5 Reasons To Hire A Legal Assistant
Busy attorneys may not always have the free time to work on every aspect it takes to running a law firm and managing clients. Assistants for these attorneys can help in many ways to reduce the workload and stress that comes from the everyday work load. In this blog we will discuss 5 ways in which Legal Assistants can be greatly beneficial to those hard working attorneys.
1) Focus
The total time spent scanning and printing the documents, drafting correspondence, researching legal issues, and researching legal matters, in most cases, can't be billed to clients as law firm partners' and associates' services. If you hire a legal assistant, these tasks will be taken care of promptly and gives the attorneys more time to focus on billable work for their clients. When you look at how much time and effort you spend on email organization, calendar management or even case organization you understand that that time could be used to closing cases. This comes in handy when these tasks are handed off to those who specialize in backend support.
2) Law Office Administration
Having a legal assistant will ensure that the general office workflow runs smoothly and that the lawyers get help with everything from research to administrative tasks. A legal assistant may also assist the attorney in setting up many interviews with witnesses, handling travel, contacting clients, scheduling events, and managing the lawyer's calendar. Running a law firm takes more than resolving client matters. Legal assistants can ease the load and partner with you to make sure your place of business is effective in the long run.
3) Quality Client Services
When you have a legal assistant, your client's service will improve by many folds. With them on your side, you may also make sure you keep all of the promises to your clients and establish trust, as this is a common mistake most law offices make. According to California's Bar Association, the number one complaint they receive about attorneys is the lack of response to clients attempts to contact them. Having a legal assistant who can settle clients worries, answer any questions or even provide updates on cases will not only greatly improve clients relationships and boost referrals but will also ease the workload on attorneys and allow them to give each case the focus it needs without any interruptions.
4) Freedom
The common phrase we have heard from attorneys, when they are seeking our services, is they "just want to be an attorney." This can mean a bunch of different things but the main objective is they want to just practice law and resolve client issues. Having a legal assistant on board allows you the space and freedom to just practice law. You will get to center your attention on what you are passionate about and mainly, why you may even have become an attorney in the first place. Allowing you the room to focus on your passion while another takes responsibility in all other areas will be most beneficial for a healthy environment and successful law practice. The team will be amazed by the overall results. With this much time and cost-saving effort, everyone will enjoy the major benefits.
5) Saving Costs
Running a law firm or performing as a solo attorney is not a cheap experience to have. Between the court costs and the administrative costs to operating your practice, we understand is takes a toll. Hiring a legal assistant, especially a contractor assistant, can help you save on the expense of salaried costs and tax write-offs which will make room to expand your practice and bring in more potential new clients to assist with subjugating the firm costs. A freelance legal assistant can also assist with your billing process. According to a LexisNexis Survey, more than 73% of small law firms struggle with past due bills from clients and the resolution that comes with it. Hiring a legal assistant to enforce and resolve the billing process and client issues with payment will heavily impact the financial success of your firm.
In short, having an assistant to support you and your firm will provide many countable and uncountable benefits, and clients will love it. You will see, almost immediately, a great change around you when you have an extra helping hand. There, of course, are many more benefits of having attorney support, but we hope that this list of 5 are enough to convince you to have one by your side!
