Behind every successful and efficient law office is an equally efficient law office manager. A competent law office manager administers the activities of a legal department or a law office. To become a law office manager, one needs to qualify itself with law firm management courses that are available online as well.
Some law office managers also perform tasks of a legal assistant or a paralegal but are not identified as one. For that, they would need an additional paralegal training or maybe a course, explaining the paralegal’s responsibilities thoroughly.
All the daily tasks in a law office are administered by a law office manager. A law office manager plays all day with files and documents, in addition to keeping the office well maintained. He should be packed with remarkable written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills. Read on to know more about the attributes of a law office manager.
Stress Handling Ability
A law office manager needs to be everything with everyone be it lawyers, clients, or paralegals. A lawyer or a complete law office depends on the law office manager to handle all the tasks related to client queries, lawyer requirements, documentation, keeping the library and stationery complete and filled. Being responsive to all the tasks makes it a very hectic and tiring work process. Hence, he/ she needs to maintain the calmness in order to complete the tasks effectively and even assisting the lawyer. They are also likely to fulfill client requirements related to lawsuits. A law office manager needs to stay calm and cool-headed, all the while communicating firmly but politely, like clients enquiring about the court dates from the lawyer or regarding documents, even for photocopies. A law office manager needs to handle the stress pleasantly, even if it is a last-moment one.
Strong Moral Values
Every lawyer is required to maintain the law and the same is expected from the people working in and around a lawyer. This job description emphasizes the importance of holding laws and policies regarding data privacy. A law office manager gets in touch with different and confidential clients’ data and hence, holds the responsibility of keeping the privacy of the clients and their information. Honesty, trustworthiness, and maintaining privacy are some of the most important moral values to be found in a law office manager. Every lawyer or a law firm trusts the law office manager to protect the confidential information as they manage all the paperwork for each case. A single breach of privacy can damage the complete reputation of the law firm.
Enlightened and Skilled
Every law office manager should have good knowledge of law practiced in their office, for example, if it is a corporate law office, the law office manager should have a good knowledge regarding corporate law. Knowledge of legal software and vocabulary helps the law office manager to do their job more competently.
Final Consideration
For a lawyer to run a law office efficiently, it should be maintained efficiently. Hence, to maintain a law office properly, a law office manager is a necessity. A law office manager possesses good knowledge and understanding of administering the law office or legal department’s activities properly. One can become a law office manager after completing law firm management courses that are provided by many educational institutes, online as well as offline.