# Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

US SOC code 43-6012. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/43-6012

Also called: Legal secretary, Legal administrative assistant, Legal office assistant, Law office secretary, Litigation secretary.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **156,280** US legal secretaries and administrative assistants, with median pay of **$55,570** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **159,940**, in May 2022, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [a Census count](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/OCC1950#codes_section) of **35,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for legal secretaries and administrative assistants: Cloud practice management + electronic court filing, 2010 to 2022. Electronic court filing eliminated a significant category of physical logistics tasks.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 5.2% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-6012&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **46%** of work tasks in office and administrative support occupations, this job's group, are exposed to automation by AI. Not a forecast of job losses. [Goldman Sachs, 2023](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.pdf)
- **76.1%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1850
- Latest US employment: 156,280 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $55,570 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: -5.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [30]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 13111)
  - Employment, 2020: 43,425. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [7]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 13111 Legal administrative assistants, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$55,200. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [13]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 13111 Legal administrative assistants, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 29 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 35,000 | n/a | Decennial Census [1] |
| 1950 | 155,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Estimate derived from ABA… [2] |
| 1956 | n/a | $3,800 (estimate) | Est., Secondary wage estimate for mid-1950s… [8] |
| 1980 | 237,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Derived estimate [3] |
| 1990 | 281,000 (estimate) | $21,600 (estimate) | Est., Derived estimate (employment) [3]; Est., Derived estimate (pay) [9] |
| 2000 | 270,670 | $34,740 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 264,080 | $35,660 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 264,070 | $36,720 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 265,000 | $37,750 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 268,170 | $38,190 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 266,180 | $38,810 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 257,810 | $39,860 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 244,380 | $41,080 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 228,700 | $41,500 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 220,680 | $42,460 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 216,730 | $42,170 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 220,680 | $42,390 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 212,910 | $42,770 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 202,660 | $43,200 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 191,200 | $44,180 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 185,870 | $44,730 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 176,880 | $46,360 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 168,140 | $47,300 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 160,950 | $48,980 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 155,250 | $47,710 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 159,940 | $48,780 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 152,790 | $50,680 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 154,540 | $54,140 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 156,280 | $55,570 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (95)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA — OCC1950 variable: Stenographers, typists, and secretaries (OCC1950 code 350), historical Census occupation classification](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/OCC1950#codes_section), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
2. [Estimate derived from ABA lawyer-population counts (legal support workforce scaled from attorney totals); ABA Profile of the Legal Profession](https://www.americanbar.org/news/profile-legal-profession/), American Bar Association (derived estimate)
3. [Derived estimate — legal secretaries as a subset of Census/BLS 'Secretaries' (no separate legal-secretary occupation code existed in the 1980 Census; secretaries were a single consolidated category)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_arch.htm), Derived estimate (from Census secretaries counts, legal-services industry)
4. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

8. [Secondary wage estimate for mid-1950s clerical/secretarial work; University of Missouri Libraries 'Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959' (compiled from BLS industry wage surveys)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries (secondary aggregation)
9. [Derived estimate — median annual pay for legal secretaries circa 1990 (approximated from general secretary earnings; no distinct legal-secretary wage table existed pre-1998 SOC)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/), Derived estimate (from BLS OOH / Census secretary earnings)
10. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
11. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
12. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

14. [Wikipedia — Scrivener (historical legal copying occupation, pre-typewriter era)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrivener), Wikipedia
15. [Wikipedia — Typewriter (history: Remington commercialization 1873-1878, adoption in offices)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter), Wikipedia
16. [Wikipedia — Gregg shorthand (invention 1888 by John Robert Gregg, adoption in legal offices)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_shorthand), Wikipedia
17. [Wikipedia — Dictaphone (history: Edison Business Phonograph, Dictaphone Company, law office adoption)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictaphone), Wikipedia
18. [Wikipedia — Mimeograph (A.B. Dick, Gestetner history, adoption in office environments)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimeograph), Wikipedia
19. [Wikipedia — Xerox 914 (first plain-paper photocopier, 1959, adoption in legal and business offices)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_914), Wikipedia
20. [Wikipedia — IBM MT/ST (Magnetic Tape/Selectric Typewriter, 1964, first word processor precursor)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_MT/ST), Wikipedia
21. [Wikipedia — Wang Laboratories (Wang Word Processing System 1976, adoption by law firms)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Laboratories), Wikipedia
22. [Wikipedia — WordPerfect (dominant legal industry word processor 1980s-1990s)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPerfect), Wikipedia
23. [Wikipedia — Time Matters (legal practice management software, early adoption by law firms)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Matters), Wikipedia
24. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — "Secretaries and Administrative Assistants" (historical technology adoption, legal sector)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/office-and-administrative-support/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
25. [PACER — CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files, federal electronic court filing system)](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/help/cmecf), US Courts / PACER
26. [Clio — About Clio (founded 2008, cloud-based legal practice management)](https://www.clio.com/about/), Clio
27. [Clio — Intelligent Legal Work Platform launch (October 2025)](https://www.clio.com/about/press/clio-introduces-the-legal-industrys-first-intelligent-legal-work-platform/), Clio
28. [WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 — 19 million administrative secretary roles displaced by 2027](https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/), World Economic Forum
29. [Harvey AI — Platform Overview (legal AI, 1,500+ organizations, $11B valuation March 2026)](https://www.harvey.ai/platform), Harvey AI

### Forecasts and exposure studies

30. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 43-6012 Legal secretaries and administrative assistants (2025: 157.6 thousand; 2035: 149.3 thousand; -5.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=43-6012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
31. [Briggs & Kodnani, "The Potentially Large Effects of Artificial Intelligence on Economic Growth", Goldman Sachs Global Economics Analyst (26 March 2023), Exhibit 5 (US): office and administrative support 46%](https://www.gspublishing.com/content/research/en/reports/2023/03/27/d64e052b-0f6e-45d7-967b-d7be35fabd16.pdf), Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
32. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 43-6012.00, human-rated β 0.761)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

33. [Wikipedia — Typewriter (Remington No. 2 history, commercial adoption in law offices)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter), Wikipedia
34. [Wikipedia — Gregg shorthand (invention 1888, adoption in US legal and business offices)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_shorthand), Wikipedia
35. [NALS — History of NALS (founded 1949, Tulsa, Oklahoma)](https://www.nals.org/page/about), NALS (The Association for Legal Professionals)
36. [Wikipedia — Wang Laboratories (Wang Word Processing System 1976, law firm adoption)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Laboratories), Wikipedia
37. [ABA Profile of the Legal Profession — National Lawyer Population Survey (attorney population data, 1992)](https://www.americanbar.org/news/profile-legal-profession/), American Bar Association
38. [PACER — CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files, federal electronic court filing rollout 2001-2006)](https://pacer.uscourts.gov/help/cmecf), US Courts / PACER
39. [Harvey AI — Platform Overview (legal AI platform, 1,500+ organizations, $11B valuation March 2026)](https://www.harvey.ai/platform), Harvey AI
40. [Clio — Intelligent Legal Work Platform launch (October 2025)](https://www.clio.com/about/press/clio-introduces-the-legal-industrys-first-intelligent-legal-work-platform/), Clio

### Predecessors & successors

41. [Wikipedia — Scrivener (historical copying occupation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrivener), Wikipedia
42. [IPUMS USA — OCC1950 variable: Stenographers, typists, and secretaries (OCC1950 code 350), 1900 Census occupation classification](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/OCC1950#codes_section), IPUMS / University of Minnesota

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (43-6012.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-6012.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [WEF Future of Jobs Report 2025 — 19M admin secretary roles displaced by 2027](https://www.weforum.org/publications/the-future-of-jobs-report-2025/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS MLR 2026 — Industry and Occupational Employment Projections Overview 2024-34](https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2026/article/industry-and-occupational-employment-projections-overview.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Clio — Intelligent Legal Work Platform launch (Oct 2025)](https://www.clio.com/about/press/clio-introduces-the-legal-industrys-first-intelligent-legal-work-platform/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Robert Half — 2026 Legal Job Market: In-Demand Roles and Hiring Trends](https://www.roberthalf.com/us/en/insights/research/data-reveals-which-legal-roles-are-in-highest-demand), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs (2023) — Generative AI could automate 44% of legal tasks (via CNBC)](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/28/ai-automation-could-impact-300-million-jobs-heres-which-ones.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Clio Draft — AI-Powered Legal Document Automation](https://www.clio.com/draft/advanced-document-automation/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Harvey AI — Platform Overview](https://www.harvey.ai/platform), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.