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Amata Socials Now Available For Amata Client Sponsorship

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Thank you to everybody who came out to Amata’s return to in-person networking with Amata Socials! Our next get together is June 9th and will be held at 180 N LaSalle.

We are also excited to extend an opportunity – now you’ll be able to sponsor an Amata Social!

Sponsor an Amata Social

Each month we are providing up to two firms the opportunity to sponsor the social. Amata will continue to pay for food and beverages at these socials and the sponsors will be responsible for getting the word out and making sure they are well attended. In return for sponsoring, Amata will promote the sponsors firm in weekly posts, publications and announcements leading up to the social.

Up to 2 Law Firms will have the opportunity to sponsor each Amata social.

  • The sponsoring law firms will be responsible for attendance at the event. This will include sending out invitations and making sure each event is well attended (25+ participants at each event is the goal).
  • Amata will also promote each event through email distributions to all Amata clients, that will include the logo/name of the sponsoring law firm and signs at every Amata location.
  • Members of the sponsoring firm will greet guests upon their arrival and direct them as appropriate.
  • The sponsoring firm(s) will provide an overview of their firm and the type of work they are able to handle at the beginning of each social.

Amata’s Obligation

  • Amata will provide beverages (both alcohol and non-alcohol) and lite snacks at each social.
  • The sponsoring firms will be featured in Amata’s weekly watercooler email and featured on the flyers distributed at each Amata location.
    Amata will provide a list of all registered participants to the sponsoring firms to allow for follow up.
    Guidelines

Additional Considerations

  • Sponsorship will be on a first come, first serve basis by contacting [email protected]
  • Firms with the same practice areas will not be allowed to sponsor the same event.
  • Attendance by the sponsoring firms is mandatory.

Are you interested in sponsoring an Amata Social?

Reach out to [email protected] today! Each social has two spots and they will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

Discover our offices for lawyers in Chicago.

Small Business Resilience Depends on Keeping a Focused Perspective

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Small businesses are resilient, and resilience is especially important in challenging times such as these. This type of strength and agility relies, in part, on good business instincts. But it also depends on a clear understanding of the measures that may impact results.

Know The Context

Small Business Resilience Depends on Keeping a Focused Perspective

It’s important to consider data in the context of what your business does and where it is located. For example, the unemployment rate for a business located in an area that is experiencing a lot of growth means something different from what it does for an area that is experiencing a reduction in its population. Places with growth will have more people spending more money on a variety of goods and services. Areas that are stagnant are likely losing businesses as people are spending less and less.

The same is true for other data. Supply chain disruptions will be harder to deal with for small businesses than they will be for large companies because bigger businesses have the resources to pay for faster deliveries. Some business and service providers can get a snapshot of what is happening by looking at information specific to their industries.

Keep in mind that statistics have a subtext that may not be easily apparent. For example, are multisite businesses reporting their data for each location, or is it all on an aggregate basis? Questions like these are why it is important to put this information into a context that is meaningful to your business.

One way to do this is to think about the information in the framework of a SWOT analysis — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats — for your service or industry. Then look at the analysis again through the filter of what is happening in your specific market. Doing so will allow you to have a clearer picture of your needs and where resources should be allocated.

Consider Inflation

Along with the other financial concerns that small businesses are facing, inflation has become a major factor. Predictions differ when it comes to how long the current inflationary cycle will last. Consequently, business owners need to assess how they will be affected by the higher cost of money in both the short term and the long run.

Taking these three steps can help:

  1. Budgeting: Cut costs — but in a thoughtful way. This should be your strategy when making any major purchases, from software to a new hire or anything in between. Understand what you really need as well as the costs of any bells and whistles. Maybe it is best to start with the basics now and then add on to your list of purchases as needed when your budget allows for it. For example, does it make more sense for your business to hire a freelancer who can maintain your company’s social media platforms, or is a full-time employee what you need instead? Writing out a job description and then comparing the costs of hiring each type of person should help you figure out the answer.
  2. Margins: Take a long, hard look at your margins. How much is every sale costing you? Is there a way to use new manufacturing methods or sales channels so that you can increase your margins?
  3. Financing: If you need help with financing, turn to government sources first. Low-cost funding may be available, for example, if your business is located in an economic development zone.

Putting the information that you gather into a meaningful context and following through on that consensus will help ensure that you are keeping a perspective that makes sense for your small business.

We’re here to help

At Amata, we value your work as much as you do. Discover how we can be a part of the future of your resilience.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Simplify Your Day With Admin Assistants

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Lawyer life is hectic, and devoting time to administrative tasks diverts your attention away from working on your cases. Amata provides administrative assistant services in Chicago that will alleviate your burden. We pair you with a knowledgeable administrative assistant to handle day-to-day administrative tasks while allowing your firm to focus on more important ones. 

How Amata Can Make a Difference In Your Practice

Administrative Assistants

Amata’s administrative assistant services are available on an ongoing or temporary basis, depending on your law firm’s needs. We are committed to providing outstanding service at a reasonable price throughout the entire time you work with our team. Our trained professionals work closely with your firm and senior staff members to achieve the best possible result.

When you need us, we deliver the following administrative assistant services: 

  • Billing & data entry 
  • Binding 
  • Copying 
  • Document delivery 
  • Document translation (uncertified)
  • Document witness 
  • Electronic filing services 
  • Interpreter – on-site (call for additional languages) 
  • Interpreter – remote (on demand) 
  • Notary services 
  • Postage services 
  • Scanning 
  • Shredding 
  • Skip Tracing 
  • Translation/Interpreter Services 

Our main objective is to free up your time so that you can focus on growing your law firm, expanding your network, and serving clients. Your administrative assistant in Chicago is highly trained to produce exceptional work that meets today’s busy law firm needs.

Start a Conversation With Us Today

At Amata, we value your work as much as you do. With our administrative assistant services in Chicago, we take the guesswork out of filling support gaps. Let’s talk today by calling us at 312.924.0200 or sending us a message here. 

Why Hire an Administrative Assistant?

By providing superior administrative support, Amata’s services empower law firms. Our administrative assistants in Chicago possess a unique set of skills and experience that solo and small law firms demand. This feature ensures that you don’t waste time chasing around projects or disappointing clients.

The Power of Our Administrative Support Services in Chicago

Outsourcing your administrative services needs to Amata will help you manage your budget, reduce overhead expenses, and more. We empower your firm to meet demands without having to worry about internal staffing.

Additional advantages of working with Amata include:

  • Benefit #1. Reduced stress when handling last-minute deadlines 
  • Benefit #2. Maximizing your law firm’s bottom line 
  • Benefit #3. Creates extra time to dedicate towards your caseload 
  • Benefit #4. Access to a skilled and experienced workforce 
  • Benefit #5. Ability to tailor project specifications to your specific needs 

Amata is well-suited for a variety of individual administrative assistant projects, allowing you to maintain complete control over your workflow. We offer easy modes of communication, including messenger, text, email, phone, and video chat, so that you can seamlessly let us know how we can serve you better.

About Our Administrative Assistants

How We Compensate Administrative Assistants

We compensate Amata administrative assistants according to their experience, training, and expertise. Many of them come from working in-house and directly with lawyers. As such, they are familiar with the style, tone, and cadence at which you work.

Training Closely With Senior Staff Members

Amata may also hire administrative assistants with less than three years of experience. However, we recognize these individuals as standouts among other qualified applicants with promising legal careers. Our senior staff members work with them closely to help them gain experience for future advancement within our organization.

Prefer the Same Assistant? No Problem

Many of our clients prefer to work with the same administrative assistant throughout the time they use Amata’s services. We will match your needs with the most qualified candidate so that you engage in high-quality work while lowering your operating expenses and overhead.

Amata Works as an Extension of Your Law Firm

Dedicated Administrative Assistants

Are you tired of working with assistants on a short-term basis? Team up with a dedicated Amata administrative assistant who will become familiar with your methodologies. This allows you to focus on your craft without paying too much mind to administrative details.

Administrative Assistants On-Demand

Don’t let your caseload spiral out of control during busy periods. Work with an administrative assistant who handles stress well and can reliably complete essential tasks. Amata will find the time and resources to take some of the pressure off.

Control Your Operating Budget

Administrative assistant services are more affordable than you think. We offer our services on flat and hourly rates

so that you are NEVER caught off guard. Amata bills clients transparently and by the minute, not the hour, so that you don’t pay for more services than you use.

Let Us Stand In Line For You

Have you ever needed to make a run to the courthouse but felt crunched for time?

No problem: Amata has got your back!

We send team members to the County Clerk’s Office, Recorder’s Office, Secretary of State, Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Building each day. Not only can we file or pick up documents, but we can also pay for copies, deliver courtesy copies, or handle any other task that comes your way.

Just let us know how we can help, and we’ll be there.

Do You Need Administrative Assistant Services in Chicago?

Our administrative assistant services are available to fulfill your standalone needs or as part of our other attorney support services. Amata serves law firms in the Chicagoland area and throughout Illinois. We empower our clients by offering services that they truly need and nothing more.

You do not have to sacrifice client and case management standards due to staffing issues. Connect with the Amata team to learn more about your options. Call 312.924.0200 to start a conversation now, or send us a message here directly and we’ll get in touch with you as soon as possible. 

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Private Law Practice: Why You Need A Private Place Of Work

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Practicing law is hard work.

Beyond knowing case law, legal eccentricities, and strategies to get the best possible outcomes for your clients, you must be able to get inside your opponent’s head to win a case.

Sometimes you just need a private space to do your work.

Co-working spaces are great when you need to bounce ideas off of someone.

But what about finding a private space when you need to work?

It’s Quiet

Sure, as a one-person firm, you love working from home to spend more time with family or you enjoy the bustling background noise of a coffeeshop where no one pays attention to you and earbuds let you tune everyone out.

But sometimes, you need to concentrate fully on a case without distractions, particularly if it’s a complicated case with many tough aspects and several moving parts.

Perhaps you just need to unplug. Having a private office can give you the peace and quiet you need.

Deadlines Approach

Maybe you overstretched your client load, some cases are dragging out longer than you expected, or you had to extend some motions so you could have more time.

Suddenly, you have three major deadlines coming up, and the judge in each case has said we can’t delay the pretrial conferences any longer.

You have to work frantically and can’t afford any distractions because you need to have everything ready for your deadlines, and each case is nuanced.

We hope this never happens to you. We hope you have many clients and are successful in their cases.

However, there will be times (not may be, will be) in your legal practice where it seems every case is coming due at once through no fault of your own.

Distractions cannot enter into your head as you need to concentrate on the matters at hand  because your clients depend on you (and their lives and livelihoods could be at stake).

You have an important job, and you love your job, but sometimes you need a break from everything in the outside world just to focus.

You Need a Private Space for Consultations & Conferences

Legal offices must maintain the privacy of their clients. It’s the law.

As such, a private space for consultations and conferences helps you fulfill your duty of attorney-client privilege while reassuring your clients that what they talk about will not be discussed outside of the walls of your office.

You’ll need a private space for initial intakes, talking to clients ahead of pretrial conferences and depositions, and a space for recording depositions ahead of a potential trial.

A private office also fosters respect and trust with your clients by leaving an impression that their time is valuable. You are completely focused on them, what matters to them, and how you will help them get past this legal matter.

You Have Complete Control Over a Private Office

Working in a shared space is nice in a pinch. You can sit in a coffee house with the internet to do research. A coworking space with other attorneys lets you bounce ideas off of fellow lawyers.

But a private office gives you complete control over the space.

No loud people talking one table over. No conversations on cellphones that you hear with other attorneys conversing with their clients. Not clanging coffee cups. No discussions about other cases that a trio of lawyers are having in the corner of your coworking space to distract you from your caseload.

You have the key to your private office. You can lock it behind you and not come out for three hours if you want.

It’s quiet, there is no food or loud people, and no other attorneys to talk shop with when you really need to focus on your own cases.

What If I Can’t Afford a Private Office as a Solo Practice?

Amata affords the ability for lawyers to have private office spaces for individuals and small firms, especially since office space in Greater Chicago is sparse and costs a small fortune.

You benefit not only from private spaces but also from Amata’s professional law support with virtual assistants to answer phones, mailboxes, billing software, catering for conferences, conference rooms, and web conference set-ups.

Our office space services can:

  • Find you a great downtown location in one of several buildings.
  • Provide a conference room for up to 18 people.
  • Handle web conferences and remote video calls.
  • Cater food and have coffee to impress large clients.
  • Offer coworking spaces with other attorneys.
  • And so much more!

Amata’s features in downtown Chicago are similar to those afforded to AM100 law firms.

Save time, money, and effort through Amata’s services so you can focus on winning cases and growing your firm.

With so many ways we can help you, Amata is the legal team you want on your side.

Contact us for more information about our private offices.

Discover our offices for lawyers in Chicago.

The Value Of Paralegal Services

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For growing law firms, the value of a paralegal services can be clear – attorneys can increase billable hours, decreasing the cost to their clients, and increase the profitability of their law practice. Explore why below and see how how Amata helps growing law firms by offering as-needed paralegal services.

Get Competent Support

Attorneys are naturally busy, and often require adequate and competent support. And while legal secretaries provide administrative support; the paralegal provides that same administrative support while also serving as an extension of the attorney. An experienced paralegal is capable of handling   substantial legal task when supervised by a licensed attorney, which helps in building and maintaining a profitable law practice.  

Increase Billable Hours

Recent trends have shown that the average attorney spends between 2.5 and 3.5 hours on billable work per day. Assigning appropriate work to experienced paralegals allows the attorney to maximize his/her time, get more accomplished and focus on growing their practice. Experienced paralegals have the legal knowledge and organizational skills to handle very simple and complex task. Task such as client centered communication is an art. Clients want to be listened to, informed and updated on the status of their cases. This is often very difficult for attorneys to manage on their own. This is where valuable paralegal services come in.  While this may fall under the administrative support umbrella; it is a very helpful to the attorney and frees up valuable time. This also provides a very positive client-centered experience. 

 

Time Is Money

An attorney’s time is definitely money, and case research and document review are also areas paralegal services can help the attorney and save valuable time. Properly supervised paralegal can review important case documents and research case law. Westlaw and other services also help to access and review documents quickly which also saves time and resources. As you may have noticed, a paralegals role is a very important one and contributes greatly to the growth and profitability of a law practice. 

 

Delegate Drafting Of Documents

One of the most important and more complex components of being a paralegal is drafting legal discovery documents and pleadings for the attorney. This is where having an experience intuitive paralegal really adds value to a law practice. These types of documents in most instances are the very foundation of filing a case. Attention to detail and proper formatting are imperative. In addition to preparing court documents paralegals assist their supervising lawyers with closings and trials. Paralegals can help by gathering case information and organizing documents for the actual case. Attorneys spends a significant portion of their workdays on legal administrative support tasks that don’t bring in revenue.  it is estimated that attorneys spend an average of 31% of their workdays on billable work.  Delegating non-billable tasks to a paralegal, the attorney can be more productive. They will also free up more of your time to focus on billable work. 

 

Get Ahead By Using Paralegals

In today’s fast paced world, the objective is to work smarter. Using paralegal services to assist with legal tasks doesn’t just make attorneys more efficient—it also saves the attorney (and the clients) money. Paralegals bill at lower rates than the attorney, delegating certain tasks to them means a lower overall cost for the firm’s services. When these savings are passed on to clients, you deliver great service and a more positive client experience—it’s a win-win. And in today’s competitive world wins are what matters. 

Amata offers Paralegal Services because we know how important it can be to successful law firms.

Discover our paralegal services in Chicago.

Marketing for Lawyers: How to Create a Pipeline of New Clients Without Referrals

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Amata is kicking off a new series to help lawyers better understand how to navigate the challenges of marketing for law firms. In partnership with Constellation Marketing, our first episode covers an in-depth overview to create something every business owner wants: a steady pipeline of clients.

Watch Here

Do you want to add 3-5 new cases every single month?

 

Learn Constellation Marketing’s methods for increasing your monthly revenue by 300% – without relying on inconsistent or low-quality referral leads. With these exact strategies, we’ve helped over 50 law firms attract the right type of clients and increase their monthly revenue 3x on average.

Trusted by 50+ Law Firms and Rated 5.0 on Google

We’re excited to partner with Constellation Marketing on this first episode of our series to explore marketing topics directly applicable to growing law firms. In our effort to provide opportunity to our clientele, we look to Constellation Marketing’s experience to help educate on what law professionals need to know in order to grow their marketing the right way.

Watch Here

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Reception Services: Make Sure To Keep Your Phone Number

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While you may be looking to adopt a new feature like receptionist service to your operations in favor of growth, doing so while having to change your number can actually be counterproductive. There’s lots of reasons why keeping your company phone number the same is important to your business’ long-term operation and growth, the most important of which we  outline in this article.

Changing Your Number Can Reverse The Work You’ve Done To Establish It

Make Sure To Keep Your Phone Number

In many ways, your business’ phone number serves as a part of its overall identity. It’s an essential piece of information that serves as the gateway between your office and clients, and as such, making sure that it’s well established to the public is important. This is why many businesses will go to great lengths to ensure that their phone number is well advertised, whether through print media, online directories, or even word of mouth. If you change your phone number, you risk losing the connection that you’ve already established with your existing client base. Not only will they have a harder time getting in touch with you, but they may also be hesitant to do business with a company that seems to be in flux.

Changing Your Number Can Be Unnecessarily Difficult

If you have a business phone number that’s been around for a while, chances are that it’s already connected to your company name in some capacity. This alludes to the administrative headache that comes with having to change it. In addition to alerting your current client base of the change, you’ll also need to make sure that your new number is updated on all of your marketing materials, website, and any other online listings. This can be a time consuming and expensive process, particularly for small businesses who may not have the resources to spare.

Changing Your Number Can Disrupt Your Operations

During a time when many businesses are struggling, it’s important to make sure that you’re doing everything in your power to maintain the stability of your company. This includes ensuring that all aspects of your operation are running as smoothly as possible, and that any potential disruptions are kept to a minimum. Making a change to your phone number can disrupt the flow of your business and introduce unnecessary complications, which is why it’s best to avoid it if at all possible.

In short, there are a number of reasons why it’s important to keep your company phone number the same. If you’re looking to make changes to your operations, it’s best to do so in a way that doesn’t disrupt your business’ phone number.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Full-Service Virtual Offices For Lawyers

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Attorneys starting off with their own practice need an essential support system to grow and prosper.  

Sure, you have the ability to take care of your filing, administrative tasks, and answering inquiries. 

But do you have the time? 

When you devote less time to mundane yet essential tasks, you have more time to work on settling a case in your favor. 

Let us show you what a full-service virtual office can do for your practice. 

 

Various Plans to Fit Your Needs

Full-Service Virtual Offices For Lawyers

Amata offers four different levels of service, all at affordable prices that come in much lower than hiring full-time staff. 

  1. Business Address starting at $75. We handle the mail, scan the mail, notify you by email when it arrives, and forward mail to your chosen address. We also offer discounted FedEx services along with specialized messenger services.
  2. Live Receptionist & Phone starting at $49. A live person answers your phone from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. CT. Transcription for incoming calls and messages that we forward to your phone or document system. Listen to your incoming messages through your cellphone.
  3. Live Receptionist & Phone with Business address starting at $175 a month. You get everything from the first two plans plus access to one of seven physical locations for you to perform legal work.
  4. Virtual Office Plus starting at $275 a month. You get everything from the first three tiers plus keycard access to a physical office space 24/7 as well as 24  conference room credits/month to use whenever you wish.

The average cost to rent office space in Chicago currently sits at $37.56 per square foot.  

If you pay $275 a month to rent space at that rate, your office would be a closet with no windows! 

We offer physical space to work, meet clients and meet other attorneys, as well as staff, for much less than it costs to rent an office and hire full-time staff. 

Using our virtual office services for your law firm lets you save money while you grow your firm. Even better, it gives clients and prospective clients a professional first impression of your legal services. 

 

We Hire Knowledgeable Staff

Every Amata staff member who works for you goes through a four-person interview process at first. You have peace of mind that everyone who answers the phone understands legal terms, knows how to speak to other attorneys who may call the office, and can perform initial screenings of potential clients based on your requirements.  

Better yet, when you need expert assistance for your firm, our team of paralegals, legal administrators, law clerks and receptionists act as an extension of your business. 

 

We Know the Industry

Our team has been helping the legal community in the Chicago area since 2002, and we have nearly 75 years of combined experience helping law firms with administrative tasks. We have experienced property managers who help you with conference rooms, ordering discounted supplies and setting up your workspace.  

Over the past two decades of providing full-service legal office support, we’ve helped over 750 attorneys in 27 practice areas generate thousands of lead shares. 

 

We Own All of Our Assets

What sets Amata apart from other full-service virtual offices for lawyers is that we own all of our assets. When you need to set up a time to work in an office space or meet with clients in a conference room, you don’t have a middle manager to go through.  

Our company owns what you utilize. When you talk to us, you talk to the owners of the space, the supervisors of the employees, and the ones who provide your services.  

 

Take Advantage of This Opportunity

Are you a growing legal practice? We give you room to grow with our scalable yet customizable services.  

Our top service starts at $275 a month. Let’s say you double that for $550 a month.  

That’s still a fairly cheap overhead. The rest of your expenses can go towards billable time with clients rather than hard costs. In less than a couple hours worth of billable time, you pay for a month’s worth of office expenses.  

Even better, virtual offices may be more normalized as we emerge from the pandemic that gripped the world for two years. 

 

It’s All About Your Clients

The American Bar Association notes that some law firms returned to their offices faster than other corporate service entities following the COVID-19 pandemic. Some law practices utilized a hybrid model with some in-office staff and some virtual.  

The ABA says that it depends on the clients of attorneys as to how you should approach your office space. You are probably figuring out how to solve the in-office or work-from home paradigm of doing business. Hybrid models are emerging as the prevailing way to return to normal. 

Amata gives you a chance to wow your clients with a dynamic office space and conference room in downtown Chicago. We still have some pretty spectacular views to make a lasting first impression and creating a wow factor for your big-name clients. 

We also allow you the freedom to work from a park, your favorite lunch spot, or at home with your kids. Secure cloud-based services let you work from anywhere, whether you’re organizing files in Clio or billing a client in LawPay. Some clients can appreciate hearing the squeal of your kids playing in the yard while you work on their case because they value a work-life balance too. 

 

And It’s All About You

You worked hard in law school. You busted all-nighters researching cases and studying for the bar. You deserve to run your law firm as you choose to, not what tradition says to do as you try to pursue clients to grow your practice. 

A virtual office space gives you the freedom for more work-life balance because most or all of your administrative tasks are taken care of. You don’t have to worry about your image since we take care of those details for you as a law-focused support company that understands the legal world in America’s third-largest city. 

 

Amata, An Entire Company as Your Support Staff

Let’s get started. Call or contact us for a tour of our locations if you’re serious about growing your law firm while keeping overhead low. 

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

Ways Virtual Law Firms Can Improve Communication With Clients

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Virtual law firms have seen a rise in popularity over the last several years. But, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a bigger boost in the demand for virtual legal professionals.

Will virtual firms become the “new normal” for the legal industry? Perhaps. Multiple firms across the country are seeing the benefits, as they’re able to hire and work with top attorneys with different areas of expertise. Clients can benefit, too. If a client needs an attorney specializing in a particular type of law, a quick search within a virtual law form can connect them with the expert legal advice they need.

But, as with any other type of virtual service, there are some potential drawbacks to virtual legal help. One of the biggest challenges is communication. Law firms need to adapt to improve client satisfaction remotely, and that’s often easier said than done.

But, it’s not impossible.

Whether you’re part of a larger firm or run your own, understanding how to improve communication with your clients will make a big difference in your success and trustworthiness. Let’s look at a few strategies that put communication at the forefront of your client-attorney relationship, even if you never meet each other in person.

Digitize Your Documentation

Ways Virtual Law Firms Can Improve

One of the best things you can do to improve your client communication is to stay organized. In addition to working with clients virtually, many attorneys are shifting their documents to cloud-based services. It’s a great way to “go green” and keep important files in one convenient location.

But, like any other filing system, it’s crucial to have some kind of organizational operation in place. Keeping things organized will make it easier to find information on your clients for meetings, or when they call or e-mail to ask a question. It will also make it easier to present information to your clients digitally, in an easy-to-understand format that will make communication stronger for both of you. Plus, staying organized will help you to avoid information silos and miscommunication within your firm.

Consider digitizing your documents through PDFs and creating a virtual library for all client documentation. You can store digital files by case numbers, last names, or however you see fit. In a matter of seconds, you’ll be able to search for files and pull them up, rather than scrambling for information at the last minute before your next virtual meeting.

If you create a cloud-based library, you can also choose to have it password protected. This allows you to directly share all files and information about a client’s case with them, so they can see changes and additions in real-time. It’s a small gesture, but when your client feels well-informed and updated, they’re more likely to trust the process.

Additionally, multi-factor authentication (MFA) or, at the very least, two-factor authentication (2FA) is advised. If your password is considered one form of authenticating or verifying your identity, then another form might be a text message or an email with an additional log-in code, or even the last four digits of your SSN. By protecting your clients’ documents with more than one form of authentication, you’re doing more than the bare minimum — consider MFA for all your clients’ files and data to keep them truly secure.

Set Up Multiple Communication Avenues

No matter how many clients you have, it’s important to make each one feel comfortable and heard. Not everyone will want to talk on the phone, so consider offering several virtual communication options, including:

  • One-on-one video chats
  • Email
  • Instant messaging
  • Conference calls

You can even host live streams within your office when you have to meet with more than one person. Live streaming is a great way to communicate a lot of information at once, especially when you’re working with multiple attorneys or your client wants other individuals involved. If you decide to go that route (or do any video conferencing, for that matter), it’s crucial to have the right setup. Choose your live streaming space carefully in a low-traffic area, especially if you’re working from home. Your background should be clean and free from distractions, but it’s never a bad idea to have your degrees hanging behind you.

It’s also okay to add a touch of personality to every avenue you offer. Whether you’re chatting on the phone or hosting a video conference call, be yourself. Have a few personal items in the background of your video, or connect with your client by finding a few interests you have in common. While remaining professional should be your top priority, your client will feel more comfortable and willing to open up if they see the actual person behind the attorney title.

Invest in the Right Software

With many firms across the country going virtual, keeping up with communication efforts will ensure you stay competitive. Consider developing your own online portal for clients. This has become increasingly popular in the healthcare industry for doctors and patients, but it can work just as well for attorneys. A digital portal will give your clients full access to the information they need, and they can set up meetings with you directly.

If you don’t want to build your own online portal, there are plenty of existing companies that have developed communication software. Practice management software like Clio, Practice Panther, and Smokeball can assist with things like:

  • Document management
  • Billing assistance
  • Scheduling
  • Case management

The more secure your clients feel when utilizing your virtual services, the better. Strong communication will help with that, so don’t be afraid to invest your time, money, and resources into improving your communication efforts. Virtual law firms are here to stay, and yours can continue to grow if you focus on building professional relationships with your clients, even if you’re in completely different time zones.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.