Legal transcriptionists work in various areas of the law such as real estate, family law, criminal law, personal injury, wills and probate, litigation, corporate law and immigration. Law firms, private attorneys, corporate legal departments and many government agencies use a legal transcriptionist. The legal transcriptionist will perform duties such as transcribing daily dictation, recording testimony, and preparing legal documents such as briefs, motions and petitions from dictation. They may also be required to perform other job functions such as filing documents at the local courthouse, running errands, answering phones and general office duties.
Employment
A transcriptionist is often employed as a legal secretary who performs legal transcription among other duties. As a legal secretary you would be performing such tasks as legal research, preparation of legal documents, scheduling, and general office duties.
Many paralegals and legal assistants perform legal transcription as well. Most paralegal positions require formal training and require a certificate or degree. Paralegal and legal assistants work for private attorneys, law offices, corporate legal departments and government agencies. Paralegals and legal assistants usually assist attorneys in investigations, preparation of trials, organizing and analyzing cases, performing extensive legal research, and drafting legal documents. Typically, paralegals and legal assistants will spend many hours at the law library researching and documenting cases. As with all careers in the legal field, legal terminology is extremely important. Additionally, there are certain tasks that a paralegal or assistant must avoid such as giving legal advice, setting legal fees and presenting cases in a court of law.
Training and Education
The legal transcriptionist may enter this career by formal training and earning a degree, certificate or diploma. Many transcriptionists are trained directly from an attorney or paralegal. Depending on the laws of the state in which your are working as a legal transcriptionist, you may or may not need a license. Some states may define legal transcription as duties of a legal assistant or paralegal which is a highly regulated field. Additionally, depending on the state you gain employment, the state may require legal assistants to obtain a notary public license.
Salaries of Legal Transcriptionists
Median annual earnings of legal secretaries were $38,190 in May 2006. However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report as of May 2008 estimates annual earnings at $41,640. Paralegals and legal assistants had median annual earnings, including bonuses, of $43,040. The middle 50 percent were earning between $33,920 and $54,690. The employment of paralegals and legal assistants is projected to grow 22 percent between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Freelancing and Contract Work
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report that a small number of legal assistants work as a freelancer contracting with various attorneys and corporate legal departments. Freelancers usually will charge between $25 and $35 by the hour if they are performing legal research. When performing transcription, it is usually $15 per hour. Many freelancers choose to charge by the page or per word when performing document preparation and transcription. Freelancing is growing in popularity because you may work full-time or part-time, choose your own hours and work at home.
Advancement
You can learn legal transcription from formal education training, some receive training straight from a law office or attorney. Upon completion of training or education, many choose positions as legal transcriptionists or legal secretaries. To further advance your career, you may choose to pursue paralegal or legal assistant training.
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