Legal Secretary

Lawyers rely on sharp, motivated legal secretaries to coordinate the daily functions of their practice. Similar to a specialized administrative assistant, legal secretaries help law offices running smoothly by maintaining schedules, managing clients, filing documents, drafting paperwork, and more.

In this course, you will learn the fundamental skills needed to start an entry-level position as a legal secretary. You will learn basic legal terminology, office procedure and management, basic accounting, and QuickBooks. Along the way, you will discover what it's like to work in this fascinating and fast-paced field.

What you will learn

• Manage the front end of a legal office
• Attend to accounting and QuickBooks details for attorneys
• Use legal terminology effectively
• Complete basic legal writing tasks
• Manage projects in legal offices
• Communicate persuasively and effectively

How you will benefit

• Jump-start your career as a legal secretary in a law office, law firm, non-profit agency, or governmental agency
• Develop a professional vocabulary that will allow you to communicate efficiently with legal professionals

1. Course Introduction
   1. Overview of the market, skills, and responsibilities
2. Law Office Management
   1. Duties you may have as a law office professional
      1. Types of systems used for calendaring
   2. Accounting and billing in the law office
   3. Files and record management in the law office
      1. Ethics and file management
   4. Technology used in the law office
      1. NFPA and ethical considerations
      2. Life cycle of a file
   5. Types of files encountered in the law office
3. Legal Terminology
   1. General legal terms that fall in multiple areas of law
   2. Contract legal terminology
   3. Litigation legal terminology
   4. Real Estate legal terminology
   5. Probate/Estate legal terminology
   6. Intellectual Property legal terminology
   7. Bankruptcy legal terminology
4. Introduction to the Legal System
   1. Introduction to terminology used in the legal system
   2. Structure of the government
   3. Judicial system
      1. Federal judicial system
      2. State court system
      3. Local court system
   4. Jurisdiction in the legal system
   5. Using FIRAC to read a case
5. Legal Writing
   1. Importance of legal writing in the legal field
   2. Goal of legal writing
   3. Drafting documents in legal writing
   4. Constructing effective sentences in legal writing
      1. Precision and simplicity
      2. Sound structure
      3. Using active voice
   5. Using defined terms in legal writing
   6. Word usage in legal writing
   7. Redundancies
   8. Commonly misused words in legal writing
   9. Reviewing legal documents
   10. Using FIRAC in legal analysis
6. Introduction to Accounting
   1. Overview of Accounting
      1. Importance of bookkeeping
      2. The Accounting Cycle
      3. Manual Bookkeeping
      4. When to start bookkeeping
   2. Methods of Accounting
      1. Cash accounting
      2. Accrual accounting
   3. The Accounting Cycle
      1. Transaction
      2. Journal
      3. T-Accounts
      4. Debit/Credit
      5. Double-entry system
      6. Normal account balances
   4. Major account groupings
      1. Assets
      2. Liabilities
      3. Owner's equity
      4. The accounting equation
      5. Income
      6. Expenses
   5. The Accounting Cycle
      1. Trial balance
      2. Adjusting entries and balance
      3. Financial statements
      4. Closing the books
7. Introduction to Excel
   1. The environment of Excel
      1. Spreadsheet
      2. Worksheet environment
      3. Cells
      4. Menu bar
      5. Setting up a worksheet in Excel
   2. Formatting a worksheet to enhance the appearance of your information
      1. Formatting cells
   3. Tips for working with data in Excel
      1. Entering in your data
      2. How to set up and modify your data
   4. Navigating and printing your worksheet
      1. Shortcuts you can use to navigate your spreadsheet effectively
      2. Options for printing in Excel
   5. Tips for managing large worksheets in Excel
      1. Formatting and naming worksheet tabs
      2. Managing and viewing large workbooks
   6. Using Excel in Accounting
      1. Using Excel and QuickBooks in the Accounting process
      2. Using Excel for project management
8. Introduction to QuickBooks
   1. Exploring QuickBooks
      1. Employee center
      2. Customer center
      3. Vendor center
      4. Banking center
   2. How to perform basic banking activities in the banking center
      1. Write a check
      2. Record a deposit
      3. Use bank account registers
      4. Enter hand written checks
      5. Transfer money between accounts
      6. Reconcile
   3. The customer center holds the customer information and transaction activities
      1. Job estimates
      2. Sales
      3. Invoices
      4. Record payments
      5. Record credits
   4. Formatting invoices and processing sale forms
   5. Setting up the chart of accounts in QuickBooks
   6. Reports that can be run in the report center of QuickBooks
   7. Maintaining your inventory in QuickBooks
   8. Time tracking in QuickBooks
   9. Creating job estimates in QuickBooks
      1. Create jobs
      2. Create multiple estimates
      3. Transform estimates into invoices
      4. Update and modify current job status
   10. Confirming accuracy of the company records in QuickBooks
       1. The chart of accounts
       2. Customer list
       3. Vendor list
       4. Job list
       5. Employee list
9. Persuasive Communication
   1. Fundamentals of communication
      1. Non-verbal communication
   2. The importance of knowing the audience in persuasive communication
      1. Personality profiling
   3. The power of listening
   4. Credibility of the speaker is key in persuasion
   5. Evidence in persuasion
      1. Tips for using evidence in persuasion
      2. Reasoning in persuasion
   6. Emotion in persuasion
   7. Organizing the argument
      1. Questions of fact, value, and policy
      2. Monroe's Motivated Sequence
   8. Defining of strategic management in operations
      1. Strategic planning
      2. Implementation of the strategic plan
      3. Questions to ask in developing your business model
   9. Mindset of strategic thinking
      1. What is my business environment
      2. What is my corporate culture
      3. What are your goals and objectives
   10. Strategic planning models
       1. Kerry Napuk's 5-Step Strategic Planning Model
       2. Karl Albrecht's Strategy Formulation Process
   11. Questions to ask when creating strategic alternatives
   12. Criteria for implementation
10. Project Management
    1. Project management for executives
    2. Foundation of project management
       1. Modern project management
       2. Project management context
       3. Application of project management principles
    3. Characteristics of a project
       1. Established objectives
       2. Defined life-cycle
       3. Require organizational commitment
       4. Time, cost and performance requirements
    4. Project management lifecycle
       1. Difference between projects and programs
       2. Skills essential for project managers
    5. Build effective team
    6. Use individual contributors
    7. Motivate in a project management environment
    8. Manage effective meetings

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

• This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

• PC: Windows 8 or newer.
• Mac: OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 or later.
• Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
• Microsoft PowerPoint (not included in enrollment).
• Microsoft Office or equivalent (not included in enrollment).
• Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download the Acrobat Reader.
• Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

• Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment. The following textbooks will be shipped to you approximately 7-10 business days after enrollment:

• Accounting for Managers
• Bookkeeping Made Simple
• Dictionary of Legal Terms, Barron's Educational Series

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites prior to taking this course.

Can I register for a course if I am an international student?

Yes, ed2go courses are completely online. However, keep in mind that not all certifying bodies or industry-specific certifications are recognized internationally. Please review your country's regulations prior to enrolling in courses that prepare for certification.

Does this course prepare for a certification?

No.

When can I start the course?

This course is open enrollment, so you can register and start the course as soon as you are ready. Access to your course can take 24-48 business hours.

How long does it take to complete this course?

This course is self-paced and open enrollment, so you can start when you want and finish at your own pace. When you register, you'll receive six (6) months to complete the course.

What if I don't have enough time to complete my course within the time frame provided?

The time allotted for course completion has been calculated based on the number of course hours. However, if you are unable to complete the course, contact your Student Advisor to help you work out a suitable completion date. Please note that an extension fee may be charged.

What kind of support will I receive?

You may be assigned with an instructor or team of industry experts for one-on-one course interaction. Your support will be available (via e-mail) to answer any questions you may have and to provide feedback on your performance. All of our instructors are successful working professionals in the fields in which they teach. You will be assigned to an Advisor for academic support.

What happens when I complete the course?

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be awarded a Certificate of Completion.

Am I guaranteed a job?

This course will provide you with the skills you need to obtain an entry-level position in most cases. Potential students should always do research on the job market in their area before registering.

Can I get financial assistance?

This course is non-credit, so it does not qualify for federal aid, FAFSA and Pell Grant. In some states, vocational rehab or workforce development boards will pay for qualified students to take our courses. Additionally, some students may qualify for financial assistance when they enroll, if they meet certain requirements. Financing is available from select schools. Learn more: https://www.ed2go.com/career/financial-assistance

How can I get more information about this course?

If you have questions that are not answered on our website, representatives are available via LIVE chat. You can also call us at 1-877-221-5151 during regular business hours to have your questions promptly answered. If you are visiting us during non-business hours, please send us a question using the "Contact Us" form.