The legal industry is notoriously busy, and this is why the risk of burnout for legal professionals is so high. Additionally, if you’re running a law firm, then you need to pride yourself on accuracy. But this can be difficult for legal professionals who find themselves spread so thin over so many different tasks. And this can lead to mistakes, which, in the legal world, can spell disaster for your reputation. Help, however, is available, and once you understand the benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant, you’ll see how easy it is to boost your productivity.
The Principles of a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants have been in the spotlight for several years now, and their popularity has been accelerated by the ‘work from home’ culture developed during the pandemic. Nonetheless, you may have overlooked their presence. Managing a law firm demands immense dedication, and it’s impossible to remain aware of every new business development. However, catching up on this new world of virtual assistants isn’t a lengthy process. And, once you do, you'll realize that the benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant make perfect sense for your business.
So, let’s start with the very basics of a virtual assistant. Imagine the conventional solution for a paralegal assistant: you hire them and they commute to your office to complete their duties. It’s proven to be a successful solution and, indeed, many business owners feel it can’t be improved upon. But technological advancements mean that this traditional method can now be challenged. And, as you’ll see, virtual assistant can outperform their in-house counterparts in almost every area.
A virtual assistant is a versatile assistant who possesses the ability to perform all the tasks of an in-house assistant, but they operate remotely. Yes, there’s no need to attend your business premises anymore. And this opens you up to a global pool of talent. As long as the virtual assistant has a high-speed internet connection and a computer, they can plug themselves directly into your IT systems and get to work.
How Can a Paralegal Virtual Assistant Help Your Business?
Bringing a virtual assistant into your team has the potential to reshape and revolutionize the way you do business, but how does this translate into real-world benefits? It’s a good question to be asking, especially as a business owner, and, luckily, you’re in the right place to get the most comprehensive answer. The benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant are plentiful, so you can expect to reap rewards in the following areas:
Cost savings:
Did you know that working with a virtual assistant can save you up to 78% in operating costs? It's a significant figure and one which most businesses can't afford to ignore. That's why bringing a paralegal virtual assistant on board can truly make a difference to your profit margins. However, why are paralegal virtual assistants so cost-effective? The main reason is that virtual assistants have barely any overhead costs. They don't need a physical desk, IT equipment, extensive training, or holiday pay. And this means your law firm can save a substantial amount of money.
Making sense of case files:
One important task that can be a real challenge for law firms is organizing and making sense of case files. After all, as you’re well aware, legal cases are notorious for their complexity. As a result, the case files - which serve a crucial function as part of your legal team’s actions - can be daunting to organize, not to mention time-consuming. One of the benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant is that they can step in and, thanks to their expertise and experience, organize your files and ensure you have the best chance of a successful case.
Preparing your clients:
When it comes to getting clients ready for hearings, virtual paralegal assistants are invaluable. Their main duties in this area revolve around preparing clients for court by conducting mock hearings, explaining the plan of action for their court sessions, and helping the client by gathering and organizing crucial documents. And remember, thanks to the advent of technology, the distance between a virtual assistant and a client no longer makes a difference. All of this preparation can easily be conducted through phone and video, which provides you with peace of mind that your clients are in capable hands.
Round-the-clock availability:
There are few legal cases that can’t be classed as intense workloads, so the availability of labor is paramount. However, there are only so many hours in a day. You can’t expect your team to work 12+ hour shifts without suffering burnout. But a paralegal virtual assistant, due to their global positioning, is likely to be working in a different time zone. Therefore, you have the opportunity to introduce a night shift that picks up the baton from your day shift. This ensures that your legal cases receive round-the-clock attention and, accordingly, deliver a successful end result.
Multitasking:
One of the major benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant is that they’re not just limited to legal tasks. Once they’ve complete duties such as compiling case notes and contacting clients, they can effortlessly handle any other pending tasks your business has. So, for example, if your air conditioning company needs contacting to chase up a repair, a paralegal virtual assistant can do that. And, if you need a new stationary order putting in, that’s right, your virtual assistant can do it. This guarantees that the productivity of your legal firm remains high and it runs like a well-oiled machine.
Discovery process:
In the legal world, the discovery process is an important phase where parties involved in a lawsuit exchange relevant information and evidence. Typically, a lawyer will be caught up in the finer details of the case, and simply won’t have time to conduct the time-consuming discovery process. So, this is where a paralegal virtual assistant can play a major role. By drafting and serving discovery requests, they can save your legal professionals time and effort by producing, organizing, and reviewing information exchanged between the parties.
Take care of your emails:
lawyers spend far too much time sifting through their emails, and this means that their time isn’t being utilized effectively. But this is simply another example of how the benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant can help you out. Fully trained in the best email practices, a paralegal virtual assistant can take control of your legal professionals’ inboxes and organize them into something more manageable. Email rules can be implemented to weed out junk mail, categories can be created to organize groups of emails together and, of course, the simplest emails can be responded to.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of a paralegal virtual assistant are, as you can see, of immense use to any law firm looking to enhance their productivity. However, virtual assistants are still a relatively new commodity, so there’s a problem with sourcing them. You can’t just advertise in your local paper and expect to find them. Instead, you need to find a VA company that has a rich supply of virtual assistants. And that’s exactly what Pineapple can offer you, so why not get in touch and start taking your law firm forwards today.
