Reading and writing skills may seem a topic more suited to school children, but foundation skills like these are so important that you should always consider if there is room for improvement.

Let’s start with writing skills. Whether you are preparing a document for your portfolio or making a job application, a quick review of your basic English skills can avoid simple mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

A misplaced apostrophe or poorly spelt word can mean the difference between failure and success. It is easy to avoid errors by rereading what you have written. Even better, if you are preparing something like a job application, where you only have one chance to get it right, get someone else to look over it first.

Remember these three main areas where small changes can make a big difference:

Spelling

2014 was a year of extremely important changes in the field of employment law, with various updates having been made as well as the introduction of new legal ideas. Listed below are the most notable changes which have taken place during 2014 that you should be aware of.

TUPE Reforms

In January 2014 TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) was reformed to allow employers to have greater flexibility to dismiss or make changes to a contract following TUPE transfers. Importantly, redundancies made after a TUPE transfer has been made are not automatically counted as unfair dismissal anymore. However, in February, a dismissal of an employee made after a TUPE transfer when they refused to accept contractual changes was deemed automatically unfair.

Minimum Wage Penalties

When working in a fast-paced industry like law, it’s vital to keep up with all the latest news, views and developments. Thankfully, there are some clever legal eagles out there who run some pretty impressive blogs filled with all the latest information. We’ve chosen a few of our favourites that you simply must be reading.

Roll on Friday

Roll on Friday is a blog like no other in the industry. Working similarly to a social media site, it’s a unique place for law workers to discuss what’s going on in their careers, asking questions like “Which restaurant in London should I take my new client?”

Budding lawyers and barristers can look for friendly and confidential inside advice on standard pay, benefits and perks from experienced industry workers.

www.rollonfriday.com

Stowe Family Law

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global legal practice who have more than 3800 lawyers based in over 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Recognised for their industry focus, they are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare.

Wherever they are, they operate in accordance with their global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. They aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of their offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

The Team

We are delighted to announce our new Scholarship Scheme which will enable one Student each year to study our Legal Secretaries Diploma course for free. ILSPA would like to offer financial support to someone who may not be able to fund the course themselves, enabling him or her to have a successful Legal Secretary career.

Occasionally we receive enquiries from people who want to better themselves and have a good career by studying the Legal Secretaries Diploma course, but they are unable to afford the course fees.  By introducing the scholarship scheme, we will be able to give someone the opportunity to enrol for our course without having the worry of the financial commitment.

Passing below the radar can be easy to do when working in secretarial roles. People conducting their job perfectly might not receive the recognition that they deserve simply because everything is running smoothly and therefore they don’t draw attention to themselves. There are several things that you can do to make sure that your work doesn’t go unnoticed, and the New Year is the perfect time to start bringing attention to yourself. Make your resolution for 2015 to get yourself noticed at work and to make sure that you feel appreciated by your colleagues and bosses. 

Create personal relationships

The general job market today is very competitive, and there are more people than ever applying for each available position. But this is not true of every single job market. Over the last five years or so, there has been an increasing demand for Legal Secretaries, which looks like it will continue well into the future.

If you are a law graduate, getting a job as a Legal Secretary could be the perfect way to get your foot in the door and get noticed. ILSPA’s Legal Secretaries Diploma course is studied by many law graduates as it helps them to acquire the practical skills they need and it boosts their CVs.

When teaching on the Diploma course, I often see students trying to write down everything that is discussed in class. Now you may be able to write down every single thing that is said, but this type of note taking is rarely the best way to learn or remember information. Effective note taking is a skill, and there are different theories and techniques that you can try in order to develop the style that suits you best. We will start by considering three widely used strategies.

The job market can be very competitive, and it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are not being successful in job applications simply because of that factor. It could be that you are jeopardising your own job search without knowing it, and a few simple changes could help you to be much more successful in finding employment.

Make sure that you are prepared

Legal Secretary roles can be varied. Make sure that you understand the particular specialisms and workings of the company you are applying to work for before applying for a job. It is also important to make sure that you are fully aware of all of the tasks that you will be asked to perform on a daily basis and ensure that you have the right skills to conduct them to a high standard.

Take time with your CV

The British Legal Awards took place on 27 November 2014 and it was the highlight of the legal calendar. The awards are an annual showcase for the greatest achievements made each year by law firms operating in the United Kingdom. This provides a chance to reward lawyers for their hard work and contribution to the British economy as well as recognition of the innovative and varied work they carry out on a day-to-day basis. 

The winners of the awards reflect the diversity of the legal sector in the UK and prove that the awards really do celebrate the variety of contributions made by British legal teams each year. This year, winners included firms such as Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy, DLA Piper and Berwin Leighton Paisner. The difference in the size and specialties of the winning firms demonstrated the variety within the legal sector in the UK.