Legal aid secretary

Briefly explain what you do for a living.

I work as a legal aid secretary as a partner of a public legal counsellor and perform assistance tasks related to their assignments, such as sending mail, managing invoicing and drafting documents. I prepare estate inventory deeds and, if necessary, obtain the reports and documents required for the estate inventory. My tasks also include resolving applications for legal aid from private lawyers.

I am on duty 1–2 times a week at our office, where I perform tasks of a telephone duty officer and a customer service duty officer.  For the customer service, for example, customers can bring documents related to assignments and make appointments. Telephone duty officer answers calls from outside.

In addition, I participate in the chat service once a week. The chat service provides general guidance.

How have you ended up in the profession of your choice?

After my studies, I started looking for employment. I didn't have a clear goal, but I knew I wanted to do office work. I received a substitute position as a typist at the public legal aid office of the City of Oulu, and later I was elected to the post of a clerk, after which I became a legal aid secretary.

Describe your typical working day or week.

In the morning, I first check whether there are any messages or additional information from my partner or customers on the legal aid applications I am processing. Then I go through the tasks that I have received from the work stack shared by the telephone duty officer and start taking care of them in the order of urgency. I also plan my time use so that I can prepare the necessary documents on time for the public legal counsellor.

What kind of work environment or working hours do you have?

I work in an office with a multi-purpose space and a customer service office. I also work remotely, but on-call shifts and estate inventory events always require attendance at the office.

We have flexible working hours, but on on-call days I always work at least between 8:00 and 16:15.

What kind of competence or qualities are required in the profession?  

This work requires IT skills and the ability to make independent decisions. Customer service requires situational awareness and the ability to get on with different people. The ability to concentrate, as well as flexibility, are beneficial as interruptions and changes to plans often occur. English skills are also sometimes needed.

What is the best thing about your profession?

The best part of my work is diversity and varying days. Although I have worked as a legal aid secretary for a long time, new and surprising things always come up. In addition, I believe that there are many advantages in working for the government, such as remote work, flexible working hours and occupational health services.

What are the downsides of the profession or what seems challenging?

Sometimes it feels difficult not to be able to provide the customers with satisfying solutions to their situations. The legal aid secretary often has a lot of work to do, so it is sometimes difficult to plan tasks and schedules. Sometimes mistakes happen, but luckily you can fix them.

What would you tell a person considering the profession of a legal aid secretary?

It is good to be aware that there are different training requirements for legal aid tasks, which is why, for example, with my background the opportunities for progress are limited. As a workplace, the legal aid office is better able to offer stability compared to many other workplaces.

How do you see the future of your profession?

I believe that work in this field will not end.