Case studies: Legal secretary: Charlotte

Charlotte has a degree in computer information systems design from Kingston University

I work as a legal secretary for Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP in London. I joined the company in 2007 working as secretary for the new head of tax. After ten months I was promoted to work for the chairman of the firm and have been in this role for the last year. I became a legal secretary after leaving the IT industry and changing my career. I wanted more of a people-orientated role and my career as an IT programmer didn't satisfy this. Initially, I worked as a legal secretary for a local law firm before moving up to the City, where I proceeded to gain experience in a variety of corporate/commercial law areas including construction, employment, pensions and health & safety, looking after all levels of fee-earner from trainee up to senior partner.

My core role on a day-to-day basis involves providing full secretarial support to the chairman, although I’m also assigned to four other fee-earners. My day-to-day responsibilities include:

• managing emails;
• organising meetings - which includes attending partner election meetings throughout the year and collating papers for these;
• diary management;
• arranging travel;
• monitoring phone calls;
• amending various documentation.

This is a demanding role and requires the ability to work well under pressure and manage my workload in order to meet tight deadlines.

The work is very interesting and the clientele are often high-profile organisations and individuals, so it’s extremely important to maintain a professional manner at all times when dealing with clients.

Due to the nature of my work, flexibility in working hours is often required in order to meet client needs. Respect for confidentiality and attention to detail are key to my role, as well as the ability to work well as part of a team.