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A total of 7 years of Undergraduate studies and law school, you land up as an associate in a mega law firm which is your first job in your career. This is the time when action will speak paying all your hard work a fruitful outcome. The education which you receive in your college strengthens your theoretical base. But you don’t get much scope in improving and understanding the practical milieu of a law firm. People who have spent many years of their life as a legal secretary have observed numerous first-year associates tussling around to blend in to the new atmosphere. Drawing a conclusion gets obvious with the fact that these people doesn’t do their proper research and work prior to choosing this field and then ponders hard over to decide whether they did the right choice by selecting this profession or not. Such pessimistic feeling about your decision then is extremely extraneous. It is because you have already given a commitment to your job for at least one year.

Firstly, building a relationship with your Legal Secretary is always the best step to begin with. He being an experienced one would understand the managerial administrative tasks of your practice. The secretary possesses precious knowledge which would work to your advantage in achieving success. As an example, if you are a litigation attorney and you don’t want the court rejecting your complaint which could cause sentences and mortification among your colleagues then court filing procedures and formatting of documents is imperative.

Secondly, effective dictation should be learned as soon as possible. An unclear instructions and almost inaudible receipt of the tape is maddening for the transcriber. You should master over some basic formatting skills and dictation protocol that will save the typists numerous hours. It will also ensure that the court documents will be filled in a timely method.

Thirdly, an affable yet professional establishment of a relationship with the word processing department is handy. It is a widespread practice in law to work all 360 degree of the clock everyday to meet the deadlines. Most of the law firms have an in house word processing center which operates all day and all night. The word processing department gives their helping hand in assisting attorneys and secretaries with complicated and surfeit work.

Fourthly, you need to work on and complete your timesheets every day. If you develop this habit early, it will make your billing for your time accurate. The billable hours of you determines the bonus raise. It also sees that whether you are heading towards partner track. Many fresh associates are slipshod in this area and which is why law firms have instigated penalties> here are penalties like withholding checks and charging fines. So it is very important to begin on the right path and trace your time daily.

Fifthly, Bring respect for all. . The staff employees understand and respect your dedication and conscientiousness which is of course in return the attorneys should give it back to its employees. The attorneys should not constantly remind the staff about their designation. Don’t label yourself as a scrooge as it will slow down your production.

If you implement these five strategies it will really help you in surviving your first year well and good.

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