Court and Legal Assistants
Provide administrative and operational support to Legal Professionals by performing clerical work associated with the functions of courts, legal practices and the administration of trusts and estates.
A deadline day at the law firm
You are a law clerk and legal secretary at a mid-sized firm, working with two lawyers who are both busy in court today. It is 1pm. A court filing is due by 4pm, one lawyer is in a hearing, a client has just walked in and the printer is jammed.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
The filing for the Okafor matter has to go in by four. I have not seen the last page. The exhibits are in the shared folder, but I am in court until three. Can you get it ready and tell me when it is done?
Prepare the filing, check every page and exhibit and message Sandra when it is ready to review
The package is ready by two. But you did not flag that two pages had different dates on them, and Sandra finds it at three-thirty. A good check includes telling the lawyer about the oddities.
Compile it, mention the odd dates to Sandra and ask for a quick review
Sandra has a five-minute break at two-thirty and spots the dates straight away. The filing goes in with half an hour to spare. Flagging what looks wrong is more useful than silently fixing it.
File it yourself when it is done, to save Sandra time
It goes in with the wrong date on an exhibit. Filing is a lawyer's decision, and a small error on a court document can be costly.
I have to talk to someone now. My landlord is threatening to throw me out and I do not know what my rights are. Can you tell me what I should do? I cannot wait for an appointment.
Take his details, explain that a lawyer must advise and book the earliest slot
He calms a little when he sees that someone has written down his name and found a time. He is given the free information service number too. Being kind and being clear about your role are not opposites.
Tell him what you think the law says, to put him at ease
He leaves feeling better, but you are not a lawyer and you might be wrong. If he acts on it, it could hurt his case. Giving advice is not your job.
Listen kindly, explain you cannot give advice, and book the earliest appointment with a lawyer
He is disappointed but understands, and the appointment is booked for the next day. A kind response and a clear boundary go together, though he left with little to hold on to today.
I am so sorry. I have just realised I emailed the client letter for the Okafor case to the wrong Okafor. Same surname, different matter. It has private details in it. What do we do?
Tell the supervising lawyer straight away and write down what happened
Sandra calls the wrong recipient, asks them to delete it and informs the affected client. It is a stressful afternoon, but honesty lets the firm handle it properly.
Ask her to recall the email and tell nobody, hoping it was unread
Hiding the mistake means the lawyer cannot take proper steps to limit harm, and the other client may already have read it. Confidentiality errors are reported.
Tell Beth you will deal with it after the filing is done
You focus on the deadline and the filing goes in. But the email sat in the wrong inbox for two more hours. The sooner a mistake is reported, the smaller it stays.
How it went
At four o'clock the filing goes in, the client has an appointment and the email problem is being handled openly. Legal support work is exact, confidential and full of boundaries about who may do what. Do you think you would enjoy being the person who keeps the lawyers on track?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The person at the registry counter
A fictional case set in a mid-sized law firm and the registry of a local court.
The situation
Hamza worked at the front counter of a local court registry. One morning a man in a worn jacket walked in holding a form and asked, quietly, whether he had filled it in right. He was representing himself in a small claim and could not afford a lawyer. The queue behind him was getting longer. Hamza knew he could not tell him what to write or what his chances were, and also knew a flat refusal would send him away confused.
What they did
Hamza stepped out from behind the counter, walked him to a side table and explained what the form was for and where each section went. He told him clearly that he could not advise on the content, but could show him what the court expected, and gave him the details of a free legal information service. He checked that nothing was left blank, then went back to the queue.
How it turned out
The man filed his form correctly and thanked him. A senior clerk noted that Hamza had stayed within his role while still being helpful. The registry later added a one-page guide to the counter for people filing for the first time.
What would you do?
- Where is the line between helping someone and giving advice?
- How would you feel standing between a nervous person and a queue?
- What could a court do to make its forms easier for people without a lawyer?