Virtual Legal Assistants: Lightening the Load for Overworked Lawyers

Everyone knows that the legal profession is a stressful one.

Many lawyers work long days and scramble through hectic schedules of client meetings, court appearances, deep legal records research, and all the paperwork that comes from handling deeds, contracts, wills, and appeals. 

Long hours, the pressure of meeting deadlines, and the work of winning cases can be overwhelming and even dangerous to a lawyer’s  mental health. According to a 2020 survey of over 3,800 lawyers, 31.2% of those asked said they feel depressed, 64% feel they have anxiety, 10.1% think they have an alcohol problem, and 2.8% believe they have a drug problem.

Without support, lawyers are nearly three times as likely to suffer from depression than the average adult in the United States.

So while the field can be rewarding, it can also prove dangerous.  That’s because  a lot goes on behind the scenes, and if a lawyer doesn’t have the right support in place, their days, weeks and months can be long and draining. 

Lawyers have to run their businesses and oversee the millions of administrative and maintenance tasks that allow their firms to function. If a lawyer runs a solo practice without support, they can be especially swamped by to-do list minutia. 

Thankfully, there are virtual legal assistants that can help.

WHAT IS A VIRTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANT?

Virtual legal assistants are professionals working to provide administrative and other services within the legal field. A virtual legal assistant works remotely from their own home, is typically self-employed, and files a Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, to report payments. A virtual legal assistant is responsible for paying their income and self-employment taxes because the lawyer or firm that the virtual assistant serves does not withhold taxes from their pay. A virtual legal assistant is also responsible for providing their own medical, dental, and vision insurance and pays for and maintains their home office equipment.

VIRTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANT QUALIFICATIONS

Virtual legal assistants must have a minimum of a high school diploma or GED certificate, but many have bachelor’s or even master’s degrees. Most virtual legal assistants will have previous experience at a law firm or working for a lawyer.

Some have even completed paralegal studies or legal certificate programs. All virtual legal assistants are strong communicators and organizational gurus, have killer research skills and understand legal terminology and processes. 

HOW A VIRTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANT CAN HELP YOUR LAW OFFICE

Today, more and more lawyers and law firms are seeking the support of virtual legal assistants to handle repetitive, time-consuming-yet-essential tasks. 

Remote technologies are changing the way legal business is done for the better. New software platforms have made virtual legal assistants’ work more practical and possible than ever before. Fast and stable internet connectivity, video conferencing and instant messaging tools, cloud storage, and file-sharing applications allow for high levels of legal administrative support and 

collaboration between a virtual legal assistant and the firm, regardless of geographic proximity.

Some lawyers that come to Freedom Makers for help are looking for virtual assistants to create content for their LinkedIn accounts, to help keep their website up to date, edit billing entries, and help with invoicing. Many virtual assistants working with lawyers write biographies, draft or edit blog articles, and assist with uploading legal-tip videos to YouTube or other channels. While not directly related to the law, these services can help a lawyer grow their business, establish their credibility, and become a legal authority in their geographic area.

Lawyers find that outsourcing tasks like research, calendar scheduling and social media management to a virtual assistant is more cost-effective than hiring an in-house employee. 

Here are some of the ways the legal profession uses virtual legal assistants to lighten their load and make the hectic day-to-day life of a lawyer more manageable:

PHONE AND EMAIL INQUIRY MANAGEMENT

Until just recently, companies had to rely on onsite assistants to handle incoming and outbound calls. But new voice-over-internet-protocols - or VoIP systems - are eliminating the need for an assistant to be physically present to answer the phone. VoIP systems are a proven technology that allows phone calls to be placed and received over an internet connection. Thanks to increasing broadband, call routing is now seamless and creates an undetectable connection between a client and a virtual legal assistant working remotely, allowing a virtual legal assistant to handle traditional office demands.  They can even initiate calls on behalf of the firm, facilitating necessary customer service logistics. 

And virtual legal assistants are experienced in managing email inboxes.  They know how to prioritize inquiries and client requests and can notify the lawyer of their inbox arrival or even make the first response on behalf of the firm.  This, with access to the calendar (read on) would allow a virtual legal assistant to handle all scheduling coordination for opposing counsel or any other meetings.

CALENDAR, SCHEDULING, AND TRAVEL MANAGEMENT

A virtual legal assistant can easily manage a lawyer’s calendar and keep things on track. They will set up reminders and set-it-and-forget-it systems to ensure meetings, appointments, and deadlines are kept. An efficient virtual legal assistant will streamline the hours spent organizing a calendar and pushing appointments around.  They can also be engaged to schedule hearings, respond to scheduling requests, and ensure all appointments are made in a timely manner.

The same is true for travel arrangements. Court-appointed appearances, witness meetings, arbitrations, and business deals often require litigators to travel. Lawyers can outsource the research of flights, locations, rental cars, and hotels to a virtual legal assistant who will make plans efficiently and save you hours of your time.

Likewise, a legal virtual assistant can serve your firm by tracking client leads and documenting incoming client calls or emails regarding possible representation.  They can also be relied upon to track ongoing projects and follow up on emails and/or assignments as needed to avoid missing deadlines.

FILE ORGANIZATION

Freedom Maker virtual assistants are highly organized with a strong attention to detail. A virtual legal assistant can be tasked with keeping all the legal offices’ files organized. Misplaced documents or things filed in the wrong place can wreak havoc on a law firm and create a loss in revenue. In the worst-case scenario, vital evidence that is lost or mishandled could mean the end of a lawyer’s career. 

A virtual legal assistant can be given access to cloud-based systems to assist legal professionals with docket reviews and to help manage pleadings. A virtual legal assistant can organize records, documents, correspondence, and files.  And since more and more frequently, documents are filed electronically, this a task that can be outsourced to a virtual legal assistant. 

LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING 

Legal research and writing are critical functions in every legal procedure or process. Both are strong buttresses to trying a successful case or arguing a motion that wins. However, research and writing are time-consuming and labor-intensive and can steal hours from a litigator’s day.   

A virtual legal assistant provides excellent professional writing and researching services like drafting, reviewing, and analyzing legal documents. They can also conduct legal and factual site checking and even edit briefs to standards and applicable court rules. In this way, virtual legal assistants help lawyers immensely as they prepare for trials.

DRAFTING, REVIEW, AND EDITING LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Depending on the type of law practiced, virtual legal assistants can be tasked to work with legal documents in many different ways.  They can draft motions, judgments, orders, and cover letters.  For instance, many virtual legal assistants are asked to handle contract review and management.  Since contracts are legally binding promises they are a core element of nearly every law practice. Internally, law firms draw up and execute contracts with clients for services retained or some practice contract law (this is when businesses hire lawyers to review their contracts). Because of this, many firms engage a virtual legal assistant to handle contract review and management. A virtual legal assistant can draft contracts using provided details and make sure the contract is understandable to all parties involved. They can input changes and track the document’s drafts from inception to execution.

TRANSCRIPTION

Many legal proceedings are recorded to ensure accuracy and documentation for all official motions. Turning those recordings into written documents is often something that lawyers and legal professionals often outsource to virtual legal assistants. They are familiar with legal terminologies and jargon and can work efficiently from their remote environment. Having a virtual legal assistant transcribe hours of court proceedings can free up an extraordinary amount of a lawyer’s time, which can then be used for more valuable endeavors.

LEGAL ACCOUNTING 

Accounting details are another time thief in the legal world. Small law firms and solo practitioners who do not have an accounting department can spend hours upon hours handling the finances of their accounts. A virtual legal assistant can assist in this area by entering billable time and creating invoices, crediting retainers to invoices, and sending invoices to clients.  They can conduct follow up, communicate with clients on your behalf regarding statements, chase down late or missing payments, and help resolve any issues that surround cash flow. These tasks are critical to keeping smaller legal firms in the black, with resources on hand to serve their clients best. 

HOW TO CHOOSE A VIRTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANT 

If you need support in some of the above areas, it is time to bring on a virtual legal assistant for your law firm, it is important to find someone who is qualified and reliable. Fortunately, Freedom Makers Virtual Services can help streamline this process by providing access to a pool of pre-vetted and qualified virtual legal assistants.

Choosing a virtual legal assistant from Freedom Makers Virtual Services ensures that you don't have to worry about the vetting process. You can save time and resources that would have been spent on drafting a job description for the open market and hoping good candidates apply.  Instead, you can speak to a member of our internal team, tell them what you need, and we will bring qualified candidates to you.  You’ll start the process by interviewing and selecting an already qualified virtual legal assistant who meets the specific needs of your law firm.  During your discussions with Freedom Maker candidates, you can instead focus on describing your management style and your needs, so your potential virtual legal assistant will know your expectations.  You can start working on the “click” with your virtual assistant, instead of reading their resume.

CONCLUSION: THE IMPORTANCE OF VIRTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANTS FOR YOUR LAW FIRM

It is important to remember that while a virtual legal assistant can be a lifesaver, they are not legal practitioners!  Even though virtual legal assistants can not provide legal advice, they can support lawyers in nearly every other administrative capacity. Virtual legal assistants help lawyers reduce their costs while creating stable, efficient operations and executing workflows that help keep the office running smoothly.  They can even help with client growth and retention. Perhaps most importantly?  A virtual legal assistant can give a lawyer hours of their day, week, and month back, which has a proven, positive effect on any busy lawyer’s mental health.

Lawyers are brilliant experts in the law. Having a virtual legal assistant (or team of virtual legal assistants) to operate the office allows a lawyer to spend more of their time actually being a lawyer! Additionally, they’ll be able to spend more time out of the office relaxing, with confidence that all details are being handled professionally.

Reach out to Freedom Makers Virtual Services today and let a member of our internal team guide you through the process of getting started with your virtual legal assistant today!