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How Paralegals Boost Profits

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When Jane left her high-pressure job at a large firm, she dreamed big. She wanted to have her own practice and control her book of business, earning potential, and schedule.

 

However, she quickly found herself overwhelmed. Jane was handling every aspect of her practice—from client consultations and court appearances to legal research and document drafting. Quickly Jane found herself on the verge of burnout.

 

 

 

Sadly, Jane’s story is all too common among solo practitioners and small law firm owners. Despite their hard work, they struggle to keep up with deadlines, miss opportunities for new business, and find themselves working longer hours for less money.

 

How Paralegals Can Save The Day

 

One solution that can alleviate these pressures is the strategic use of paralegals. Paralegals can perform many core legal tasks for you, at more affordable rates for your law firm. This includes legal research, document preparation, case management, and more, allowing you to focus on higher-value work.

 

Increased Billable Hours and Revenue

 

Paralegals can increase your billable hours. Instead of spending hours on tasks that could be done by a paralegal, your attorneys can focus on billable activities, thereby increasing your firm’s overall revenue.

 

For instance: If a paralegal bills at $200 per hour compared to an attorney’s $450 per hour, the firm can charge clients for paralegal time. This is still profitable for the firm due to lower salary costs for paralegals.

 

This billing structure allows the firm to manage more cases simultaneously, enhancing productivity and profitability.

Capitalizing On Opportunities

 

When attorneys handle tasks that could be delegated to paralegals, they incur cost opportunities. This means they could be, with the same time, engaging in impactful activities for clients, their personal lives, and the firm’s growth.

 

Enhanced Client Satisfaction

 

Your clients will benefit from the lower costs associated with paralegal work. After all, they’ll receive the same high-quality legal services but at a reduced rate.

 

Additionally, with paralegals handling a portion of the workload, projects can be completed more quickly, enhancing your client satisfaction and your firm’s reputation.

 

Flexibility and Scalability with Fractional Paralegals

 

Depending on your needs, you can choose to hire full-time paralegals or opt for fractional paralegals. Fractional paralegals provide on-demand support and become an integral part of your firm’s operations, without the price tag. They offer flexibility, allowing your firm to scale without the fixed costs associated with permanent employees.

 

For example, a firm might pay a fractional paralegal $85 per hour and bill the client $170 per hour for their services. This arrangement not only covers the cost but also generates profit at no underutilization risk.

 

Amata’s Fractional Paralegal Services

 

If Jane’s story hits close to home, you may need paralegals. Let us help you avoid burnout and increase your firm’s profitability.

 

Hourly paralegals can free up your time on an as-needed basis. Our Fractional Support Services allow you to scale your workforce according to demand, ensuring you have the support you need during busy periods without the fixed costs of full-time staff.

 

Our paralegals are experts in various areas of law, ensuring that you receive high-quality support tailored to your firm’s needs. Contact us today to learn more about how our Fractional Paralegal services can handle routine legal tasks, reduce your workload, and boost your profitability.

Are Daily Runs Taking Too Much Of Your Time? Here’s How to Delegate Them

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What do you do when you’re too busy to handle admin tasks, but not profitable enough to delegate them?

 

As a small law firm owner, you are constantly balancing important tasks. From client consultations to court appearances, your day is packed, leaving little time for the daily administrative runs that are essential but time-consuming.

 

Yet, the challenge remains: your firm is not yet profitable enough to hire full-time staff to manage these tasks. This is where Amata’s Fractional Support services can be a game-changer for you.

 

The Challenge of Daily Runs

Daily runs to the courthouse, the Recorder’s Office, or the Secretary of State Office are critical for the smooth operation of your law practice. These tasks include filing documents, picking up certificates, searching court dockets, and delivering courtesy copies.

 

While essential, these activities can drain valuable time that could be better spent on billable work or strategic planning.

 

 

Amata Law Office Suites offers a unique solution tailored to small law firms like yours. With us, you can access experienced paralegals and administrative staff on an as-needed basis. This flexibility allows you to delegate daily runs and other administrative tasks without the financial burden of hiring full-time employees.

 

How It Works

  1. Experienced Paralegals at Your Service: Amata’s paralegals are seasoned professionals, many with over 20 years of experience in various legal disciplines. They are capable of handling a wide range of tasks, ensuring that your daily runs and other administrative duties are completed efficiently and accurately.

 

  1. Cost-Effective and Flexible: Amata offers paralegal services billed in 15-minute increments, with rates ranging from $65 to $180 per hour depending on the complexity and type of work. For law firms utilizing multiple Amata services, these rates are automatically discounted by 30%.  This pay-as-you-go model allows you to manage costs effectively and only pay for the services you need.

 

  1. Seamless Integration with Your Firm: Amata’s team members act as an extension of your law firm. You will work consistently with the same paralegal, building a relationship of trust and ensuring continuity in your operations.

 

Additionally, Amata’s extended line of credit means they can cover the associated costs for documents and filings, streamlining your billing process.

 

Additional Support Services

In addition to handling daily runs, Amata provides a range of support services that can further alleviate your workload:

 

Administrative Assistants: Our administrative assistants can help with e-filing, scheduling messengers, handling express mailing, entering billing, and even managing social media postings.

They work on-site at Amata offices, always available to assist with your needs.

 

Virtual Assistants: If you prefer remote support, Amata’s virtual assistants can act as invaluable gatekeepers, managing client call-backs, scheduling appointments, and more. This service helps reduce the stress and anxiety of managing a law practice, allowing you to focus on higher-priority tasks.

 

 

Running a small law firm is demanding, and every minute counts. By leveraging Amata’s hourly paralegal and administrative services, you can delegate time-consuming daily runs and other tasks, allowing you to focus on growing your practice and serving your clients more effectively. 

 

With Amata, you get the support you need without the financial strain of full-time hires, making it an ideal solution for small law firm owners looking to optimize their operations.

 

Explore how Amata can support your law firm and help you streamline your daily operations by contacting our team.

You Shouldn’t Feel Like A Stranger At Work

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We spend way too much time in the office to feel alone. Offices have transitioned from this corporate space where everybody is isolated from the outside world and their peers, to a place that should feel like a second home.

 

From this:

 

 

To this:

 

 

Modern offices have no walls between team members because they reflect a change in what people care about. We not only want to be productive, we want to feel like we are part of something bigger. And while salaries can attract talent, it is culture what retains it.

 

That is why we wanted to highlight one aspect of our offices you won’t find anywhere else: A consistent, kind staff that feels like family. Here is what some of our clients have said:

 

“I have been a client of Amata for more than 13 years. I have, and continue to, lease office space in a number of other cites, but have yet to find an office provider as consistent and professional as Amata.

 

One of the most important aspects of this company is the long-term tenants they have, but also the office staff. In other cities, the staff has an extremely high turnover. Amata does a lot to keep their employees with their company, which means they can build a rapport with the clients.

 

It is a very friendly environment, and for a business owner, I would highly suggest the office spaces they provide.” James Lenger

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“We’ve been renting office space at this location for many years now and never had a bad experience with the staff there. Every single staff member is friendly, courteous and helpful.

The office space is very nice as well and Amata offers plenty of amenities.

The building has a Starbucks, gym and is very conveniently located to both Union Station and Ogelvie.” Ingmar Koecher

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“I have been with Amata 3+ years. The accommodations and service here are second to none! The folks at 150 S. Wacker Drive, Suite 2400 in Chicago are the friendliest and most helpful I have come across.” John O’Toole

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“I am a long term tenant. The staff is great and the environment is positive and motivating. We have two great offices and all the support services we need.” Joseph Gits

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“Cannot say enough how much I appreciate the helpful and courteous staff at Amata’s 150 S Wacker Drive location. Keep up the good work.” T Fay

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“Great place to work! Nice environment, helpful staff and friendly people on the floor.” Mariana Krampien

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“The facilities and staff are all great.” Lee Polk

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We’re proud of our staff, we’ve been lucky enough to call some of the most personable and kind individuals in Chicago our peers. With us, you’ll recognize and be recognized by the people you work with at the office.

Contact us if you would like to get started.

4 Steps to Hiring Your First Virtual Assistant

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The decision to hire a virtual assistant can be transformative for lawyers seeking higher productivity and control over their schedules. But in the current economic climate, we understand if it also feels like a big financial commitment. That is why today’s article outlines four simple steps to successfully hire your first virtual assistant and ensure a seamless integration into your legal practice. Furthermore, we’ll explore how Amata’s legal virtual assistants can play a pivotal role in optimizing your workflow.

 

1 – Define Your Needs and Tasks

 

The first step in hiring a virtual assistant is to put on paper what you do on a daily basis. Identify areas where you spend a significant amount of time outside of billable hours. Some examples include managing emails, scheduling appointments, or handling routine administrative duties.

By defining your needs first, you can clearly communicate to potential hires what you need and ensure that your virtual assistant possesses the skills and expertise required to effectively alleviate your workload.

 

 

2 – Choose the Right Virtual Assistant Service Provider


You can either hire a full-time person through the traditional means (job hunting sites, asking for referrals, etc), or go to a place that has aggregated hundreds of virtual assistants for you.

In both cases, selecting the right virtual assistant service provider is crucial for a successful partnership. And it is important to realize that not all virtual assistant services are tailored to the unique demands of the legal profession.

 

What makes Amata’s virtual assistant services unique is that:

  1. Our virtual assistants are fully trained to serve the legal industry specifically
  2. You can hire them on an hourly basis to avoid overpaying and the financial risks of a full-time hire
  3. We have a wide pool of professional virtual assistants to serve your exact needs

 

These three factors give you flexibility in terms of hours, scalability to accommodate your growing practice, and a thorough vetting process to ensure skilled and reliable support.

 

3- Establish Clear Communication Channels


Effective communication is key to a smooth relationship with your virtual assistant. Clearly articulate your expectations, preferred communication channels, and the workflow for task assignments.

Since Amata’s virtual assistant functions as an extension of your team, establishing a seamless communication process ensures tasks are executed precisely, aligning with your legal practice’s standards.

 

4 – Start with a Trial Period

 

Before committing to a long-term arrangement, you can test the waters with a trial period. This allows both parties to assess compatibility, communication dynamics, and the assistant’s ability to meet your specific needs.

Use this period to provide constructive feedback, make any necessary adjustments, and ensure that the virtual assistant seamlessly integrates into the rhythm of your practice.

With Amata’s support services, you do not need to worry about a trial period at all. You always have the same point of contact, someone you are comfortable working with. When that person is on vacation you have someone else available to assist that is familiar with you and your firm. If at any time you need help to manage your virtual assistant or require a different one, we will assist you through this process.

 

 

Amata’s virtual assistants are trained specifically for the legal industry. They assist solo law firms and small-sized firms with tasks such as legal correspondence, document management, appointment scheduling, and new client intake. Their familiarity with legal procedures ensures professionalism and smooth operations, freeing up your time towards high-value, billable tasks.

Our virtual assistant service can help you take care of several tasks, including:

 

  • Email Management
  • Payroll, Billing, and Accounting
  • Database Management
  • Document Conversion and Management
  • Appointment Reminders and Scheduling
  • Legal Correspondence and Transcription
  • Legal Research
  • Live Virtual Receptionist

 

Moreover, our flexible plans allow you to pay for just the hours that you need. This can remove the budget constraints most solo practitioners and small law firms experience, so that you can grow your firm and gain more control over your hours without the burden of unnecessary overhead costs.

Hiring your first virtual assistant is not a “nice to have”; it’s a pivotal step toward growing your legal practice. By defining your needs, choosing the right service provider, establishing clear communication channels, and starting with a trial period, you pave the way for a more profitable business where you can do what truly energizes you.

 

So if you want a professional virtual assistant to enter billing, update social media posts, and return client calls for you, we can help. Contact us today to explore how Amata’s virtual assistants trained in the legal industry can save you time and focus.

The Biggest Gap Preventing You From Scaling

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This is the final part of the 3-part series How can 21st-century law firms increase their client base, cash flow, and reputation without sacrificing profitability and quality of life.

Most law firm owners want a thriving law firm that supports their best life. And that means having consistent cash flow, healthy profit margins, enjoyable clients, and a workload that fits their schedule.

After all, you started your law firm because you wanted to be in control of your time, finances, relationships, and purpose. The problem is that there is a big gap preventing most law firm owners from making this vision a reality.

 

The Big Gap Preventing You From Scaling

If you are a business owner, you are probably one of these:

  • A Visionary
  • An Integrator

According to Gino Wickman, most founders are dreamers with big aspirations who can see the grand picture and inspire others to take action. These are the “visionary-type entrepreneurs.” They are a source of fresh ideas, and they love spearheading new projects but usually get bored when it comes to following through on those ideas. 

On the other hand, Integrators are process-oriented people who love talking about systems, KPIs, and optimization. They are the perfect match for a visionary because the visionary can kickstart new projects while the integrator can focus on keeping the ones that succeed afloat and systematizing them, so they can advance to the next level.

 

 

The problem that most law firm owners are facing is that they are simply trying to do it all by themselves. They want to be both the visionary and the integrator. To create marketing strategies, manage legal cases, handle billing, hire new team members, support client inquiries, implement new tech, and more. They are trying to cover at least 3-5 roles with limited time and attention. This caps their growth and also creates a lot of stress and overwhelm.

 

That is why the biggest gap preventing you from scaling is not strategy; it’s implementation. A lack of good ideas is not the problem; it is the lack of a team and processes to turn them into successful endeavors. That’s exactly why our new Fractional Support Services provide you with pre-vetted paralegals, virtual assistants, and on-site administrative staff you can delegate to hourly, so you can focus on your zone of genius.

 

How to Truly Scale Your Law Firm

To take your law firm to the next level, you need to consistently be running two processes:

Process one: Attracting, converting, and retaining new clients

Process two: Attracting, converting, and retaining new employees

 

The first process generates the sales and cash flow to keep growing your law firm. The second process ensures this growth is not capped by your available time, energy, and focus. Together, they unleash fast law firm growth without the bottleneck of your time.

 

By this logic, the biggest gap preventing you from scaling is partnering with the people who have the strengths and resources that complement yours. If you currently lack time, hire someone who has time. If you lack a certain connection, hire or partner with someone who has it. By embracing a mindset of partnerships, delegation, and collaboration, you can effectively “clone yourself” and multiply your outcomes without multiplying your workload.

 

With our new Fractional Support Services, you can quickly bring operational staff to support you. They cost 60% less than a full-time employee, and are trained in the legal industry to save you time and handle your day-to-day administrative tasks professionally.

 

 

Strategically Grow Your Law Firm

This is why at Amata we go beyond traditional office space. We are creating a hub for innovation, growth, and profitability. By providing flexible office plans with Fractional Support Staff like hourly paralegals, administrative assistants, and VAs, we give you everything you need to scale your law firm without more overwhelm.

 

If growing your law firm currently feels like a trade between money and sanity, if every day you wake up to an overcrowded inbox, constant fires from your team, and not enough profits to justify all this effort, and if you want a pull of great talent who will cut your workload while adapting to your cash flow needs…

 

Then we cannot wait to serve you with our unique “office-as-a-service” model. Speak to one of our team members here and let us get you the support to scale a profitable, freedom-giving law firm.

Fractional Legal Staff: A Real-World Checklist of Things They Can Do For You

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Running a small law firm is demanding. You wear many hats, juggling cases, managing clients, and overseeing every detail. Hiring additional staff can be tempting, but the prospect of onboarding a full-time employee—the cost, the commitment—can be daunting.

At Amata, we understand your hesitation. That’s why our fractional staffing solutions are designed specifically for small firms like yours, offering the benefits of dedicated support without the burden of full-time overhead.

 

Are You Worried About Your Fractional Staff’s Onboarding?

Perhaps you’re worried about:

  • Integration and Training

    Will a fractional paralegal or admin seamlessly integrate into your existing workflow? Yes. At Amata, we take the time to understand your firm’s unique needs and ensure your fractional staff is fully trained on your preferred tools and procedures. Think of it as a seamless extension of your team, not a disruptive addition. 
  • Accountability and Quality

    Can you trust someone working part-time to deliver high-quality work and meet deadlines? Absolutely. Our staff is comprised of pre-vetted, experienced legal professionals. We prioritize clear communication through daily logs and regular reviews, keeping you informed and ensuring your standards are met. 
  • Cost-Effectiveness

    Will fractional staffing actually save you money? Most definitely! You only pay for the support you need, eliminating the expense of salaries, benefits, and office space for a full-time employee. This allows you to scale your team up or down as your caseload dictates, maximizing your return on investment.

From the moment you engage Amata, our team prioritizes a smooth transition. Our proven onboarding process ensures your fractional staff is quickly brought up to speed on your firm’s processes.

 

Here’s an example of a real-world onboarding schedule we use when working with clients:

 

  • Day 1: Initial Meeting and Setup: We schedule the initial meeting to understand your specific needs and establish clear communication channels. We outline daily and weekly tasks and request access to necessary tools and platforms.

    This initial day is dedicated to getting you familiarized with your fractional team, and understanding your preferred software and procedures. 
  • Day 2: Detailed Instructions and Supervised Execution: We schedule a follow-up meeting to ensure a clear understanding of expectations. This session is recorded for future reference, allowing your fractional staff to revisit the information as needed. Under your supervision, they begin executing the assigned tasks. 
  • Day 3: Independent Task Execution: Gradually your fractional staff starts tackling tasks independently. They can refer back to the recorded instructions for any clarification, freeing you from constant supervision while maintaining accuracy. 
  • Day 4: Tasks Repetition and Output Delivery: The team repeats the tasks to ensure proficiency and consistent quality output. Completed tasks are delivered to you for review, keeping you in complete control of the process.

 

Ongoing Daily and Weekly Review

Amata fosters a culture of transparency and accountability. This commitment is reflected in our ongoing communication practices:

 

  • Daily Logs: Your fractional staff meticulously maintains a daily log detailing completed tasks and progress made. This log provides you with real-time insight into their work and allows for immediate course correction if needed. 
  • Weekly Reviews: Collaboration is key. We schedule regular weekly reviews where you and your fractional staff can discuss all tasks, ensure alignment with your goals, and address any concerns promptly. 
  • Proactive Adaptation: The legal landscape is dynamic, and your needs may evolve. Amata recognizes this. We hold regular meetings to discuss new tasks or changing requirements, ensuring your fractional staff is equipped to handle them efficiently.

Amata: Your Partner in Success

Amata’s fractional staffing solutions are designed to empower small law firms like yours. We offer:

 

  • Flexibility: Tailor your support to your specific needs. Need help with legal research for a few hours a week? Done. Want a paralegal to assist with all pre-trial tasks for a specific case? We’ve got you covered.
  • Focus on Your Core Business: Free yourself from administrative burdens and focus on what you do best – practicing great law.
  • Peace of Mind: Know that your critical tasks are being handled by qualified professionals, allowing you to serve your clients with confidence.

Don’t let concerns about traditional staffing hold you back. Contact Amata today and discover how our fractional legal staffing solutions can streamline your workflow and save you time while providing an accountable team all along the way.

The One-Paralegal Trap

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You know the feeling. You’re a solo practitioner or run a small law firm, juggling a packed caseload and keeping your clients happy. Then, the email arrives – your trusty paralegal, Sarah, is out sick.

Suddenly, your carefully calibrated workflow explodes. Deadlines stack, discovery requests pile up, and preparing for that upcoming court appearance feels like climbing Mount Everest in flip-flops.

This is what we call “employee failover.” It happens when you rely on one person for everything – drafting legal documents, managing deadlines, conducting research – and they are the glue that holds your practice together.

But as you one day realize, that person is a human being who gets sick, takes vacations, and sometimes even, heaven forbid, moves on to other opportunities.

This scenario is more than just a headache; it’s a recurring nightmare for countless small firm owners in Chicago.

The One-Paralegal Trap

What happens when a key team member, like your paralegal, is unexpectedly out of the office? Missed deadlines, frustrated clients, and scrambling to catch up can quickly disrupt your firm’s momentum. And unfortunately, it’s up to the founder to take on the burden.

If you’re a law firm with one FTE paralegal and they’re out for any reason, you can be in a world of trouble. Forget weekends with the family or catching up on that ever-growing stack of legal journals. Your evenings and Saturdays become dedicated to scrambling to cover for workload. You answer frantic calls from clients asking about the status of their case, desperately trying to maintain the illusion of everything being under control.

This constant firefighting creates a vicious cycle: sacrificing personal time to meet client demands, which leads to exhaustion and can potentially bring your entire workflow to a halt.

The solution is to have a fractional paralegal or admin staff step in on an ad-hoc basis to ensure continuity. This is especially important if you regularly go to court.

Should you just hire another full-time paralegal? If you can afford it and have enough workload to keep them busy, go for it. But let’s face it: Hiring a full-time paralegal comes with a hefty price tag – salary, benefits, office space – which are hard on small firms, especially during periods of fluctuating case volume.

 

Amata’s Fractional Services Save You From the ‘One-Paralegal Trap’

Amata provides access to a network of pre-vetted, experienced paralegals and legal administrative professionals in Chicago. Here’s how Amata can save the day:

 

  • Fractional Talent, Full-Time Support: Imagine having a pool of qualified legal professionals at your fingertips. With Amata, you can hire a fractional paralegal for just the hours you need – a few days a week during peak periods, or even just to cover for Sarah’s vacation. This flexibility allows you to scale your team up or down as your caseload dictates.
  • Instant Employee Fail-Over: So, Sarah gets the flu? No problem. Use Amata’s network to find a qualified replacement immediately. This ensures critical tasks remain on track, deadlines are met, and your clients don’t suffer from the fallout.
  • Cost-Effective Expertise: Amata eliminates the burden of recruiting, onboarding, and managing full-time staff. You only pay for the support you use, freeing up valuable resources to invest in growing your firm.

Don’t let employee downtime be the reason you can’t enjoy a weekend barbeque with your family or attend your child’s soccer game. Amata offers the perfect solution – access to experienced legal talent, on your terms, at an affordable price.

Contact Amata today and discover how fractional paralegals and admin support can empower you to focus on what matters most – practicing great law, with strong profit margins, and enjoying a healthy work-life balance.

Running a ‘Lean & Mean’ Boutique Law Firm

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“I walked away from my law career to save my health.” This is how Jamie Sign, an attorney in California, titled her article. The post has more than a hundred likes and comments from other lawyers empathizing with her struggles working with “Big Law.”

The reality is that mental health is becoming a top priority for lawyers of all ages. Sacrificing everything at the altar of success is no longer the only narrative that’s available for attorneys. Today, new voices for sustainable work-life balance are rising.

 

Revenue Is Vanity, Profit Is Sanity

As a law firm owner, you may find yourself in a tricky situation where your firm wants to grow but doesn’t want to deal with more complexity. In the beginning, it may have been just you and a couple of friends, but as you expanded the team, the expenses started to pile up. Now, you have more mouths to feed, and the pressure of bringing in new business and expanding the business can accumulate like a pressure cooker.

 

At that point, you may find yourself making more revenue but receiving less actual-cash-in-hand at the end of each month. Making less profit while stressing more is hard enough to discourage even the most enthusiastic lawyers, and that’s when the question pops up:

Should I go back to when my law firm was a simpler business, I was making good money, and we had a small but might team?

For some, the answer is definitely yes. Attorneys like Jamie Rubin (who we interviewed in The 1958 Lawyer Podcast) intentionally decided to stay “lean & mean.” He runs a boutique law firm in a niche market, where they can focus on doing great work for a handful of clients.

 

The question is, what if you still want to grow your law firm but do it in a way that’s profitable and keeps you sane?

Finding Your Sweet Spot for Profitable Growth

Venture-backed companies have popularized the notion of scaling, and it has become the promised land for many companies. But for bootstrapped companies, a healthier, more realistic notion is that of sustainable growth.

 

Each organization needs to find its sweet spot between growth and profitability. In periods of high growth, it’s okay to invest heavily in new team members, software, advertising, and infrastructure. But there are also periods of retaining clients, improving systems, and streamlining costs, which are essential to maintaining a healthy balance.

 

At Amata, we want to make this balancing act easier with our Fractional Support Services. With them, you can hire paralegals, virtual assistants, and legal support staff on an hourly basis. Our pre-made packages can save you up to 60% compared to a full-time employee, and also save you time on recruiting new employees.

With the right setup, you can generate a healthy profit margin while still having steady growth and room to hire and delegate. Your core team can be composed of only the full-time hires that you are essential to your firm, like the owner and associates. Your fractional team can be composed of paralegals, virtual assistants, and on-site admin staff.

 

Whether you expand or contract, your fractional team can adjust and protect your profitability. We even have a pay-as-you-need-it model when none of our pre-made packages suit your needs.

 

In this way, you can run a profitable ‘lean & mean’ law firm that allows you and your employees to enjoy a healthy work-life balance with steady growth.

Interested in learning how our Fractional Support Services can get you there? Contact our team here and we’ll answer any questions for you.

Building A Lean, High-Quality Legal Team

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In 2023 Aaron Hall did a study of some of the highest hourly rates in the legal world:

  • $2,465 per hour was charged by Neal Katyal of Hogan Lovells according to Reuters.
  • $1,965 per hour per hour was charged by attorney Bryce Friedman of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett according to Bloomberg.
  • $1,950 per hour was charged by David Boies of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP according to Reuters.
  • $1,230 per hour per hour was charged by attorney Dirk Vandermeersch of Cleary Gottlieb in Brussels according to Lawyers Mutual.
  • $1,220 per hour was charged by tax attorney Ian Taplin of Kirkland & Ellis according to Lawyers Mutual.

And while some of these rates might seem outrageous (or aspirational, depending on how you look at them), the reality is that running a law firm has become more expensive. From office costs to social benefits and costly talent, it has become more difficult to run a highly profitable law firm without increasing rates for the end user.

 

However, there’s a limit to raising prices. Most law firms need to approach this problem in three ways:

a) Attracting well-capitalized clients who can afford higher rates

b) Focusing on solving bigger, more expensive problems

c) Lowering their expenses without compromising quality

 

That is why today’s article talks about the true cost of in-house support and how Amata’s on-demand services save lawyers money.

 

The True Cost of In-House Support

Office and team are the two biggest expenses law firms incur (besides taxes, of course). Previous articles covered how our flexible office plans save law firms money on office space, providing them wiggle room to scale. Now we have a new service that can save you money on your team-building efforts: Our new Fractional Services Packages.

Because let’s be real: Hiring people today is expenses. How expensive? Here’s a breakdown of 2024 rates in an established market like Chicago:

Associate Attorneys

The National Association for Law Placement (NALP) found that the overall median first-year associate base salary as of January 1, 2023, was $200,000, up to $35,000 from 2021, when the survey was last administered. This means a 21.2% increase in salaries in just two years, raising the bar for solo attorneys and small firms to be able to afford hiring.

Law Clerk’s blog also found that, in general, freelance lawyers are paid about 30-40% of the market hourly rate. This means that if the median salary for lawyers is $135,740 (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), the average hourly rate is $65,26 per hour and for contract lawyers it would be $85-$120+ per hour.

 

 

Paralegals

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2022 median pay for paralegals and legal assistants was $59,200 per year and $28.46 per hour. A closer look shows that in states like Illinois, an experienced paralegal can charge an average of $96,030 per year.

 

Executive Assistants

According to Indeed, the average salary for an executive assistant in the US can range from $64,986 on average to $103,983 on the high end.

 

 

Besides the high rates, there is an unspoken cost of building a team yourself: Time.

Posting on job sites, vetting applicants, interviewing them, training, onboarding, and then managing talent takes a lot of time. That is another benefit of our “curated-for-you” Fractional Support Services.

If you would like to build a lean, high-quality legal team, contact us to see how we can supply talent at rates you can afford, at just the hours that you need.

Is “Fractional Hiring” Here to Stay for Law Firms?

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In 1872, there were only 15 law firms with 4 or more lawyers in the US. By 1903, that number had grown to 210, and in 1924 it had grown to over 1,000 (Source). There used to be a time when most lawyers would work in-house in big corporations with rigid schedules. Then, in the 50s and 60s, law firms experienced what’s known as the “Golden Era”. Corporations grew rapidly and demanded lawyers to work inside firms, so they could serve several clients while managing their schedule.

 

Thus, the “Fractional Lawyer” was born. Working part-time, on-demand hours became the norm, and the fixed salaries were replaced with the billable hours and “per project” billing system.

 

This trend of fractionalizing workers has expanded to many other professions since. Today there are Fractional CFOs, CMOs, CTOs, and even CEOs. Businesses benefit because they can hire highly qualified talent without a full-time salary, and workers have more freedom over their hours, workload, rates, and professional future.

 

Here are Amata we are pioneering a new frontier in the history of Fractionalizing: Fractional Support Services for Law Firms, served as a “complete but on-demand” package. Here’s what that means.

 

 

Most solo practitioners and small law firms do not need a full-time receptionist, full-time assistant, or paralegal. Tight budgets and a fluctuation workload mean they need extra support in their business on-demand. What if there was a simple way to tap into this support?

Our new Fractional Support Service Programs allow you to do that. They include five packages plus pay-as-you-need-it pricing options. Here’s a detailed breakdown of how they work:

 

Fractional Support Service Programs

  1. 30 hours/month of Executive Virtual Assistant service and in-person administrative assistance. This is an 80%/20% program, where up to 20% or 6 hours of time each month may be allotted to an in-person administrator for court runs, courtesy copies to judges, trips to the clerk’s office and the vital records office. It may also be used for copy work or any other task an administrator can perform.
  2. 15 hours/month of Executive Virtual Assistant service. This program is 100% Virtual Executive Assistant service, including email management, appointment setting, social media management, and event scheduling, and any other task a Virtual Executive Assistant may perform
  3. 15 hours/month of On-site Admin Support. This program includes court runs, trips to the clerk’s office or Vital Records, copying, scanning, mail preparation, and all other admin support services available at Amata. 
  4. 10 hours/month of paralegal support. This service may include document drafting, document review projects, case management, and any other task a paralegal may perform.
  5. 18 hours/month of paralegal support. This service may include document drafting, document review projects, case management, and any other task a paralegal may perform.

These programs will auto-renew each month until canceled and must be purchased and paid for prior to work being performed. Any unused hours expire at the end of the month and do not roll over into the next month. All monthly overages will be invoiced at the pay-as-you-need-it rates.

 

“Amata makes the transition from large law firm to solo practitioner virtually effortless. Secretarial and paralegal services are available at competitive rates on an ‘as needed, pay-as-you-go’ basis which is ideal for the solo practitioner or small law firm.”

Paula Kaplan Berger BERGER LAW, LLC

 

We believe fractional hiring is here to stay for law firms. Most workers want flexibility in their calendars and most businesses want to pay for only the hours that they need. This setup meets the needs of both, allowing you to grow your law firm while delegating day-to-day admin tasks (at rates you can afford).

If you would like to know the cost of our Fractional Services Packages, click here to contact our team.