All careersBusiness & finance

Legal Secretary

$54,140
median pay per year
full range coming in the next data update

What the job actually is

Prepare legal documents, manage case files and schedules, and support lawyers with correspondence and filings.

Where you work

Law firms and legal departments

The hours

Regular weekday business hours

By the numbers

May 2024–25 BLS wage data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$54,140
per year
What most earn
range coming soon
Openings a year
~19,600
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-6%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
156,300
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: On-the-job training, paid.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

What it takes

Legal terminologyDocument prepOrganizationTyping accuracy

The honest take

Administrative backbone of a law office — stable work, though legal software is slowly reducing the need.

Standard Occupational Classification 43-6012. Pay, employment, and outlook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS wage survey and 2024–34 employment projections). See something off? Tell us.