Hire an offshore legal secretary for your Australian law firm
An offshore legal secretary keeps your lawyers' days running — managing diaries, formatting documents, coordinating court filings, maintaining files, and handling client correspondence. Through Lite-Force, they're employed properly via an EOR structure with payroll, compliance, and HR support included. Most hires are live within 2–4 weeks.
Day in the life
A day in the life of an offshore legal secretary.
Typical responsibilities:
- Lawyer diary management — appointments, court dates, mediations, travel
- Document formatting — letters, briefs, court documents in firm-specific templates
- Court filing and e-filing — CommCourts, eLodgment, state court portals
- File opening and closing — matter setup, conflict checks, billing setup, archiving
- Client correspondence — drafting routine letters, follow-up emails, reminders
- Time recording support — entering and reconciling lawyer time entries
- Travel and conference coordination — bookings, agendas, expense claim prep
- Mail and correspondence handling — incoming and outgoing across multiple channels
Why offshore
Why legal secretarial work suits offshore.
Secretarial work is workflow and template-driven.
Document formatting, filing, and diary management follow precise firm conventions. Once your offshore secretary knows your templates and processes, they execute consistently.
Legal practice management is cloud-based.
LEAP, Actionstep, Smokeball, Clio, Affinity, iManage, NetDocuments, court e-filing portals — all browser-based. Your offshore secretary works in the same files as your lawyers.
Timezone overlap supports court timing.
Philippines hours align with Australian court hours. Filings get lodged during the day; lawyer diary changes get reflected in real time.
Better leverage for fee earners.
Lawyers should be on billable matters, not formatting documents or chasing filings. Offshore secretarial support restores the right ratio — at significantly lower cost than a local secretary.
Cost comparison
What does a legal secretary cost — local vs offshore?
Indicative comparison based on typical Australian salary ranges for this role.
Local Australian hire
Lite-Force offshore
Indicative comparison based on typical Australian salary ranges for mid-senior legal secretary roles (sources: SEEK Sydney/Melbourne, Glassdoor, Talent.com). Sydney top-tier firms pay $90k+; Melbourne and mid-tier firms cluster $65–80k. Lite-Force pricing confirmed on a per-role basis during your discovery call.
What's included
What you get with a Lite-Force legal secretary.
Included in the service
- Full sourcing, screening, and shortlisting
- EOR employment contract structured for local compliance
- Monthly payroll and statutory contributions
- Leave tracking and management
- HR support and regular check-ins
- Replacement commitment within initial period
Typical candidate profile
- 3–7 years legal secretary experience in a common-law jurisdiction
- Strong English (written and verbal — heavy formatting and client comms)
- Hands-on with LEAP, Actionstep, Smokeball, Clio, or comparable practice management systems
- Familiar with court filing processes in your jurisdictions
- Filipino or Southeast Asian — timezone-aligned with Australia
Getting started
Three steps to your offshore legal secretary.
Book a discovery call
Tell us about your practice areas, PMS, filing volume, and current secretarial needs.
We source and shortlist
You review candidates with relevant practice area and platform experience, interview your favourites.
They start
Employment, payroll, and onboarding handled. You manage the work.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
Do they understand Australian court processes?
Most experienced offshore legal secretaries with Australian or UK firm exposure understand state court hierarchies, filing conventions, and basic procedural requirements. We screen for jurisdiction-specific experience during sourcing.
What practice management software are they trained on?
Common: LEAP, Actionstep, Smokeball, Clio, Affinity, MatterCenter, plus document management (iManage, NetDocuments, SharePoint). Specific PMS requirements confirmed during scoping.
Can they handle court e-filing?
Yes — CommCourts (Federal), eLodgment, and state court portals are accessible from anywhere with appropriate authentication. Final filing decisions and signing authority remain with your admitted lawyers.
How is confidentiality handled?
Same as a local secretary — under your firm's supervision, NDA, role-based PMS access, no local data storage. Their work product falls under your firm's privilege and conflict frameworks.
What if the hire doesn't work out?
Replacement commitment within the initial engagement period. If accuracy or fit isn't right, we source again at no additional placement cost. Details confirmed in your service agreement.
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