You’re a busy attorney who has enough on their plate to keep them up at night. So, why add the stress of trying to get by without a virtual assistant? A VA can help you out with everything from filing and organizing client data to keeping track of deadlines for court appearances. They can also be more efficient than in-house staff members because they’re not subject to office politics or other workplace distractions that might make it difficult for lawyers within an organization to take time off from their regular duties.
What is a virtual assistant?
A virtual assistant is a remote employee who helps you with administrative tasks, marketing tasks, social media tasks, accounting tasks and research. Virtual assistants can also help with writing documents.
If you are looking for someone to help with administrative or customer service support (answering phones), this person would be considered an administrative assistant.
Why and When You Should Get a Virtual Assistant?
For lawyers, running a law firm can be tough. The days of billable hours and hourly rates are long gone, and attorneys have to take on multiple roles if they want to survive in the legal field. But what if there was a way to boost productivity, reduce overhead costs, and make more money? What if having another set of hands around could help you be more efficient as an attorney?
Well now there is: virtual assistants! Virtual assistants (VAs) can do everything from file paperwork for you to answer phone calls for clients or even assist in drafting documents for cases. VAs aren’t just for large firms anymore; solo practitioners and small firms alike are using them to make their lives easier while boosting revenue at the same time. You don’t need any special training—just sign up with someone like Zirtual
Reduce your overhead
If you’re a solo attorney or law firm, the goal of reducing overhead is to have more money in your pocket. This is especially important if you’re running a small practice and don’t have a partner with whom to split expenses.
A virtual assistant can help reduce your overhead by:
- Reducing the need for office space—You may be able to reduce or eliminate your leasing costs by working remotely. If that isn’t possible, at least consider getting rid of some furniture and equipment in order to save on rent and utilities.
- Reducing the need for office supplies—Reduce paper waste by using online filing tools like [FileRight](https://www.filerightapp.com/). You can also replace traditional office supplies with eco-friendly alternatives like bamboo pens or recycled notebooks from The Green Office Store.
- Reducing equipment needs such as computers, printers, software licenses—Don’t buy new hardware just because it comes with an employee who knows how to use it! Instead, find someone who can set up all those things without costing you anything extra (or at least not much). If they do cost extra money upfront but then save time later on down the line when doing their job well…great! This will pay itself back many times over over time thanks mostly due solely thanks primarily due largely entirely due chiefly completely completely completely primarily basically basically basically basically mainly principally almost solely
We’ve all heard that it’s good for your health to get some exercise every day. But what about your business? If you work from home then there’s no way to get any exercise other than walking around your house. But if you hire a virtual assistant, they can be doing their job while working out at the gym, taking a walk in the park or playing sports with friends. Obviously this is great for them but it also means that they’re more likely to come up with innovative solutions to problems because they’re using more of their brain powerprimarily completely primarily completely primarily completely basically basically basically basically mostly principally almost solely!
Provide better coverage for your firm
A virtual assistant can help your firm provide better coverage for clients, employees and yourself.
- Better coverage for clients. A virtual assistant can handle tasks that require long hours or travel, freeing up your time to focus on client work. This means that they can bring a more personal touch to projects like phone calls and meetings, which will make the client feel more valued. And because they’re located remotely, you can hire assistants who understand cultural differences and can speak the native language of many of your international clients—saving money on international travel expenses!
- Better coverage for employees. Virtual assistants are fully trained in the software tools used by law firms (including WordPress) as well as knowledge management software systems like SharePoint; this allows them to do administrative work efficiently without having prior knowledge of how things work within an office environment (i.e., they won’t need training). Plus, since most VAs have their own telephones/voicemail systems set up at home or another location outside of work hours (which means no more missed calls), it’s much easier for everyone else in your firm to communicate with each other too! In addition: – less stress for you if someone goes out sick because there’s always someone around who can pick up where they left off
You can also offer additional services to your existing clientele. For example, if you offer web design but only have one employee who is a web designer, you can hire a virtual assistant to help out with administrative tasks like answering emails and managing social media accounts. Your clients will love the convenience of working with a virtual assistant and you’ll love the increased revenue from additional services- less stress for you if someone goes out sick because there’s always someone around who can pick up where they left off – less stress for your employees because they don’t have to worry about making mistakes when working remotely – better coverage for employees.
Expand your service offerings
You can expand your service offerings without increasing your overhead.
Your clients will love the convenience of working with a virtual assistant and you’ll love the increased revenue from additional services. Now you can offer more services to clients at top dollar, without having to invest in physical space for the additional offerings.
Increase billable hours
A virtual assistant can free up your time so you can focus on the work that brings in the most money. For example, if you spend too much time on non-billable administrative tasks such as client intake, scheduling meetings and taking notes during meetings, then it’s likely that your billable hours will suffer.
Getting a virtual assistant for your law firm will help increase your billable hours by allowing you to focus more time on client work or business development efforts. You may also find yourself able to respond to client requests more quickly now that you have an assistant working on these tasks in addition to their normal duties.
As a law firm owner or partner, this change can also be helpful because it will allow you to focus more on core competencies within your practice area instead of spending time doing things like data entry or responding to emails from clients or vendors who don’t need immediate attention but still require responses within 24 hours (or sooner).
Reduce your recruiting costs
You can save yourself a lot of money by finding someone who already has the skills you need through a virtual assistant. If you’re looking for someone with legal experience, but don’t want to pay for training or benefits, this is a great option.
The savings from not having to hire someone new will offset the cost of hiring a VA in no time. In addition, you won’t need to spend money on office space for them either; they can work remotely from anywhere as long as they have access to high-speed internet or cellular service.
Improve job satisfaction
Virtual assistants can improve job satisfaction by providing their services from home or anywhere that has an internet connection. This means the virtual assistant is not dependent on the client’s location and can work during hours they are most productive.
The amount of flexibility a virtual assistant offers is also important when considering their value to your law firm. If you have an employee who works at home and isn’t able to do so for whatever reason, then consider a virtual assistant. The same goes for employees who would like more flexible working hours but don’t want to take on another role at another company or organisation in order to achieve this goal.
Train your team more easily
If you have an employee who’s new to your industry, or has a unique skill set that you need to train, it can take weeks or months to get them up to speed. With a virtual assistant, training is much easier.
You can easily train multiple virtual assistants at once by having them work on the same project at the same time. This allows you to save time and money by only paying for one project rather than several separate projects. By assigning tasks in small chunks over time, your new hire will be able to grow in their capacities while building relationships with clients and colleagues alike—all while keeping up with other responsibilities!
Get a virtual assistant, be more productive and make more money without having to hire anyone, have them in the office, or pay benefits.
You can hire a virtual assistant and have them work anywhere in the world, so you don’t have to worry about finding someone locally. They will usually be able to complete tasks that would take up your time on a regular basis. This allows you to focus on other things like client services or building your business so it can grow into something bigger.
The first step is determining what type of VA you need for your firm. There are many different types, but if you want one that can help with marketing and social media initiatives, here are some options:
- A search engine optimization specialist – this person will make sure that any content on your website gets ranked higher in Google searches for specific keywords related to law (e.g., “best divorce lawyer”).
- A social media manager – this person will be responsible for creating posts about legal topics in order to generate engagement from potential clients through Facebook and Twitter accounts related specifically towards what they do at their job from home too!
Virtual assistants are in high demand and there is a huge market for them. If you’re looking for opportunities to expand your service offerings without increasing your overhead, then consider hiring a virtual assistantA copy writer – this person will write content for your website and social media accounts that can be appealing to potential clients. A virtual assistant – this person will help with administrative tasks like answering emails and booking appointments on behalf of a lawyer.
How to find a virtual assistant
In order to find the best virtual assistant for your law firm, make sure you’re looking for someone who has experience in your field. That way, they’ll already have some of the tools necessary to do the job and will be able to hit the ground running as soon as you hire them.
Additionally, make sure that potential candidates have experience working with clients in your industry. If not, they may not know how best to interact with them or how their demands are different from those of other businesses’ clients.
You should also look for someone who is willing to learn and grow with you—someone who won’t become bored or complacent after completing an assignment once or twice without any additional guidance. You want a VA that is both reliable and trustworthy (after all, this person will likely be handling sensitive information), so make sure these criteria are met before making an offer. Finally, make sure that any potential VAs are good communicators—you don’t want anyone who will struggle getting back-and-forth messages across!
Outsourcing options
One of the best ways to find a virtual assistant is through outsourcing platforms, where you can post a project and have freelancers bid on it. These platforms allow you to see other people’s profiles, portfolios, and reviews from previous clients.
The most popular platform for finding freelancers is Upwork (formerly Elance-oDesk). It has a large number of active users who are vetted for quality work before being allowed on the site. Another great option is Remote Staff (or Remotive), which focuses exclusively on matching employers with remote workers in need of more hours or full-time employment.
There are also specialty firms that focus on helping entrepreneurs find VAs without having to do the searching themselves: Zirtual, Remote Staff, Fancy Hands (which also provides personal assistants), Belay Solutions (for small businesses), Virtual Staff Finder
1. Upwork
If you want to hire a virtual assistant for your law firm but don’t know where to start, Upwork is a great platform that allows you to search for available freelancers based on their location. The site also has an option for employers to post jobs, which means that it can be used to hire virtual assistants as well.
For example, let’s say you live in Boston and are looking for a VA who lives in the area. You could specify Boston as your search location and browse through the various skills listed by freelancers within that radius; if they don’t have any experience with VAs before (or don’t even know what one is), then they probably won’t show up on your list of results—and if they do happen to offer services like this but aren’t actually able handle them well (i.e., if they’re not qualified or skilled enough), then again: no dice!
2. Zirtual
Zirtual is an American virtual assistant company. Their services are available in the United States and Canada. Zirtual is a good option if you have a small budget and need help with administrative tasks like data entry, scheduling appointments, or making travel arrangements for your employees.
3. Remote Staff
Remote Staff is a virtual assistant company that hires and trains people to work remotely for clients. They have all the standard skills you would expect from an employee, including data entry and call center support. They also have a wide variety of specializations, including project management, sales development, marketing research and design. Remote Staff’s employees are located throughout the US (and in some cases Canada), so you can choose someone who lives near your office or has more experience than an off-shore candidate might offer (some companies will hire foreign workers as VAs).
Remote Staff offers a free trial period so that you can test out their services before committing to working with them.
4. Fancy Hands
Fancy Hands is a personal assistant service that has been featured on Forbes, Inc. and the Wall Street Journal.
Fancy Hands is a great way to get started with outsourcing because it offers free consultations, which means you can learn about how it works before signing up for the service.
Fancy Hands provides live support from real assistants 24/7 via phone or chat so you don’t have to worry about whether your assistant will be available when you need them or not.
5. Belay Solutions
Belay Solutions is a company that provides virtual assistants for law firms. They provide up to 10 hours of work per week at $100/hour, and you can also sign up for a free trial if you want to do some test runs before committing.
Outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant allows you to focus on what’s important, your clients!
Outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant allows you to focus on what’s important, your clients!
As a lawyer, your job is to solve problems for your clients. This means that you’re constantly thinking about how best to help them resolve their legal issues—and that’s all well and good. But when it comes down to it, there are only so many hours in the day. If you’re not careful with how you spend those precious few hours, then all those extra minutes add up quickly and before long, they’ve taken over your entire schedule.
And once those pesky details start taking over things like billing and marketing can quickly fall by the wayside too. Sooner or later (probably sooner), this will become an issue if left unchecked—because now not only have those details overrun your schedule but they’ve also started taking over other areas of running your business as well!
How to Make the Most of a Virtual Assistant
I hope this post has been helpful in showing you the benefits of hiring a virtual assistant, and how to find the right one for your law firm. A good VAs can save you time and give you peace of mind that important tasks are being taken care of. They can also act as a sounding board for ideas, giving feedback and helping brainstorm new ones when needed—so don’t be afraid to take advantage of their expertise! So, the next time you are thinking about getting a new employee for your firm, consider getting a virtual assistant instead. They can do so much for you and your business without costing you any added money or having to hire someone. If you need help figuring out what type of VA will work best with your legal practice and how to hire one, then contact us today!
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