Jobs in the Magistrates' Courts

Initial enquiries about careers in magistrates' courts should be referred to the Magistrates' Courts Division of the Lord Chancellor's Department. Clerical and administrative work is undertaken in magistrates' courts by justices' clerks' assistants. They are not civil servants, but none the less enjoy a secure living and pension rights similar to their colleagues in other courts.

To work in a magistrates' court you may need GCSE English or its equivalent, but many applicants, in fact, have A-levels or degrees. Training in office and administrative procedure and elementary law is given to beginners, and there are courses provided as you gain experience.

The Lord Chancellor's Department can offer a varied and interesting career connected with the law. Entry is usually at one of three main levels: Administrative Assistant, Administrative Officer or Executive Officer. The type of work will depend substantially upon the grade at which staffs are employed. The following gives an indication of what can be expected.

Administrative Assistant

This is the first rung of the administrative staff ladder. The duties tend to be routine and typically involve keeping records, sorting and filing papers, and some simple figure-work, perhaps using a calculator. There may be some straightforward letter-writing and time spent dealing with enquiries from the public. The job is very much like that of a junior clerk in a large business firm, with neatness and accuracy as the prime virtues. There is no typing - that is a separate job - but Administrative Assistants in some offices may be employed on other kinds of keyboard operation. The grade has no supervisory role and is supervised by the Executive Officer.

Administrative Officer

This is the main clerical grade in the Civil Service. The duties call for the exercise of discretion and initiative within set guidelines. Administrative Officers handle incoming correspondence; they write or draft letters; they give all kinds of advice and assistance to the public, either over the telephone or across the counter; they assess fees and payments, and they check accounts and keep statistics and various records. They sometimes work with Administrative Assistants but they are given - and are expected to accept - more responsibility. Many Administrative Officer posts in the Lord Chancellor's Department are in areas which are subject to heavy workload pressures, such as in the 300 or so County Courts where speed and reliability are among the essential qualities.

Executive Officer

The Executive Officer grade is the first level in the administration group of Civil Service grades in which the management and supervision of staff are likely to constitute a significant part of the work. In a County Court, an Executive Officer could expect to head a small team of Administrative Assistants or Officers and would be responsible for organizing them and their work. He or she would also deal with complex or difficult situations which the administrative staff could not be expected to handle, for example the problems posed by particularly angry or distressed members of the public. By contrast, a new Executive Officer in a Crown Court would not normally have a staff management responsibility but would start work as a Court Clerk, sitting in court with the Judge and swearing in the jury, taking the defendant's plea, keeping a brief note of the proceedings and assessing the fees claimed by the barristers. After about a year as a Court Clerk, he or she might then move on to another area of Crown Court work (for example, the listing of court cases) which might involve an element of staff supervision.

About 50 per cent of Executive Officer posts are in the County Courts and 10 per cent in the Crown Courts, but there are also opportunities outside these areas, for example in the Department's headquarters in London (personnel, finance, accommodation, training, etc), in the High Court in the Royal Courts of Justice, or in a number of associated offices and tribunals.

Practice Manager

Increasingly, large firms of solicitors (and also some barristers' chambers) are finding that they need the administrative skills of a practice manager. Like company secretaries in industry, the functions of practice managers vary in different organizations, but they are usually individuals with either company secretarial or accountancy qualifications. An ability to manage computerized accounting systems will be an asset. Practice managers have high-status jobs which often pay high salaries. In small firms the functions of a partnership secretary are usually undertaken by one of the partners, assisted by the firm's accountant.

Case Study:

Ian is practice manager of a provincial solicitors' firm.

"I am by training an accountant. When I was at Polytechnic, I did a foundation course for the examinations for the Institute of Chartered Accountants. I then took up a training contract with a firm of accountants and passed the foundation course and the first part of my professional examinations. At that point, however, I decided on a change of tack and, instead of proceeding with further examinations with a view to qualifying as an accountant, I moved into industry as a Company Secretary with an engineering business. I then joined a family-owned wholesaling company as the in-house accountant. I progressed within that company and eventually became Finance Director. I stayed with the business for 11 years until trading difficulties prompted me to seek a change of direction.

At that point, a recruitment agency asked me if I would be interested in being interviewed for a position as practice manager of a solicitors' firm. I did not know what the post entailed and was, initially, uncertain about it. However, the firm in question was one with which I had had dealings during my time in industry and I made up my mind to join. I found that there were not as many financial controls in place as I would have expected. One of my initial tasks, therefore, was to try to put appropriate financial systems in place. Another important requirement was to take on a problem-solving role and use my experience of industry to help the partners guide the firm through a period of growth and transition. I often acted as a channel of communication between the partners and the staff, especially in the firm's branch offices.

As the initial tasks have been completed, my role has changed somewhat. It is now very similar to the role of a Finance Director in industry. I find that my previous experience in business is very useful, not least because it has given me some insight into the 'real world'; some people within professional firms (accountants as well as solicitors) perhaps lack the necessary ruthlessness to get the best deals from suppliers (including, for example, computer suppliers, insurance brokers and suppliers of consumables). Learning to cope with the specialized rules in relation to solicitors' accounts was something of a culture shock to begin with. That apart, however, the financial disciplines within a solicitors' firm are much the same as in any other well-run business. I am involved with the preparation of annual accounts, budgets and financial forecasting. The environment in which I now work may be totally different from that of my previous employers, but the goal is exactly the same - to run the business profitably."