern-day duties of legal PAs.

 

• Office Administrator

An office administrator is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the legal office. This role often has a split internal and external component; office administrators are responsible for tasks such as managing the ordering supplies, stocktaking, organising events and catering, and providing administrative cover to other departments as required. In short, they are often the go-to person who ensures that the office runs smoothly.

 

• Office Junior

An office junior is an entry-level position that provides administrative support to the legal team. They are responsible for performing a range of tasks, including filing, photocopying, and data entry. Although this role is heavily internally-facing, it can also incorporate an external component through reception cover and event assistance.

 

• Office Manager

An office manager is responsible for managing the administrative and operational aspects of a law firm. They oversee the office’s day-to-day operations, manage the firm’s administrative team, and ensure that the office is running efficiently. Office Managers also liaise with clients, manage staff, and ensure that the firm’s policies and procedures are being followed. These roles are most typically filled internally by senior administrative staff, so are often few and far between in the legal recruitment market.

 

• Paralegal

A paralegal is a typically US or AU term used to reflect trained legal professionals who provide support to lawyers. They may be responsible for conducting legal research, drafting legal documents, and managing client files. The NZ equivalent of a paralegal aligns most closely with the work of a “Legal Executive”. However although somewhat transferable, these qualifications differ across different countries and legal systems. Paralegals may work in a variety of legal settings, including law firms, corporations, and government agencies.

 

• Personal Assistant

A legal PA works closely with a lawyer or other legal professionals, providing administrative and secretarial support. They may be responsible for managing calendars, scheduling appointments, arranging travel and invoicing, as well as managing their authors’ client bases, file management, liaising with third parties. Legal PAs’ designated authors can range one senior author to include up to ten authors of a variety of levels depending on the level of administration and support required across individual practices.

Senior legal PAs who have been with their authors for a significant period of time will often be well-known by their client base and take enquiries or help designate workflows, as instructed by practice partners.

 

• Receptionist

A receptionist is the first point of contact for clients and visitors. This is a largely external-facing role that has a high-degree of face-to-face and phone interaction with a firm’s client base. They play a crucial role in creating a positive first impression for the firm.

They are responsible for answering phones, greeting visitors, and scheduling appointments. They are also in charge of managing the front desk area and ensuring that it is clean and organised.

 

• Registered Legal Executive

A registered legal executive is a trained legal professional who provides support to lawyers. This is often recognised as the NZ equivalent of a “Paralegal”. They may be responsible for tasks such as conducting legal research, drafting legal documents, and managing client files and will most commonly operate in a fee-earning capacity.

Legal Executives in Aotearoa hold their registration through the NZLIE and are most prevalent in the property space, working across a range of residential and commercial conveyancing files. Senior legal executives will often develop their own client base in their area of specialisation. Registered legal executives may work in a variety of legal settings, including law firms, corporations, and government agencies.

 

In 2023 we are far from the traditional structure of law firms, where legal secretaries would provide direct support to one or two lawyers, primarily across dictation and typing, filing and archiving, as well as taking client enquiries and making bookings. The modern legal support industry is driven by an environment that emphasises efficiency, technology and automation, individual difference, diversity and inclusion, career pathways and relies heavily on collaboration, drawing equally from technical and soft skillsets.

Questions? Comments? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our specialised Legal team to discuss today, or get in touch with Emily at emily@fluidrecruitment.co.nz .