OCCUPATION: Law office manager

Name: Sheila Cantrell

Employer: Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton in Newport Beach

Thumbs up: “I like the challenge of working with exceptionally bright people. And you have to be concerned about the time element as well as accuracy. Something may have to be on file in court by a certain day, or the attorneys are going to a meeting and need to make presentations. You don’t tell the client, ‘I didn’t get there, I had a headache.’ ”

Thumbs down: “The time element can become a negative. You can really get into a crunch. Some days are like that. (After such a day) I work out, go hiking or take a long walk.”

Next step: Director of administration, who is responsible for the firm’s four offices: Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego.

Advice: “Get as much experience as they can in different areas of a law firm. Take classes, learn about computers.”

Salary range: From $40,000 to $100,000, depending on experience and the number of attorneys in the office.

Fringe benefits: Life, health, dental and long-term disability insurance. Paid sick leave and vacation time. Cantrell’s office includes profit-sharing and merit-based bonus programs.

Hours: About nine hours each weekday.

Educational and training requirements: Many start as legal secretaries, law librarians and docket clerks and have bachelor’s degrees. In some cases, a paralegal course can make up for lack of work experience. Some law office managers move from other types of office work.

Size of work force: More than 120 in Orange County.

Expected demand: Slow. Individual attorneys don’t need office managers the way a group practice does.

Job description: Hires staff, budgets payroll and supplies for the office, keeps up with what new equipment is available, especially in computers. Oversees office space requirements. Cantrell supervises a staff of 30. She said she has also sewn buttons on shirts for attorneys who were due in court and has even driven them there when they’ve locked their keys in their cars.

For more information: Call or visit the job service window at any office of the state Employment Development Division. In Orange County, the offices are at 900 E. Pacifico Ave. in Anaheim, (714) 978-7421; 233 E. Commonwealth Ave. in Fullerton, (714) 680-7800, and 1001 S. Grand Ave. in Santa Ana, (714) 558-4294. Employers are also invited to call with job openings.