Legal secretary without experience- Jobs anywhere?

Pitlanepiglet

Hi Sanita

I don't see that many errors in your written posts, you sometimes drop the initial "i" from sentences (I can't see you posts at the mo so I can't give examples) but I really wouldn't get too stressed by it. If English is your second language you are doing very well IMO and I don't think you would struggle in this aspect if you got a job.

Fee earners are the lawyers and paralegals who do the legal work in law firms. UK firms tend to be grouped as fee earners and support staff. There is no real magic to it but these are the expressions that you come across.

Where is your law degree from? Did you qualify as a lawyer in your own country or just finish your law degree? Could you think about going back to Uni here? The problem is that most of the courses you need to do you will have to pay for as they are post graduate and that's a lot of debt to incur for no real certainty of a job.

I'd try to go and chat to the law firms that are local to you, your understanding of legal issues will help you in any role, my secretary has a really good understanding of what we do and this is enormously helpful to me.

Unfortunately you're too far away from me so I can't offer much practical assistance, but good luck to you.

sanita

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Where is your law degree from? Did you qualify as a lawyer in your own country or just finish your law degree? Could you think about going back to Uni here? The problem is that most of the courses you need to do you will have to pay for as they are post graduate and that's a lot of debt to incur for no real certainty of a job.

Thanks for your offer to help me, really appreciate that.
Hi, Yes I did qualify as a lawyer.
I completed my degree back in 2004 in Russia and worked around a year as lawyer’s assistant in a in a property management company. But it was criminal law I was always interested in and I considered to go to work as crime investigator at first, I had an offer from the local police department but than I met my husband and moved here. I read when I have some spare time and help my hubby with his law studies- sometimes I do research for his coursework.
We talked about going back, but hubby doesn't want to. He visited Russia couple of times and didn't like the lifestyle there. Also it's really difficult for the foreigner to find a proper job there.

JoolzS

I just thought I would add - if you are considering this as a job because you think it will be interesting then I can tell you from experience that it isn't. Most of the time it is repetitive and boring work that all has to be done at a high speed. You mention being interested in criminal law. Strangely that is the one area where I simply will not work. I have worked in many offices with loads of different solicitors and I can tell you now that in over twelve years I think that I only know of one solicitor who had one client who was actually innocent. At one place I worked we needed a new code for criminal case files which had to start with a letter. We couldn't use "C" because that was already used for conveyancing, "M" (for magistrates) was already used for matrimonial, etc. We ended up using "W" for "wasters" .

The big cases that get reported on TV are the exceptions. About 99.9% of criminal law is dealing with car thieves, burglars, shop-lifters, drug-dealers, petty thieves, most of whom are on their 2nd to umpteenth offence. I think it got summed up very well by one solicitor I temped for when, as he was leaving the office, he said "I'm just off to the prison to see a rapist. Ooops, sorry, I meant *alleged* rapist." We all knew the guy was guilty, but the solicitor still had to do his best to get him acquitted.

Julie

dmg24

sanita wrote: »

Hello! Thanks for response. I realise that sometimes I make mistakes it’s simply because English is not my first language.
Probably this job is a bit too difficult for the foreigner but I am willing to try. Also I have degree in law, but it is back from uni in my country and I can’t work here as a solicitor because legal systems are completely different. I live in Luton (Bedfordshire) and having looked at the local job advertisements for the last week there is nothing really interesting.
As I am to the profession I have no idea in what branch of law i am interested in. Criminal law seems interesting to me.
Also I would like to know – what is the fee earner?
What is bad with my English?- really want to know as i want to improve.


Now about childcare: Our local nursery is really good and is quite affordable but I still can’t afford to place my son there without having a job, I also found a crèche where I can put him for several hours a day- I use that in case I need to go to the interview.

No offence intended but I have to agree that your grammar is quite poor. I understand that is because English is not your first language, but this does not mean that any concessions will be made for you.

bruisedknees

dmg24 wrote: »

No offence intended but I have to agree that your grammar is quite poor. I understand that is because English is not your first language, but this does not mean that any concessions will be made for you.

Hello sanita

I wonder whether you, like me, fail to see the relevance of the above remarks.

As far as I can see no other poster was seeking to secure anyone's agreement that your grammar is quite poor (I do not believe that it deserves this description) nor have you said that you expect concessions to be made for you. Still at least no offence was intended.

My best wishes to you in your quest for work in your chosen field.

viktory

bruisedknees wrote: »

Hello sanita

I wonder whether you, like me, fail to see the relevance of the above remarks.

Oh for heavens sake! First I encounter smokers telling the world at large that they don't smell and now someone who completely fails to understand the relevance of good grammar in a role such as this. It is not a dig at the OP, it is a fact. dmg was agreeing that the OP's grammar is not of a high enough standard - and I concur. The fact is there are now more than one person with this POV.

I totally see the relevance.

OP, I would suggest you work on your written English. If, as someone else has said, the work is fast paced, you need to have an excellent grasp of the English language.

Pitlanepiglet

Sanita, I think you're putting yourself down, if your're Russian qualified and bi-lingual, then you might well be very useful to the right law firm. I imagine that there are lots of companies who are now dealing with Russia and having someone who understands the legal system and is bi-lingual would be incredibly useful.

I'm just not sure how you go about getting into something like that? I wouldn't go into Criminal law, it's usually quite poorly paid. In your position, I'd look for some corporate type law experience and I'd be trying to sell yourself as a paralegal rather than a secretary and push your Russian experience.

sanita

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Sanita, I think you're putting yourself down, if your're Russian qualified and bi-lingual, then you might well be very useful to the right law firm. I imagine that there are lots of companies who are now dealing with Russia and having someone who understands the legal system and is bi-lingual would be incredibly useful.

I'm just not sure how you go about getting into something like that? I wouldn't go into Criminal law, it's usually quite poorly paid. In your position, I'd look for some corporate type law experience and I'd be trying to sell yourself as a paralegal rather than a secretary and push your Russian experience.

To be honest I am not really confident that I can do that. You are not the first person telling me that, but I am simply scared to apply, I always think what if I don’t know something or I will not be able to do something? At the same time I see lots of people working in good jobs and having no qualifications at all.

Pitlanepiglet

sanita wrote: »

To be honest I am not really confident that I can do that. You are not the first person telling me that, but I am simply scared to apply, I always think what if I don’t know something or I will not be able to do something? At the same time I see lots of people working in good jobs and having no qualifications at all.

Welcome to the world of law honey, most of us feel like frauds a lot of the time most people just stop admitting it and it does get easier after a few years.

I'm three years qualified and I still feel that I know nothing. I'm just about to move to different area of law (I do commercial property and there is no work) to make sure I keep a job...so it's all starting again.

You'd probably go in at Newly Qualified level and nobody expects NQ's to know anything

Seriously, don't put yourself down and try to get some confidence in yourself, you qualified at home and that can't have been easy. Perhaps find out if there is a Trainee Solicitor group close to you or a Young Solicitors Group....also try ringing the Law Society Helpline to have a chat to them, I'm told they are really helpful.

hardpressed

I don't know anything about legal jobs but I wondered if there is any call for Russian to English translators for legal papers.