In terms of pay scale for Records Clerks it really depends on
experience. My firm is a staffing firm in which we work only with
records professionals. We typically have a good pulse on current market
pricing especially at what law firms are paying for salaries.
The way our firm breaks down a records professional at the clerical
level is by both paper and electronic knowledge and by previous work
history. If a records professional has worked on an automated filing
system such as Legalkey or elite we consider them to be of a higher
worth then one who has worked for a firm where they have not had a
chance to work with any electronic records. Other considerations is past
work history, as we know the pace and culture of law firms is different
than working in other industries and some of our legal clients request
we only send them candidates who have previous experience working in a
legal background.
All of the records clerks should have a basic understanding for filing,
using alphabetical and/or numerical filing systems. We have seen law
firms fill positions with people "off the streets" with varying results.
Most of the time if a firm is looking for a candidate with a background
in records they have a better shot at getting someone who is interested
in the career path of records management and will probably look at the
position as a place to learn and grow instead of a candidate who is just
looking for a job. We find that some candidates are unaware of the
career path in records and it is up to the supervisors to mentor them
and when hiring make sure the candidate is passionate about a career in
this field so they are not re-filling this position again in six months.
Back to your question Julia when it comes to Records Clerks in the
Boston area most law firms are paying in the 30s. We have seen salaries
even in the 40s for professionals with certain systems experience and
mid 30s for more entry level. I can only speak about the region in
which I am located and I hope it at least gives you a gauge of where to
start.
I hope this helps.
Brian Benedict
InfoCurrent
(617) 573-5031
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Vercher, Julia A.
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 3:29 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Responsibilities of File Clerks
What sort of pay scale are we talking about with these qualifications?
We have a habit of hiring a warm body that is decent and paying pretty
low.
Thanks,
Julia
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Thomas S. Munzer (AEDI)
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 2:02 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Responsibilities of File Clerks
Some suggestions:
1. graduation from high school
2. at least one year of college or at least two years of previous
experience in office filing functions demonstrating:
Knowledge of filing procedures and techniques
Ability to maintain files, including to interpret and apply
records policy and filing techniques in a variety of situations
Firm grasp of numerical, alphabetical and chronological
sequencing 3. Ability to lift boxes weighing 30 pounds numerous times
during the workday 4. Calm professional demeanor for dealing with
frustrated used who do not understand records procedures or the
difficulties involved in locating files 5. Ability to read, write,
speak, and understand English fluently 6. Demonstrated ability to
identify and distinguish different kinds of legal documents and their
purposes.
7. Demonstrated ability to create and maintain tracking systems for the
completion of work 8. Demonstrated ability to think logically and apply
general principles to specific situations 9. Demonstrated ability to
organize large masses of materials according to a logical scheme or in
accordance with established procedures 10. Demonstrated ability to work
independently with minimal guidance and supervision.
I know one size does not fit all.
Thomas Munzer
Records and Information Manager
A/E Data Integration, Inc.
"Facility Information Managers...Providing Better Information for Better
Decisions"
933 North Kenmore Street
Suite 318
Arlington, VA 22201
V: 703-875-2095
F: 703-875-0986
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Laura Steinberg
Sent: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 2:21 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Responsibilities of File Clerks
Leigh, Larry and Steve,
Wow...a skill set for law firm file clerks is a wonderful idea! If your
experiences are anything like mine, it is a constant struggle to get
management to understand that even our beginning clerks need some
special skills besides knowing their "ABC's." And hiring those without
any job experience takes additional training hours just to get them
familiar with our lingo. As for collecting the documentation for a
competency project, as Leigh asks, what about our local ISG group within
our ARMA chapters? Would this project be worthwhile enough for us to
make the effort?
Laura A. Steinberg
Records Manager
Epsten Grinnell & Howell APC
9980 Carroll Canyon Rd, 2nd Floor
San Diego, CA 92131
858.527.0111
[log in to unmask]
www.epsten.com
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Isaacs, Leigh
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 12:26 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [RM] Responsibilities of File Clerks
Larry:
Your assessment, I believe, is correct. There are many varying factors
within firms, and in larger firms with multi-offices, even differences
between offices depending upon local management, culture, practice group
needs, etc. I definitely think that there should be documentation on
the skill set and desired/required competencies for Legal RIM staff.
Law firms really do have specific needs and concerns that are not
universal to all industries. That being said, I think all law firms
face similar challenges, and while not any one solution serves all,
there are basic guidelines that would provide flexibility to "make the
pieces fit" regardless of what size or structure of firm you may be in.
What do you suggest as the first step in collecting this documentation
for the competencies project?
Leigh Isaacs | Firmwide Records Manager | HellerEhrmanLLP | 1717 Rhode
Island Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20036
tel: +1.202.912.2131 | fax: +1.202.912.2020 | email:
[log in to unmask] | web: www.hellerehrman.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Larry Medina
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 2:20 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Responsibilities of File Clerks
On 9/25/06, Steve Morgan <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I started off as a file clerk in a law firm in Seattle. It was a
> branch office of a Portland, OR based firm.
>
> My responsibilities were:
>
> There was a line in the job description that said "other duties as
> assigned".
I was a bit surprised by this question initially, seeing as with most
"classic" file clerk positions, the primary duties are:
- Ability to lift 35 pounds repetitively
- Ability to work under direction
- Other duties, as assigned
... and PLEASE understand, I don't mean this in a derogatory manner in
any way.
I understand in Law Firms, this tends to be a bit different, but the
extensive lists provided by the initial poster (Irene) and the
respondent
(Steve) indicate that these specific duties seem to be vastly different
from firm to firm, based in part on:
- size of staff
- division of effort
- centralized versus decentralized filing systems
- level of skill and experience
- use of in-house versus vended services
- span of management control
...and any number of other factors far to wide to categorize into a
simple "pick list" of duties to position levels and ratios of staff to
professionals in a firm.
Am I correct in understanding this is peculiar to Law Firms and the
Legal environment? And I'm asking this for a very specific reason...
much of the work we did on the first two phases of the ARMA RIM
Competencies Project (which is still a work in progress) did not go into
this level of detail when it came to the types of work being performed
by entry level practitioners, nor did it detail out the aspects of work
called out here in this form/format.
And if this is what is being looked for at this, and higher levels, of
RIM staff in a Legal Environment, has ANYONE ever considered putting
together the skill set and desired/required competencies for Legal RIM
staff?
Larry
--
Larry Medina
Danville, CA
RIM Professional since 1972
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