Celebrating 20 Years of Dedication to the Legal Secretary Profession

July 13, 2010 - PRLog -- The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs celebrates their twentieth anniversary this year. ILSPA not only offers recognised qualifications, but also provides professional recognition for their Members and their ongoing development, together with support, advice and career guidance for trainee and experienced Legal Secretaries.

The Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs was formed in 1990 by a group of like-minded legal professionals to promote the excellence and professional recognition of Legal Secretaries and PAs. They initially existed to assist legal practices with their main support staff functions by helping maintain and improve services to their clients through the expertise and diligence of a well-informed and commercially aware secretariat.

ILSPA has come a long way in the past few years and they have established a recognised Legal Secretaries Diploma course, which enables people to gain the knowledge, skills and formal qualification that they need to be a successful Legal Secretary. This course has been studied by thousands of Students throughout the UK and overseas, with varying levels of experience. The qualification has become widely recognised in law firms and it is accredited by the National Association of Licensed Paralegals, which is recognised as an awarding organisation by Ofqual, the regulator of qualifications in England.

Law firms across the country support their staff to further their careers with ILSPA. Their Continuing Professional Development Programme, together with the excellent articles on legal issues, professional development, career advice and IT and Technology provided in their online Legal Secretary Journal, encourage people to advance their expertise, improve their skills and be aware of the standards that are expected of Legal Secretaries and PAs. Belonging to a professional organisation demonstrates that Members are a dedicated group of professionals in their own right, who make a vital contribution to the excellence of service provided by a firm.

Vincent Sykes and Higham LLP, a law firm in Nottingham said, ‘Being presented with a nationally recognised qualification upon completion of the Legal Secretaries Diploma Course is indeed a symbol of our commitment to growth and personal development. Joining the Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs was a natural progression for many of our staff, all of whom are delighted with the service provided.’

Recently, ILSPA has expanded their services to provide the ILSPA Legal Secretary jobs board. The jobs board helps their Students and Members to secure employment, whilst also providing a good service to the general public and recruiters alike.  In the spirit of their anniversary, ILSPA are offering free job posts to recruiters for the next six months.

The Senior Executive of the Institute, Emma Stacey, expressed ‘We are delighted with our recognition, growth and progress over the years. We continually evolve and develop our services to help people with their Legal Secretary careers every step of the way, and we are very proud to celebrate our 20th anniversary.’