A Career in Law Office Management

Law office administrators working in law office management direct and coordinate the activities of a law firm or legal department, including the planning, organization and direction of their department. They are essential and greatly appreciated members of the legal team.

Law office managers play a vital role in the day-to-day operations of a law office. Their responsibilities may include overseeing salaries and benefits; handling budgets, billing and collections; managing staff and facilities; maintaining the library and office records; recruiting attorneys; doing legal research; and coordinating client marketing.

Some law office managers actually perform the same functions as legal secretaries, legal assistants and paralegals, and are paralegals in everything but name. They can also become paralegals with some additional paralegal training.

Law Office Management: Workplace

Administrators work in law firms, legal departments or governmental agencies and private corporations. They often do support work for legal secretaries, legal assistants or paralegals. Law office administration is often a way into these related fields.

Law Office Management: Education & Training

While there are no academic requirements for this field, taking a 2-year associate's degree program or a 1-to-2 semester certificate program in law office administration or public administration will help you prepare for the complexities of legal practice. Most programs cover management principles and concepts, legal terminology, human resource management, supervisory techniques, managing financial resources and ethics.

Law Office Management: Salary

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, law office managers earned between $34,740 and $42,510 in 2006.