Contrary to what people see in legal drama television series like Suits on Netflix where lawyers often appear in court rooms defending their clients in climatic debates, most lawyers spend an awful lot of time doing paperwork and administrative tasks outside of court. As a matter of fact, to reach the courtroom requires a lot of paperwork. This is where law firm Virtual Assistants can be of great help.
Regardless of which branch of law you practice, the responsibilities can seem endless. You counsel, strategize, solve problems, write, advocate, and negotiate. Not to mention tasks like conducting legal research, managing emails, social media branding, calling clients, booking and scheduling appointments – the list goes on.
If you are a new lawyer, you may find yourself saddled with these seemingly menial tasks. Moreover, if you are a solo lawyer you might not be able to hire a full-time receptionist due to budgetary constraints especially when you are starting out. Even when you can, it might not be every day that a full-time receptionist has important things to do. For this reason, many lawyers opt to hire Virtual Assistants.
Why Law Firm Virtual Assistants?
Virtual Assistants can provide administrative support for your law practice. They can effectively handle tasks that you would normally delegate to a receptionist. You can also hire Virtual Assistants to perform specific tasks or specialties. This makes hiring a Virtual Assistant even more practical and more cost-effective than hiring a receptionist or a personal assistant and paying them full-time. By doing this, you are not just saving money, you are also saving a lot of time so you can do more ‘lawyering’ and increase your efficiency. Here are some tasks that Virtual Assistants can handle for you:
Answering Phone Calls
Apart from calls to discuss crucial matters with clients, you also get all those inquiries about your services, appointments and so on. Answering each and every one of these will be disruptive to your work. Instead of doing this yourself, this can be easily handled by professional Virtual Assistants who can screen the routinary calls and route the crucial ones to you.
Schedule Appointments
Setting up and confirming appointments is crucial to your practice. But with all the things that you are handling, you might not have enough time to keep track of your schedule. Missing appointments is bad for your business. Hiring a Virtual Assistant to book and confirm appointments or set appointment reminders can help you stay on top of your schedule and ensure that none of your clients are forgotten.
Law Firm Virtual Assistants Can Help With Transcription
Transcribing stored or lived video files is very time consuming and tedious. It is better to find a transcriptionist and have them translate into text format these files so you can spend more time on the more important aspects of your practice.
Email Management
Like calls you get countless emails every day from your firm or from clients. You can avoid wasting your precious time by letting Virtual Assistants handle most of them. They can craft a suitable response for emails that don’t require your personal attention and streamline your email based on importance and urgency. This way, you can get started with your day without having any of those emails unanswered.
Social Media Management
Businesses today thrive through social media and legal practices are no different. Law firm Virtual Assistants can be instrumental in improving your social media presence and branding. Your schedule is already packed with matters that are more essential to your practice and this is one of those tasks that a professional social media manager can do better.
Legal Research
Conducting legal research is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. It is one of those activities that you can’t just do haphazardly. But you can economize your time by hiring a specialized Virtual Assistant who’s experienced in legal research and writing. Some of the things that a VA can do for you include:
- Drafting motions
- Legal briefs
- Pleadings
- Petitions
- Memos
And more!
Bookkeeping/Accounting
Chances are, you were not trained to manage a business’ finances. Whether or not accounting is your cup of tea, it is also time consuming. Bookkeeping is more than just filing taxes. It is about handling the daily cash flow of your business. Thus hiring a Virtual Bookkeeping Assistant to stay on top of this matter is extremely helpful. This type of Virtual Assistant can give cash flow reports, taxes, monitor financial transactions, expense reports, and invoicing that are ready for mail out.
Consider Law Firm Virtual Assistants
By getting your law firm Virtual Assistants to handle non-core tasks, you can set up processes for all aspects of your business. This can range from handling your emails to conducting legal research and leave them to the VA. Once these processes are seamless, business growth, increased productivity, and enhanced profitability can be guaranteed. Remember, you are not just practicing law, you are also running a business. And VAs excel at helping business owners. Get help from Virtual Assistants today so you can spend less time on ‘smaller’ tasks and more time on ‘lawyering.’
