The duties of a secretaryWhen we enter a law firm the first person we meet is the legal secretary. She is responsible for correspondence, records and other affairs of a law firm. The word “secretary” reflects its Latin root secretum (secret), which originally referred to a person who acted as a confidant and handled matters of a private nature for his employer. The executive position or executive secretary is one of the main responsibilities in business or government. A legal secretary's first daily responsibility is to open, read, and write down all mail received that day. This is important in a law firm. The mail often includes crucial legal documents for a particular case that day. Must be familiar with all standard forms used in the office. Affidavits, bills of sale, deeds, leases, mortgages, powers of attorney, propositions and wills. The stenographic tape theory involves transcribing an employer's dictation and subsequently transcribing the material onto paper with the aid of earphones and computers. Every secretary is required to have a speed capability of 80 WPM before graduation, even to take the civil service exam. In some offices, dictation is taken by one secretary while typing is completed by another. Larger offices usually hire a typist. It is important that secretaries are able to read other people's shorthand notes. Every legal secretary works with computers, duplicators, stencil machines, but the dictaphone is usually the most frequently used. Information must be transcribed quickly and accurately in an attractive form. Filing systems are important for any secretary. The files in any office must be kept in perfect order, so that any file can be readily retrieved by any person authorized to use them. General secretaries often work within an organization where company records are managed by special archivists within a central repository, but the secretary may still remain responsible for all archiving. A secretary must learn the rules of four basic filing systems. The alphabetical, subjective, geographical and numerical systems. Also vertical binders, card binders and open shelf binders. Verified data processing files are required by many companies. The two remaining core skills of general and legal secretaries are: Receptionist, trained to meet and route visitors, customers, vendors and handle nuisance calls. They welcome all visitors with the "red carpet treatment" by treating them with royalty. The well-trained secretary who is able to accept responsibility and is able to relieve her employer of many management tasks is a truly valuable employee for any company. I studied the secretarial course at BOCES for two years. I understand the responsibilities of a secretary.