Having previously studied Travel and Tourism at the Tonbridge Campus, I already knew the College had good values and good teachers. The College is also close to my home and easy to get to with public transport. I decided a change in direction would be good and to follow my dream of working in the Legal industry. The course was an important factor in securing my current job, it helped to prepare me and helped me to understand what would be expected from me as a Legal Secretary. It also provided the opportunity to practice what I would actually be doing day-to-day in my role, it was very realistic. You get the chance to study different types of Law within the course, criminal and Family Law were my favourites. One notable memory was a trip to the Old Bailey in London, which I found very interesting.
I completed the course in June 2019 and was employed by Cripps PG the following month. I am a legal secretary for four different solicitors within my firm, I assist and support the lawyers in the corporate team with their day-to-day jobs, ensuring they are able to spend as much time as possible on client- focused work and I am really enjoying it. Every day is different and each day I have different tasks, from booking meetings, to liaising with clients, preparing or amending legal documents and managing my fee earners diaries. The variety of tasks in my role means that every day I feel I am learning and achieving new things, I also enjoy the interaction with new people.
My advice to anyone wanting to follow a career as a Legal Secretary is to get some work experience. It is so valuable and a very important chance to understand what life as a legal secretary is like. Work experience could also lead to a job offer as that’s exactly what happened to me!
The variety of tasks in my role means that every day I feel I am learning and achieving new things.