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Boston Career Explorer

Office and Administrative Support

Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Perform secretarial duties using legal terminology, procedures, and documents. Prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas. May also assist with legal research.

Also called: Confidential Secretary, Legal Administrative Assistant (Legal Admin Assistant), Legal Administrator (Legal Admin), Legal Coordinator, Legal Management Assistant, Legal Office Support Assistant

Median pay in Greater Boston
$62,690
$30.14/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
3,330
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−11.0%
460 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Moderate-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$45,750$50,980$62,690$78,790$105,180

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Organize and maintain law libraries, documents, and case files.
  • Mail, fax, or arrange for delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses, and court officials.
  • Prepare and distribute invoices to bill clients or pay account expenses.
  • Prepare, proofread, or process legal documents, such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, appeals, motions, or pretrial agreements.
  • Make photocopies of correspondence, documents, and other printed matter.
  • Assist attorneys in collecting information such as employment, medical, and other records.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure84 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 72
  • Language-model AIOE 80
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 99

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

This job has higher AI exposure because so much of it is preparing and handling documents. Observed AI use is little or none so far, so the change may come more slowly. Federal projections still expect fewer of these jobs as software handles routine document preparation, and Massachusetts is projected to shrink 11.0% from 2024 to 2034. Work that depends on legal judgment, client contact, and court deadlines stays with people.

Likely to change

  • Preparing and proofreading legal documents
  • Billing, filing, and organizing case records

Still relies on people

  • Handling sensitive client and court contacts
  • Making sure legal deadlines are met

What federal projections say

“Productivity change - share decreases as firms increase the use of computer software, enhanced with artificial intelligence (AI) technology, to automate routine back-office functions, such as document preparation.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston

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