Skills to build on for legal support staff

Skills to build on for legal support staff

Here at Legal People, recruiting talented support staff for Melbourne based Law Firms is one of our super powers. We have an extensive network of Legal Assistants, Legal Secretaries, Paralegals and Executive Assistants.

We love nothing more than matching up a gifted legal support candidate with the ideal firm to take the next step in their legal career.

Our clients thrive on developing their team members and watching their skills grow over time. We work with market leaders and law firms that have interesting and varied work. We have clients whose senior staff are willing to mentor and coach the right skilled candidate. These factors make our client base fun to work with and fun to work for!

In our experience firms are looking beyond traditional support skills. They don't just want attention to detail, fast typing and the ability to manage a complex diary. There are other competencies we are being asked for again and again.

If you are ready for the next step in your support career, then these are the skills we recommend you focus on. And if you already tick all these boxes... Get in touch!

Most requested core competencies

1. Interpersonal skills

You don’t have to be an extrovert to have great interpersonal skills. You just need the ability to make connections and build relationships, whether you're in the office or working from home. This includes team members, colleagues, suppliers and clients. It means having great body language and eye contact. It also means having a friendly and approachable manner. And if you're working from home, ensuring you practice clear communication and proactively build trust through visible productivity and positive digital engagement.

2. Proactivity

Speaking of proactivity - your CV might say you are proactive, but are you really? Do you seek out work when what you are working on is complete? Are you a self-starter that can see what needs to be done and you just get on with it? Do you volunteer to work on new projects? Proactivity is a sought after skill and actions speak louder than words. The next time there is an opportunity – put your hand up!

3. Passion for customer service

The client experience within a Law Firm is incredibly important. It keeps clients loyal and coming back. A great legal support team member understands this. They go out of their way to ensure that they deliver client service beyond expectations. They understand how important it is to help build client relationships. A big part of customer service is delivering on what you said you were going to do when you said you would. Another part is helping manage client expectations when issues and obstacles come up. Great communication is key here.

4. Organisation and time management skills

For many legal support staff, part of their role involves managing the busy diaries of partners and associates. You may also be preparing legal documents including contracts or court documents. There are deadlines to be managed. You need to be able to manage many moving parts and competing priorities.

5. Self-motivation and the ability to work autonomously

Are you micro managed in your current role? Ask yourself whether this is a reflection on you or your supervisor? Consider how you can improve your ability to work autonomously. Do you need to build on your confidence? Seek out a mentor?

6. Communications skills (both written and verbal)

Law firms often expect their support staff to have communication skills suitable of liaising with executives. Your written skills also need to be top notch, with excellent grammar and spelling. You need to have attention to detail to manage long and complex legal documents full of legal speak. If you use AI for assistance, make sure you are not entering client or other confidential information into unsecured AI applications, you carefully review  AI generated outputs for errors or 'hallucinations', and don't become over-reliant on the technology. Legal support staff that stand out from the crowd offer a carefully developed combination of both technical fluency and core human skills. Which leads us to our next skill...

7. Technological skills

How are your technological skills? You probably have the MS Office Suite sorted and a good grasp of in-house legal software. But can you embrace new tech? Can you think outside the box and automate or improve a process? Do you understand the Cloud and how it works? How about AI? Tech savvy support staff are often in demand, so if this is an area you could build on, it can only work in your favour. Becoming adept at a specialist program can make you very attractive to a firm!

8. A positive attitude

We are always being asked to find someone with a positive attitude. Are you a glass half full or empty kind of person? Make a concerted effort to inject some positivity into your life.

If you are reading this and nodding and saying, “yes, that sounds like me” and you have great legal industry experience then we want to hear from you! Get in touch and we can talk about available roles for your in-demand legal support skills!

Legal People is your gateway to the best legal career opportunities. We are specialists in the Legal Industry and recruit Lawyers, Support staff and HR professionals in Melbourne, Australia.

Meet our experts:

Sharon Henderson - Director and national leader in legal recruitment. Known for her deep networks and market insight.

Rosie Mamic - Principal Consultant with over two decades of success in placing legal professionals and support staff across private practice and corporate teams.

Laine McKenzie - One of Melbourne's most trusted legal support recruiters, offering guidance, market advice, and enduring client relationships.