Working with Virtual Legal Paraprofessionals: 4 Quick Tips

Growth with Non-Billable Work. Traditionally, paralegal and law clerk work is billable to clients, whereas legal secretary work is not. Non-billable work, which can be administrative in nature can be answering phones, mailing correspondence, maintaining client files, etc. which can be typically performed by Legal Secretaries. Use can also use a Legal Secretary in non-traditional ways for growth-building activities. More than 6 out of 10 U.S. consumers say that their go-to channel for inquiries is a digital self-serve tool (such as a website, mobile app, voice response system, or online chat).. . According to the CLIO 2018 Legal Trends Report, many legal clients (40%) experience frustration when hiring a lawyer. Using a Virtual Legal Secretary in a lead management capacity can accelerate law firm growth leading to more leads on your calendar. Due to the flexible nature of working virtually, your Legal Secretary has the ability to connect and reach out to leads that engage your firm whether it’s by phone, mobile app, website, or other digital self-serve tool. When you improve your processes, you will improve the experience for all of your clients, leading to satisfaction, more engagement, and potential referrals.. Growth with Billable Work . Law clerks and paralegals can perform high-value work that takes away a burden from the attorney and can be billed to the client, including conducting research, drafting motions, preparing discovery, trial preparation, litigation case management, and interviews of witnesses. Assigning these types of billable tasks and projects to a virtual legal paraprofessional can not only result in growth in your firm but very happy clients due to the lower billable rate on their bill. It’s a win-win situation! . The more information the better . The more information about the project or task that you can provide to your virtual paraprofessional, the more likely you will have a successful relationship. In an in-house position, it is easy to discuss what you need, show visuals, and have in-person check-ins. You can also do this virtually by utilizing platforms that allow you to video conference, screen share, and mock-up documents – such as tools like MeetFox or Vectera. These types of tools allow you to schedule appointments with your virtual worker, create a shared communication hub, annotate documents, share your screen for visualization of what you need, and use whiteboards. For instance, with Vectera, it keeps all your notes, documents, and meeting recordings available in the virtual meeting room which allows you and your Team Member to come back and access it anytime. This allows a cohesive environment to work together and allows the attorney and virtual worker to set expectations and milestones to achieve success. Avoid Misclassification . Ensure your virtual paraprofessional is operating as a business and not as an independent contractor, whether as a sole proprietor, LLC, or corporation with the appropriate business license if their locality requires it. Misclassification can happen with ongoing work relationships, but ensuring a professional is operating as a business can alleviate these issues that result in penalties for non-compliance, misclassification, and unpaid FICA taxes. Further, ensure their business does not operate with independent contractors as this can be seen as a classification of co-employment. Laws such as AB5 in California have made the classification of an employee versus an independent contractor more stringent. If you manage your paraprofessional's hours, manner of working, how they do the work, etc., you may end up with an employer-employee relationship. Avoiding these issues is easy by working with businesses that only employ W2 employees which establishes a clear line of whom maintains the employer-employee relationship, such as with Lawfecta who only has W2 employees on their Team.. . . . . . . . . . .

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