“I’m just looking for a job where I can maintain a relationship with my kid and have a bit of time each weekend to go fishing or something. I don’t need the level of grief from a 60-hour work week, just want to balance good pay with quality of life.”
We have seen this trend become more and more prevalent among new lawyers, who demand not only career advancement opportunities but a healthier work/life balance. But what about small law firm owners?
Most lawyers who went solo came from a corporate background, so they know what it’s like to put in 60 hours of work each week. The difference is that, when they start their own firm, they have to keep doing all the legal work PLUS the countless tasks of managing a business.
With time, having time to explore nature on the weekends or even go to your kid’s dance recital becomes a pipedream. Your days run fast, calling client after client, handling paperwork, going to court, and looking for new associates.
Despite wanting to offload some work and free your schedule for higher leverage activities (like serving top-tier clients and growing your firm), it’s normal to hesitate when making a full-time hire for your firm. After all, you started this business from scratch and do not want to dip profits to hire someone who may or may not work. What if you don’t have enough work to keep them occupied?
It is for all these reasons that Amata’s Virtual Receptionist service can have such a great impact on both your firm’s growth and quality of life.
Why Busy Lawyers Need Virtual Receptionists
There are many tasks beyond serving clients that are added to your schedule once you decide to run your own law firm:
– Managing new client intake
– Scheduling appointments
– Answering the phone during off hours (for emergencies)
And while big firms have assistants doing these tasks for lawyers, so they can focus on billable hours, most solo practitioners and small firm owners don’t have this luxury.
With so many tasks to do, how do you know what is the best and most productive use of your time?
You calculate your target hourly rate.
Here’s how that works:
Determine the revenue you desire to generate from your law firm each month.
Define the number of hours you plan to dedicate to your business each month.
Calculate your target hourly rate by dividing your desired revenue by your allotted hours.
So if you aim to earn $10,000 per month and plan to work 30 hours per week (equivalent to 120 hours per month), your target hourly rate should be $83.33.
Now, assuming that HALF your time is devoted to billable hours, that number should be $166 minimum. And if you want that $10,000 per month to be profit (not just revenue), it would have to be even higher.
This is why having a virtual receptionist is crucial. It allows you to delegate as many non-$166/hour tasks as possible, so you can focus on billable hours and growing your bottom line working the hours that you desire.
What is a virtual assistant and what do they do?
Let’s face it—no one became a lawyer to spend their time answering phones and filing stacks of paper.
Virtual assistants are remote professionals who specialize in all those essential but routine tasks like scheduling, document management, and phone answering. At Amata, our Virtual Assistants are trained in the legal industry, so they know how to manage urgent inquiries on your behalf and recognize when to filter a call.
Some of the tasks a virtual assistant can do on your behalf include:
Email Management
Payroll, Billing, and Accounting
Database Management
Document Conversion and Management
Phone Answering and New Client Intake
Appointment Reminders and Scheduling
Legal Correspondence and Transcription
Anything that must be done in the office that would otherwise take you or your attorneys off casework is best left to a virtual administrative assistant.
Butif virtual assistants are so important, why do so many law firms wait to hire them? There are 4 reasons:
They don’t know they can delegate these things
They feel like nobody can be trusted
They are afraid hiring will cost them too much money
They genuinely enjoy doing administrative tasks
That is why we created a Virtual Assistant solution that fits your budget and consistent quality needs:
With Amata, you don’t have to hire an in-house legal assistant. Our vetted assistants work only for the hours that you require and act as an extension of your team. We train them to serve the specific needs of law firms, so you can confidently delegate to them.
Investing In Your First (Or Next) Virtual Assistant
As we have seen through this article, the real cost of not having a virtual receptionist is:
Losing precious time and focus from serving your clients.
Getting stuck in the weeds of daily management, phone answering, and office tasks
Not making the money that you want nor having the freedom that you started your law firm for.
But despite the high costs, we understand that investing in your first (or next) virtual assistant can be difficult. That is why all our virtual office clients receive a 30% discount when they use our attorney support services, which in many cases more than offsets the costs of the virtual office program.
So if you want a professional 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.
It’s 3:30 pm and you are in the middle of a client meeting. You know City Hall closes at 4:30 p.m., yet you still need to obtain certified copies for an important hearing tomorrow at 8 a.m. What are you going to do?
Running a solo or small law firm can be stressful. There are so many tasks that need to be done, and they need to be done well. The American Bar Association called missing any filing deadline ‘a lawyer’s worst nightmare’. So the question arises:
Should you delegate those small but important errands? And who can you trust to handle things like obtaining Apostille, filing police reports, and paying court fees?
That is one of the questions that prompted us to create our attorney support services packages. We recognized solo practitioners and small law firms needed administrative tasks to be done correctly and efficiently, because mistakes or delays could have serious legal consequences. So we built a team of professionals specialized in ensuring documents, filings, and other legal tasks.
Can You Afford To Delegate Your Daily Legal Errands?
While attorneys need their daily legal errands to be executed on time and with precision, they also face cash flow constraints. This means most of them are not in a position yet to hire a full-time paralegal who can offload their work and allow them to focus on their billable hours.
Will a new hire be worth the money lost to the firm? Will there be enough work to keep them occupied eight hours a day?
This is where Amata’s on-demand, specialized legal support can be your solution. Our paralegals bill hourly, so you can use them only during periods of intense workloads or on a more consistent basis. They provide you the flexibility and savings you’ve been looking for, so you can get more done and focus on your firm’s growth plus providing an exceptional service to clients.
By using paralegals on an as-needed basis, you can reduce your fixed payroll costs and only pay for services that can generally be billed back to your clients.
4 Benefits of Delegating for Lawyers
Most of our clients come to us for our office space-as-a-service plans. This flexible and scalable model allows you to add or drop office space in the middle of a lease, without penalties.
But once they start to also use on-demand legal support, they never look back.
The reason is simple: even if there is an investment, there is nothing like knowing your tedious tasks are being done for you, while you can focus on more fulfilling and productive activities.
You probably have mixed feelings about delegating daily runs to courts, clerk’s offices, and sheriff’s offices, so here are 4 benefits that will help you make a decision:
Enhanced Focus on Core Legal Work: Delegating daily errands allows you to dedicate more time and attention to your core legal work, such as client consultations, legal research, document preparation, case strategy, and court appearances.
Opportunity Cost: Time spent on administrative tasks could be better used for tasks that directly generate revenue or serve their client’s legal needs. By delegating your daily runs, you can focus on higher ROI activities and in turn grow your law firm.
Reduced Stress and Burnout: The legal profession can be demanding and stressful, and many lawyers face burnout due to the constant pressure and long hours. Delegating daily errands can alleviate some of this stress, reduce the risk of burnout, and contribute to a healthier work-life balance by allowing you and your team to reclaim personal time.
Increased Client Satisfaction: By delegating daily errands and administrative tasks, you will have more time and energy to provide better service to your clients. Happy clients refer and are more likely to return for future legal needs.
To sum up, delegating your daily runs to a trusted provider allows you to focus on your core billable work, provide better service to clients, and free up space to grow your practice — all while reducing stress and administrative headaches.
What Kind of Errands Can You Delegate?
Amata’s paralegal team makes daily runs to the Daley Center, Recorder’s Office, Secretary of State Office, and the Dirksen Federal Building. With an extended line of credit provided to all Amata clients, we can pay associated costs for your documents and filings, pick up certificates, search the court docket, and much more.
Here is a list of what you can delegate using our Daily Runs to Courts, Clerk’s and Sheriff’s Offices services:
Service of Process
Research of local court rules/procedures; pro hac vice admissions, foreign judgments, out-of-state subpoenas
Court docket searches and retrieval of documents – state, federal and administrative
Obtain certified copies
Obtain state corporate records on companies
File applications, amendments, annual reports, deeds, obtain Apostille, etc.
Police reports
FOIA requests
Pay fees
Birth and death certificates
Delivery courtesy copies
Record deeds
Water certificates
Estimates of Redemption
Obtain duplicate tax bill
Pay code violation orders
So the next time that you are pressed for time and wonder if there’s a team you can confidently delegate your legal errands to, give us a call. We will pick up certificates, search the court docket, deliver courtesy copies, and do any other tedious but important task for you.
Growing a remarkable company is not an easy task. Building something that lasts requires time, work, resilience, and the ability to constantly pivot.
After working with over 600 law firms in Chicago of all sizes, we have seen a few things that separate those who build a thriving firm from those who stay stuck. In this article, we’ll explore what those key characteristics are, and how you can start implementing them today.
Step #1. Set a SMART Goal
We cannot define progress without first having something to strive towards. That is why the first step is setting a Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goal. This is known as a SMART goal, and without it we have no way of measuring progress and will be more prone to stay reactive to whatever life throws our way. We want to be proactive.
Where would you like your law firm to be within 3 years? Define your target revenue, profit margins, team composition, client profile, and hours that you work. Only by being clear and specific about what we want, can we start aligning all our daily actions with our goals.
Try to also go deeper into the reasons WHY you desire those things. The only way to stick with your goals when things get busy and difficult (which they will), is by setting up goals that you genuinely care about and see the importance of. In other words, your goals should be musts and not only wants for you to truly commit to them.
Step #2. Protect Your Schedule
Now that we have a goal, the next step is to invest resources to achieve it. Those resources come in the form of work, money, attention, focus, and time.
Let’s say you want to double your firm’s revenue within the next 18 months. You would need to reverse engineer that target by asking yourself, “What would need to happen for me to double my firm’s revenue?”
This will give you a strategic set of actions that need to get done — either one time or recurrently — in order to achieve that goal.
Where most business owners get stuck is by thinking they will achieve their goals without some sacrifices. As Jim Rohn said, “What got you here won’t get you there”. There need to be real changes in your schedule, your activities, and your relationships for this new goal to materialize.
Dan Sullivan advises business owners to set an inspiring 10X goal. He says “Seemingly impossible goals spotlight a few pathways and enable you to clearly identify the 20 percent of things and people in your life that are producing most of your results, and the 80 percent of things and people in your life that are holding you back.”
“Going for smaller goals (2X growth) means you can keep 80 percent of your existing clients, roles, behaviors, and mindsets. Only minor tweaks are needed.” “Going for inspiring goals (10X growth) requires a different kind of effort, often less in quantity but higher in quality. You’ve elevated your vision and focus and must eliminate 80 percent of your current reality. 10X requires a full-scale transformation of yourself as well as everyone and everything around you.”
This reinforces the point that, in order to achieve a higher level, many things that are keeping you stuck need to be eliminated or delegated. That is when the next step comes in.
Step #3. Focus On What Matters
Now you have a goal and know that strategic plan to reach it. The next step is to open up space in your calendar. This will give you the time and the mental bandwidth to take your law firm to the next level.
A tool like the Eisenhower Matrix can be highly useful in this case.
The thing is to filter any task you need to do with this set of criteria. If it’s not important and not urgent, you delete it. If it’s not important but urgent, you delegate it. If it’s important but not urgent, you schedule it. If it’s important and urgent, you do it.
In that way, you are only left with tasks that move the needle, while your team takes care of tasks that maintain your current level but don’t contribute strategically to your goals.
What If You Cannot Afford a Big Team Yet?
The reality for solo practitioners and small law firm owners is that, even by having goals, a strategic plan, and protecting their calendar, they do not have the team in place to delegate their work. That means that they need to keep serving clients, growing their firms, and trying to enjoy life all at the same time.
That is why at Amata we created a suite of support services, that allow lawyers to delegate admin work without the overhead costs of full-time hires. With these services, small law firms can focus on growing their firms while protecting their profitability.
Just imagine how much further you would go if you could reduce your workload by 10-30 hours a week with a part-time assistant. At Amata we find and train these assistants for you, and bill hourly for only the work that you require.
Our support services for attorneys include paralegals, law clerks, live receptionists, and virtual assistants who act as an extension of your law firm. Here is a list of some of the on-demand services we provide:
Appointments and Calendar Management
Mail opening/scanning
Court Runs (Including the assembly, print, and preparation of courtesy copies.)
Notary/Witness Service
Scan/Fax/Deliver documents
Review court fillings
Editing appellate briefs per your notes
Draft simple complaints and motions
Handle the back-and-forth aspects of discovery
Video conferencing set-up
New client intake
Hand Deliveries/Pick-Ups
E-Filing
Preparation of Notice of Filing, Notice of Motion, Certificate of Service, and forms.
Review of local rules, court’s standing orders, & any temporary procedural orders in place.
Spindle or piggyback motion hearing dates, and any communications with the court clerk.
Confirm acceptance of filing by the court clerk.
Document Translation and Proofreading
Formatting appellate briefs
Skip Tracing
Social media posting
Asset Search (bank accounts)
E-Recording
And much, much more!
By having these support services without the need to hire, train, and retain employees, solo and small firms can practice law on their terms. You can focus on billable hours, defining your vision, and being a strategic leader, all while enjoying the work/life balance you started your business for.
Contact us today and see how our on-demand, flexible legal support services can help you grow your law firm and free up your time while protecting your profitability.
The expectations of consumers are very high when it comes to getting information. Most of us can learn just about anything with a simple Google search. But when it comes to legal advice, consumers want more. When a consumer calls a law firm, they are not interested in going directly to voicemail and then waiting for a return call. They are expecting to speak to someone.
So, what do you do when having a dedicated receptionist on staff is no longer a viable option? We all know the cost of a full-time employee can be more than a firm should pay and backing up a full-time receptionist when they are away from their desk or on vacation can add up in both direct costs and the cost of having errors at the front desk. Having a non-receptionist fill-in for them can lead to poor quality and, often times, missed calls.
The live receptionist industry has ballooned into a multi-billion-dollar industry, which has led to many “not-so-good” entrants into the industry. Studies show that 80% of callers who reach a voice mail first when calling a law firm will not leave a message, resulting in lost revenue opportunities. So, finding a live receptionist provider that is best for your law firm is very important.
In this article we will focus on 5 keys to evaluate when selecting a live receptionist provider for your firm. In no specific order we will share insights on what to look for in the providers contract, the quality of service, their mobile app offering, price versus cost, and what a quality set-up should look like.
CONTRACT ISSUES
We will start with contract issues because it is easy to determine a provider’s contract terms.
If, after a cursory review, the terms are unacceptable, stop evaluating the company and find another provider. You should always have the flexibility to port your phone number away from the provider, even if you are in default of the agreement with the provider. Unless you get it in writing, the provider may refuse to release a phone number once they have it in their system. Once they port the number into their system, they own the rights to it. You spend too many resources to take a chance that the phone number that you market to potential clients will not always remain with your firm. Stay away from any provider that will not put this requirement in writing.
As with any fast-growing industry, there are many new providers to choose from. Having confidence that they will be able to set up your company at the beginning of a relationship is important, but make sure they are able and willing to assist with a smooth transition if/when you decide to change providers. Believe me, even great companies occasionally lose clients and you need to know, regardless of the reasons you are leaving, the provider will work effortlessly to make sure you experience a smooth transition. You do not want to have your phones down for an extended period of time because the provider you are leaving didn’t port your numbers correctly or they are not returning your calls due to not caring about a past client or because they went out of business.
It’s important to have something in writing that states you have a claim to your phone numbers should the provider go out of business. Most credible companies will even have references from past clients that exited for one reason or another. Also, be sure to confirm how long you will have access to save and export voice messages during your time as a client, as well as once you decide to change vendors. At a minimum providers should provide this access and assistance to export voice messages for 30 days after you cancel their agreement.
Verify how each provider invoices for services. Make sure they do not round minutes for receptionist time up. For example, if the receptionist was on the phone with a caller for 2:41 minutes, their billing should not round that up to 3 minutes. This may seem like a small cost, but for a busy firm, this can quickly add up to a material expense. Unless you are receiving a discount, go with a month-to-month program. This provides you will flexibility if you are not happy with the service or if the direction of your firm changes. It also, helps keep the provider accountable.
QUALITY OF SERVICE
The industry has been around long enough that the reputable companies have been able to expand their service offerings, as well as develop a quality team of receptionists.
The person answering your phone is representing you and your law firm. You don’t want someone that is unhappy at their job affecting how your callers are greeted. Yes, we all go through moments when we aren’t at the top of our game. But a great company will have systems and programs in place to help their employees be happy with their work. Every company’s marketing material will highlight how they will save you time, money, and possibly increase the amount of business you win each year. Make sure they are also promoting the well-being of their employees, especially those that will be talking with your clients.
Finding a provider that takes great care of their employees is usually a great way to make sure the services you receive from that company are the best. There are many articles on employee resources to get a glimpse at what is important to today’s workforce and having a competitive salary is just a starting point. Employees are looking for flexibility in their work schedules, affordable, yet comprehensive healthcare, and many other non-salary perks. It takes a special person to be a professional receptionist, so make sure the provider you sign on with understands how to motivate their team members.
Where are the providers receptionists located and what are their working conditions? If your clients know you as a midwestern law firm, do you want a team of receptionists with a New York dialect answering your phones? For many law firms, this is not a concern, but it’s always a good practice to understand from what part of the country or world your receptionists will be answering your calls.
Finally, what type of ongoing training programs does the provider offer to their receptionists? Do they have development programs that train their receptionists to handle a frantic client or teach them to remain calm during a tense caller conversation? Your clients will often call an attorney when under stressful circumstances. You want the person representing your firm to understand this and speak with your callers appropriately.
MOBILE APPLICATION
Most of us are working remotely at least part of the time. It may be while traveling for business, pleasure, or you’ve made working from home part of your regular routine.
Generally, it’s a sound business practice not to give out your personal cell phone number, or home address for that matter. It’s even more important to make sure the attorneys and staff members working for you are not giving your clients their cell phone number. The alternative to paying for and carrying around two cell phones, is to take advantage of an app that emulates your desk phone. It has taken a few years, but the technology behind these apps has improved to the point that the desk phone app is an excellent solution for remote working.
The basic premise behind the desk phone app is that you are able to use your cell phone to make calls from and have the caller ID come up as if it were coming from your office phone. You are also able to check voicemails, initiate video calls, set your availability, change call handling instructions and instantly communicate with team members. Not all phone apps are easy to use however, so ask to test drive the app before making a long-term commitment. Of course, if you go with the month-to-month offering, you will have the opportunity to use the app without any long-term commitment.
HOW IT SHOULD WORK
The set-up of phones and live receptionist for any reputable provider will be seamless.
The biggest area of concern is making sure the provider communicates effectively with your existing provider and coordinates porting your phone numbers over. Depending on the carrier this process can take anywhere between a day to a week or more. However, as long as your existing provider agrees to forward your phone numbers to the new provider until the port goes through, you should be able to start with the new service immediately.
The next step is to set up your phone scripts detailing how you want the receptionist to answer your phones. Depending on the type of law you practice and the nature of the calls to your firm, you may elect a very simple answer script or a script that includes multiple forms you need completed based on the reason for the call. If you will have the receptionist answer frequently asked questions you will want to provide these to the provider so they can upload them up in their phone answering software. It’s a good practice to go through this process in detail during the initial set-up, then make a few test calls to make sure they are handling callers the way you want.
The final step in the process is to set up a phone directory for your firm. Even if your new provider will answer calls 24/7/365 it is a good practice to have a firm directory set up, 1) in case something happens and the receptionist service is unable to answer calls, you want to make sure it is easy for callers to leave you a message, 2) when someone in your firm is not available, the caller has the option of leaving a message with the receptionist or on voicemail, whichever they prefer, 3) having a firm directory puts technology to work for you by having voicemail boxes set up for various departments such as human resources, account payable, and accounts receivable. Not only is it easier to prioritize call backs or even have the receptionist return phone calls, it gives your firm credibility that comes with size, even if you are practicing on your own.
PRICE VERSUS COST
Cost benefit is an analysis of the pros and cons of a given situation or course of action to determine how the downsides compare to the upsides.
Chances are if you are reading this you have already given thought to the benefits of having a professional live receptionist provider handle your phone calls. Everyone will have slightly different reasons for using a live receptionist to answer calls, such as time saving features like filtering robocalls, coordinating new client in-take or appointment scheduling. For others the need to be flexible and combine their phone system with live receptionist and having a firm directory are important. Whatever your reasons, even with the incredible rate technology is advancing, the need for person-to-person conversation is not disappearing. In fact, having a live receptionist greet your callers helps you stand out from most other law firms.
Due to the explosive growth in the live receptionist industry, a competitive landscape has emerged. Because of this, the top tier live receptionist providers will have pricing structures that are very comparable. If you have found a provider that is promoting a much lower rate than the average, you need to question the quality of service they will be able to provide. All live receptionist providers have one primary cost driver and that is the compensation to the receptionists that will be representing your firm to your callers. This is an example where the price you pay for a service will be directly related to the quality you will receive. The best receptionists, those that will make your clients feel they are with the best law firm, are worth paying well, with all the benefits and perks necessary to help them enjoy a work/life balance.
To complete an analysis on the value of having a live receptionist answer your calls, first you need to select a lifetime value for each client. To give an example, let’s consider a firm that specializes in estate planning and the average lifetime value of each estate planning client is $6,000. If you are going to be paying your live receptionist provider $500 each month, you will need to feel comfortable that the provider will help you win one client each year to justify their cost. That should not be a stretch since it is estimated that calls to businesses are expected to exceed 180 billion annually by 2025 and 80% of callers who first reach a voice mail will not leave a message.
SUMMARY
Consumers have come to expect instant access to information and results, especially when they have legal matters to discuss. If they have a bad first experience there is a very good chance you will not have a second opportunity to win their business so making that first impression of your firm a positive one is extremely important to growing your law practice. Finding the right live receptionist provider for your law firm can have a direct impact on your annual revenues.
The first step in evaluating a live receptionist provider is a cursory review of their agreement. If they are not willing to add language that states they will port your numbers if you leave, even if you are in default, there is no reason to consider the provider any further. Your firm’s phone numbers are too important to not have this requirement in writing. Every live receptionist provider’s largest expense is the cost of the person answering your phones. Look past the marketing materials that state how great they will be for your firm and make sure the provider is taking great care of their people. It is the employees that will determine the quality of service your callers will receive. If you come across a provider who’s charging substantially less than the average provider you are finding in the market, dig deep into understanding how they are taking care of their people before moving forward. This industry is a great example where the cost you pay is very likely to be reflected in the quality of service you receive.
The industry has advanced quickly over the past few years and all providers should include a phone app that will emulate your office phone and allow you to make calls from your cell phone without giving out your cell phone. Take advantage of the phone app and all the features available with it.
The onboarding process will be relatively easy with the top-tier providers. You need to make sure the exit process will be just as easy. At some time in the future, you will make a change and you need to know that the provider you are working with will assist in making you exit as smooth as possible. If it is going to take some time to get your numbers ported, make sure they are willing and able to transfer your numbers while you wait for the port to go through.
Finally, if you are practicing law, you are not in the business of managing a phone system and staffing that system with one or more receptionists. An industry of professional receptionists has emerged, who provide excellent customer service at a fraction of the cost of having your own phone system and receptionist. There are several excellent choices to choose from. Be sure to review the terms & conditions carefully and be sure you always have control of your phone numbers.
In creating the business model for Amata Law Office Suites, we started by looking at the three most common challenges encountered by solo and partner practice law firms; cash flow management, time management and hiring the right employees. Then we customized our service offerings to make sure we were helping to address these challenges. Along the way we have also been able to assist with other challenges such as marketing, saving for retirement, legal research tools and software solutions through our vendor research program and partnerships that allow Amata clients to enjoy the purchasing power that comes from 100’s of law firms.
Amata Law Office Suites has taken services from four distinct industries and created a unique offering that is customized to the unique needs of law firms. The primary service offerings include attorney support services, office space-as-a-service, virtual office programs and live receptionist service. These services are offered individually and bundled with appropriate discounts available.
Many law firms join Amata using one service and, over time, add other services as they need them. For example, a law firm may start with Amata by occupying a few offices. Since they have full-time staff, they do not use Amata’s paralegal services until a staff member takes time off or leaves the firm, at which time the attorney already has a relationship with an Amata paralegal, with a level of trust already established, and the firm begins using Amata’s paralegals on an as-needed basis, with the benefit of reducing their fixed payroll costs and only paying for services they can generally bill back to their clients.
In the following pages we will breakdown each of the services offered by Amata, how law firms incorporate Amata’s staff into their law practice and some of the benefits that are derived from leveraging outside resources.
ATTORNEY SUPPORT SERVICES
Amata has created back-office operations similar to those at AM100 law firms, for solo and partner practice law firms.
Our experienced paralegals, administrative assistants, and virtual assistants act as an extension of your law firm. Since our team members are full-time Amata employees, you consistently work with the same team member, just like you would if they were on your payroll. Our paralegals have areas they specialize in so from time to time you a specialist may assist in your work, but you will always have the same team lead and the process will remain the same.
Prior to any work being performed our team members will review the scope of work with you and establish cost expectations. Billing rates for our team members varies based on type of work and the team members experience. Alternative fee and project-based fee arrangements are also available for certain projects. General paralegal fees can range from $65 to $180 per hour and all work is billed in 15-minute increments.
For clients that are using office space, one of our virtual programs or live receptionist services, these rates are automatically discounted by 30% savings.
DAILY RUNS TO COURTS, CLERKS AND SHERIFFS OFFICES
Amata’s paralegal team makes daily runs to the Daley Center, Recorder’s Office, Secretary of State Office, and the Dirksen Federal Building. With an extended line of credit provided to all Amata clients, Amata will pay associated costs for documents and filings, pick up certificates, search the court docket, deliver courtesy copies or handle any other requests to assist with your day-to-day operations and free up time for attorneys and staff at your firm.
PARALEGAL SUPPORT
At Amata paralegals are billed based on years of experience and expertise in specific subject matters. Our senior paralegals have more than 20 years’ experience and have reached a high level of competence and understanding in several areas of law.
In most cases, a senior paralegal will review or oversee the work of paralegals and paralegal assistants on their team. Many of our paralegals join Amata after spending many years accumulating experience at various law firms. They enjoy the work and appreciate the opportunity Amata offers for advancement and to work in a variety of legal disciplines and with multiple attorneys. In some instances, Amata comes across a promising paralegal candidate with 3 or fewer years of paralegal experience and they join the Amata team as a paralegal assistant. These are highly competent individuals that are able to work directly with senior members of our team to assist attorneys and gain the experience to advance in their career with Amata. Many of the law firms we support prefer to work with the same paralegal team throughout the year. In some instances when the law firm is new to Amata or only uses services occasionally, we match up the work with the best suited team member, with an emphasis on getting you the best quality work at the lowest possible cost.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS
Amata has been providing administrative assistant services to law firms since 2002. Our administrative assistants work on-site at each Amata office and are available to assist clients with various tasks including e-filing, scheduling messengers, handling express mailing, binding projects, entering billing and posting on social media. Over the past 20 years the work that Amata’s administrative assistants have taken on has increased to accommodate the needs of the attorneys at Amata.
Since administrative assistants are always working on-site it is very easy for attorneys to get to know them and build a high level of confidence in working with them. The administrative assistants at Amata can handle client call backs, scheduling appointments, ordering lunch or running personal errands for attorneys.
VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS
A Virtual Assistant can be an invaluable gatekeeper for your law firm, saving you time and reducing the anxiety and stress of running a law practice. Like a good attorney, every virtual assistant has strengths and types of work they really enjoy. A great virtual assistant will be able to sort out problems and pull things together for you to review. They will not be experts at everything, but they will be able to source the best resources for the work you need completed. At Amata we use a team approach to supporting our clients. You always have the same point of contact you are comfortable with, but when that person is on vacation you have someone available to assist you that is familiar with you and your firm. You also benefit from Amata’s vast resources and industry partners.
OFFICE SPACE-AS-A-SERVICE
Amata Law Office Suites has created flexible office space with the needs of solo and partner practice law firms in mind.
Unlike a traditional office lease, when a firm licenses multiple offices they can sign up with the option of canceling an office if a team member leaves the firm and the office is no longer necessary. This allows law firms to match their expenses to their revenues, creating a more profitable and predictable cash-flow model. The office space-as-a-service model is very similar to the way law firms are licensing the software’s their firms are using. They pay a monthly licensing fee for each user and when an attorney leaves the firm, they are able to cancel the license fee for the office and services the attorney was using.
The Amata office model allows law firms to enjoy the same, or better, office accommodations they would have with a traditional lease. The common areas of the office are designed to leave a lasting impression on your clients, with elegant designs, well-appointed furniture, and custom artwork. Individual offices provide confidential and secure space to work, take phone calls and meet with clients. For your support staff, workstations are strategically placed to make sure you have instant access to your team, with an abundance of file storage to make retrieving documents easy.
The cost of the office includes having a receptionist greet your clients, potentially eliminating a full-time position from your payroll. Other amenities that are included at no additional charge are a fully stocked café/lounge to relax and network with other attorneys, phone service, copy, fax, print, and mail equipment, conference rooms and our signature cognac room to end the day sharing stories with other attorneys. Understand the importance of ABA Model Rule 1.6, confidentiality of information, Amata provides every law firm with high-speed internet with secure virtual local area network (VLAN) set up for your firm. This ensures that each Amata client operates on a secure network away from other Amata clients.
To maintain a safe and healthy work environment, touchless sensors have been installed on the doors at all entryways and bathrooms, sneeze guards are set up around workstations and sanitation stations are located throughout all facilities. When it comes to the maintenance of your office, Amata acts as your office manager, removing the need for you to waste valuable time and money taking care of an office.
VIRTUAL OFFICE PROGRAMS
Amata’s virtual office programs are customized to suit the needs of law firms. We model our offices off some of the most successful law firms in the country, providing free beverage services, secure high-speed internet, IT support, mail scanning and bank deposit services.
Your virtual office should be set up to help you grow your law firm. Many of our clients start out with a virtual mail only program and expand the program as their firms grow and their needs change.
Amata acts as a business resource for your law firm. As an Amata client you have access to our always expanding network of attorneys, Amata’s third-party research on marketing programs, practice management software, court reporters, accountants that specialize in working with attorneys and many more. Amata virtual clients are able to take advantage of these free services as well as a long list of program features:
Monthly line of credit for payment of clerk fees and other costs
Mail scanning and forwarding
Bank deposit services
Access to meeting rooms
Day offices
Lobby directory listing
Secure internet
Large video screens for presentations
Rooms for video and in-person depositions
Meeting catering
CONFERENCE ROOMS AND DAY OFFICES
As an Amata virtual office client, full-access to all our office locations is a standard part of our program. Day offices can be reserved and used as your requirements dictate. When you are expecting clients, we make sure they have easy access into the office, greet them when they arrive and help get them set up to meet with you. Prior to your meeting we take care of beverage services, catering when requested and making sure technology tools are working prior to your meeting.
All of our conference rooms are equipped with industry leading technology for video presentations, video depositions and collaboration meetings. You and your guests will have easy access to high-speed wi-fi and conference phones. Through our online web portal, you are able to reserve conference rooms and day offices, connect with other attorneys in Amata’s network and access your account to view conference room credits and retrieve invoice back up for work Amata’s paralegals have done, detailed by matter number.
LIVE RECEPTIONIST SERVICES
The Amata team has been answering phones for law firms for 20+ years and for good reason.
According to a Gallup poll, customers who are engaged during an initial call represent a 23% premium in terms of profitability, revenue and relationship growth over those that go directly to voicemail. Clients call attorneys when they are in need and in today’s culture, they expect an immediate response or they go somewhere else. Having a professional receptionist service answering your calls has a direct effect on profitability.
Besides profitability, there are many other benefits that come with using a professional live answering service. Probably the most valuable benefit being the time you are able to save by not answering robocalls or screening potential new clients. At Amata, other time saving benefits include outbound call assistance, caller notifications and appointment scheduling. These are important services that allow lawyers to better manage their time.
There are many great advantages to be gained by using a live receptionist service and cost savings can be one if the biggest. However, not all live receptionist services are the same and, in many cases, the lower cost providers are worth steering away from.
You can learn more about what to look for in a quality provider in The 5 Keys to Selecting a Live Receptionist Provider. When you consider that payroll is generally a law firms largest expense it makes sense to closely manage payroll expenses to effectively control cash-flow. The cost to maintain full-time salary for a receptionist can be more than 10x the cost to retain a professional live receptionist service. Since the biggest expense for a live receptionist service should be their employees, who answer your calls, it makes sense to avoid those service providers that are cheaper than the average, as this will have a direct effect on the quality service you receive.
The words in a document are the only things that matter when it comes to formatting. If the document is visually appealing you will capture the reader, and this affects the way the reader digests the information. It is crucial when working on Legal documents that they are well formatted.
A key component to editing and formatting your document is to know your audience. Whether it be for your professor, boss, colleague, or an Attorney, having a correctly formatted document will capture your thoughts as well as stand out.
How do you format a document in Word?
Select the text you want to format. To select a single word, double-click it. To select a line of text, click to the left of it.
Select an option to change the font, font size, font color, or make the text bold, italic, or underline.
As a rule, the top margin should be two inches and the bottom margin should be one inch. Most legal documents use 1.5 or double-spacing.
The standard font size for Legal documents is 12-point font. This font is large enough for the reader to be able to read and small enough to include all of the information to fit on a single page.
When working on Legal documents for any professional, it is important that the information be displayed neatly and comprehensible. The recipient should be able to review the document that the Administrative Assistant or Paralegal completed and understand the information presented without any confusion. If the Admin or Paralegal is using the same format, this also makes it easy for the recipient to compare current and previous documents by reference as well as help the Firm/Company save time and energy from explaining the format method.
Microsoft Word is a very popular, highly competent pro text editor and many professionals fail to use all of the components that it offers. As you can imagine, this can lead to more mistakes being made as it isn’t being used to its full potential.
A style in Microsoft Word is a set of formatting rules that apply to texts, tables and lists. When using styles this can manipulate the document. There are multiple styles to choose from and you will want to select and use the same style for an entire document without exception.
To select the specific style, you will need to locate the “home” tab and right click any style in the styles gallery and select “modify”. This will allow you to make any formatting changes that you might want, such as font size, color, alignment, spacing or indentation. Choose a style whether the style change pertains to the current document and or all future documents.
The Legal Support team at Amata Law Office Suites can assist with formatting Legal documents for Attorneys as well as for any professional. To have a document prepared and formatted, please send an email to [email protected]. Everything we write is tailored in a proficient, comprehensive, and informative way.
Depositions are a useful discovery tool to glean valuable information from witnesses and parties, but can be likened to pulling teeth at times. They are often hours long, sometimes spanning the entire day, but preparation is key to streamlining the process and avoiding unforeseen roadblocks.
Everyone is pretty sick and tired at this point of hearing about these “unprecedented times”, but it is worth mentioning that virtual options are here to stay for the near future. In regards to ethics, it is best practice to have Zoom deposition options and capabilities.
According to the New York Bar Association, a recent court case, Rodriguez v Montefiore Med. Ctr. 2020 NY Slip Op 20349, upheld that: “Ultimately, a party’s apprehension concerning innovative discovery techniques must, subject to the various protections afforded by the law, yield to the realities of coronavirus-era litigation, lest resolution of litigants’ rights and obligations be unnecessarily and unjustly delayed.” In sum, this holding is aligned with the duty to not obstruct the discovery process in unduly burdensome ways.
Depositions are stressful enough, lawyers shouldn’t have to think about microstressors like setting up a Zoom meeting and password in order to depose virtually. This is often tasked to paralegals, who can take care of generating the meeting code and pin, as well as instructing attorneys on how to “share the screen” if need be and work the controls on Zoom.
Paralegals can also coordinate with court reporters and expert witnesses via Zoom or in person so that all the attorney has to do is focus on preparing to depose. Of course, the paralegal can help with preparation in other, more involved ways as well. Printing and organizing key documents to use as reference in depositions is a common practice. Paralegals can help by taking care of this, once the attorney decides what needs to be included after e-discovery is completed and responses to interoggatories are returned. Produced documents can be sorted and tabbed in a way that is the easiest to turn to and reference for the lawyer and the person being deposed, as well as opposing counsel. Tables of contents can be generated to ensure that the documents are organized in a way that flows with the deposition outline utilized by the attorney because nothing can throw someone off like having to rummage through papers in order to find their place!
Administrative assistants and paralegals often work together the day of the deposition in order to make sure everything is running smoothly. This often involves some last minute touches like ordering lunches for a long deposition and making sure coffee is on hand. If any items need to be printed or technological difficulties arise they are there to assist.
According to CB Insights, 35% of businesses fail because there is no market need. All the growth potential of your business lies in its ability to pivot and meet the dynamic needs of a rapidly changing world.
How can you do this in practical terms? It all comes down to a commitment to innovation and service, which is exactly what this article will showcase through Amata’s case study.
The Genesis of a Disruptive Business
Plato said that the mother of invention is a necessity, and this couldn’t be truer in Amata’s case. Amata began when our founder, Ron Bockstahler, was working 10 to 12 hours each day while managing the backend operations of law firms.
For decades he didn’t take two days off in a row and was a self-declared workaholic. One day, he decided to go on an RV adventure with his wife across all 50 states in America and 9 Canadian provinces. This quest for a better work/life balance expanded across 8 years, hundreds of memories, Ironman races, and eventually having 6 children.
What Ron realized is that he could continue growing his business while living life to the fullest. And that’s how our innovative “office-as-a-service” model was born.
Listening to Clients: The Key to Continuous Innovation
Our innovative ‘office-as-a-service’ model started as a response to the ever-changing landscape of technology, economic cycles, and team dynamics that affect law firms and professional service firms.
When the pandemic hit and lawyers had to stay home, Amata quickly rallied clerks to make daily visits to the Recorder’s Office, City Hall, Sheriff’s Office, Clerk’s Office and Assessor’s Office for our clients.
Despite starting as a traditional co-working space, we quickly expanded to include crucial services our clients needed to grow. This includes paralegals to assist you with court cases, either on a part-time, full-time, or hourly basis. It also includes administrative assistants, law clerks, and receptionists.
When a client is coming to the office to sign documents and you need Notary and witness services, Amata has you covered. When you are too busy to pick up your phone, our receptionists got you.
It takes a village to build a thriving business. It is normal to get so caught up in serving clients that you stop focusing on the operations of running a business. We make this easier for you.
It has now been more than 21 years since we committed to staying at the forefront of innovation and creating a turnkey solution that allows you to keep expanding your firm while protecting your profitability, client experience, and work/life balance.
Our secret? Putting our clients first, listening to their needs, and doing whatever it takes to create an environment where they can thrive both professionally and personally.
Maximum Value With Greater Flexibility
Understanding our client’s needs has become the backbone of our innovation. We regularly ask clients for feedback and survey them, so we can meet their needs as they evolve.
Our comprehensive support combines four separate industries into one, offering flexible options for greater total value:
We offer agreements that allow you to drop or add offices during the term of the contract, without penalty, resulting in true office flexibility.
Whether you just started your law firm, have a team of 10-20, or are ready to expand your big law firm with the flexibility to scale up or down, we have prestigious locations to suit your needs. No more letting long-term leases keep you from attracting top-tier clientele, enhancing your team’s productivity, and having a professional office that reflects your professionalism.
Virtual assistants are remote professionals who specialize in all those essential but routine tasks like scheduling, document management, and phone answering. Amata’s Live Virtual Assistants are trained in the legal industry, so they know how to manage urgent inquiries on your behalf and recognize when to filter a call.
With Amata’s live virtual receptionist, law firms receive customized phone answering services with receptionists that act as an extension of their law firm. This means you do not need to hire a full-time receptionist to enjoy the benefits of enhanced productivity, such as never missing a caller.
A virtual assistant can be an invaluable gatekeeper for your law firm, saving you time and reducing the anxiety and stress of running a law practice. Our pre-vetted professionals can help manage all office operations, so you don’t have to and can focus on billable hours.
Some of the tasks administrative assistants can take off your plate are phone and email management, scheduling meetings, confirming appointments, making travel arrangements, managing contact lists, updating CRM software, preparing reports as needed, filing and organizing important documents and files, creating presentations, and more!
Amata has created the back-office operations of an AM100 law firm, for solo and small law firms. Paralegals, paralegal assistants, law clerks, and virtual assistants all act as an extension of your law firm, without needing to become full-time hires.
Leveraging Amata’s experienced resources allows you to manage your law firm around your bottom line. When you aren’t paying for under-utilized staff on your payroll, your profits increase, along with your capacity to produce more work and gain new clients, without creating constraints on your time.
With the combination of scalable office plans and flexible support & staffing services, we create a new environment for law firms and professionals. One in which they can do their very best work, increase their profitability, and have the resources to enjoy life on their own terms.
Contact us today if you’d like to experience the Amata difference. And remember, in order to create a thriving business yourself, the key is placing your client’s success at the forefront of everything you do.
The economy might be slowing down, but the demand for litigation is definitely not. A 2023 study by Thomson Reuters Corporation showed that the demand for counter-cyclical practices is accelerating — particularly litigation. BTI Consulting Group found that there is ‘more litigation than ever’, and Crowell & Moring stated in their Litigation Forecast 2023 that class actions will ‘continue to be a significant part of the litigation landscape.’
With no shortage of work to be done, but with potentially fewer funds due to the economic climate, how can solo and small law firms effectively manage their caseloads while protecting their budgets?
Litigation Support Services You Can Afford
Litigation support services assist lawyers and legal teams during high-volume, complicated trials. Anything that doesn’t require the expertise of a lawyer can be delegated to experienced paralegals, taking admin work off the attorney’s plate so they can focus on billable hours.
Amata’s senior paralegals have more than 20 years of experience and have reached a high level of competence and understanding in several areas of law. Many of them joined Amata after spending several years accumulating experience at law firms. And they can be such a cost-effective solution for solo and small business owners because they bill hourly.
Our pre-vetted paralegals work only on the tasks that you require, for the hours that you need. Most small and midsize law firms are not handling case assessments, depositions and discovery on a daily basis, which can lead to over-paying for full-time employees. With Amata, you can rely on our team of professional paralegals and legal administrators only during periods of high workload, so you can take on more cases while protecting your profitability.
Case Assessment Support Services
Case assessment requires a cautious analysis of all available facts, potential legal strategies, and a deep understanding of the client’s needs. This usually happens under time constraints and with high stakes, as even a small oversight can have significant consequences in the case.
That is why we provide professional Case Assessment services covering a wide spectrum, including:
Fact investigation – Assisting with discovery by conducting basic research into the details of the case.
Client interviews – Conducting initial interviews with potential clients and filling out intake forms.
Case files organization and maintenance – Sorting and filing key physical documents and using a case management system to store electronic documents.
Act as liaison with local counsel – Communicating regularly with counsel and staying informed and updated on case progression.
Discovery requests and responses drafting. Obtaining documents for you
Under attorney supervision, preparing discovery requests and responses using Microsoft Word and mailing/emailing.
Helping clients to gather pertinent documents that they have saved either electronically or physically.
Prepare document productions – Reviewing and following ESI order regarding production format, ensuring documents are unitized, redacting confidential, PII, privileged information, Bates number, adding Confidential designations, and creating/maintaining document indices (i.e. pleadings index, production log with documents received or produced).
Prepare documents/exhibits for mediations, arbitrations, depositions, trials, and motions for summary judgment – Organize and display evidence/exhibits per attorney request and instruction.
Managing a court case can be a full-time job, which is why more than 600 attorneys rely on Amata. Our case assessment support services allow them to focus on billable hours, client relationships, and a healthier work/life balance.
Depositions & Discovery Support Services
Depositions are a pivotal point leading to the outcome of civil and criminal charges. They usually advance to an out-of-court settlement but, for cases that do end up in court, Amata’s discovery and deposition management teams are here to ensure a smooth deposition process.
Our deposition experts manage all phases of the deposition, including:
Conference room set-up
Helping deponents prepare
Reviewing document productions and discovery disclosures
Developing comprehensive witness handbooks
Processing supporting written questions
Implementing any special considerations required for a deponent.
Depositions may be represented as a written transcript, videotape, or both. After the session ends, Amata’s team manages all follow-up requirements, including distributing the transcript and supporting documentation to attorneys for review.
We also provide virtual remote deposition technology. It is estimated more than fifty percent of all proceedings will be online this year with the trend continuing to increase. In addition to saving time, deponents are more relaxed when testifying from a preferred location, increasing their willingness to share information. Amata offers state-of-the-art virtual deposition software for deponents unable to attend in person. This technology automates the discovery process and teams benefit from powerful data analytics tools and a proven interface to collaborate from anywhere. It also includes artificial intelligence capabilities for increasing accuracy and capturing details such as emotion and movement.
Our team has more than 21 years of experience, and we understand that every deposition is unique. We are committed to managing and following up through each step of the process, so you can focus on the intimate details of the case.
Here is a list of services we provide for case discovery:
Advanced document productions – Delivering or making available for review documents in response to a request for production and a subpoena. This may include producing hard copies of documents or locating electronically stored information.
Document review projects, coding, case management.
Assisting in the analyzing and sorting of produced documents to determine which items are within the scope of the case.
Collecting email in the proper format.
Creating Bates stamps for documents.
Utilizing docketing software to track deadlines pertinent to a case.
Drafting privilege logs.
E-Discovery consultation (tools for litigation hold/preservation, document review platforms, document production planning, etc.) – Aid in facilitating the manner in which documents will be shared with parties in the discovery process. This includes various document-sharing platforms.
Collection of basic ESI (custodian interviews, emails, text messages, video, documents) – The extraction and organization of electronically stored information into separate files for the legal team to use.
Coordination of expert collection of ESI (forensic, social networking sites, video, audio, email, text messages, etc.) – Communication with third-party data forensics providers to collect electronically stored information.
Learn more about how Amata can assist with Depositions & Discovery Here
Litigation Support to Win More Cases While Protecting Your Profitability
Whether you need to draft simple motions, coordinate with the Sheriff, appear for clerk’s hearings, or schedule court hearings, we can assist you. Our hourly paralegals work as if they were on your staff, with senior paralegals drafting subpoenas under your supervision, and paralegal assistants going to City Hall, the Recorder’s Office, and delivering courtesy copies to judges for you.
This support, on-demand services allow small and mid-size law firms to clean their schedule with errands and get back to growing their business. You aren’t paying for under-utilized staff, and suddenly your profits increase along with your capacity to serve and attract more clients — without creating new constraints on your time.
Contact our team and see how we can assist your cases. We will match you with the perfect fit paralegals and legal assistants, getting you the best quality work at the lowest possible cost. They can support your firm during case assessment, depositions, and discovery year-round, without creating the financial burden of full-time employees.
Should you pick a physical office or a virtual workspace? There are benefits either way. A virtual office offers flexibility, cost savings, and remote access. But a physical office provides a dedicated space for collaboration and productive meetings.
Here are Amata we offer the perfect middle. With flexible office spaces, we can serve your needs with the advantages of both a physical and a virtual office. This article is going to explain how.
Virtual Office vs. Physical Office
Here are 3 ways we can help virtual offices:
Cost Efficiency
Virtual offices eliminate the need for physical space, utilities, and maintenance. This option helps businesses maintain profitability, so they can invest more into tech, team, and growth.
At Amata we offer cost-efficient virtual office solutions, so your business can maintain its professional presence without the overhead expenses of a traditional office space.
Flexibility
We understand the importance of adaptability in today’s fast-paced world. That is why we provide 12-month lease terms with 30-day adjustment notice periods, which allow you to quickly pivot if needed.
With our scalable plans, you can also add or reduce office space as needed during the term of the contract, without penalties. Our shared spaces also virtual law firms to maintain their professional image while reducing on the second largest expense for most professional service companies: office space. You can better allocate those resources to improve technology, serve more clients, and grow your team.
Access To Legal Support Services Chicago
Whether you opt for a virtual or physical office, Amata’s support services are readily available to smoothen your operations. Our pre-vetted professionals act as extension of your team including:
Administrative assistants
Paralegals
Live receptionists
Business phone services
All of which can off-load your essential but tedious tasks like phone answering, posting on social media, keeping your databases updated, and even drafting first drafts for important cases.
Here are 3 ways we can help non-virtual offices:
Modern, Professional Office
Amata’s modern office spaces in Chicago are strategically designed to project a professional image and an environment for enhanced productivity and collaboration. You can enjoy all the credibility, safe facilities, and fully-equipped offices from a large corporation, but without the costs or 5-year leases.
Collaborative Environment
Our physical offices are designed to promote your very best work, where collaboration and innovation can flourish. With a combination of private offices, strategically placed workstations and networking events, law firms and professional service firms can focus on client service while everything is taken care of for them.
Secure and Private Environment
Physical offices provide an unmatched level of security and privacy, which is particularly important for law firms and professional service firms. We equip our offices and conference rooms with robust security measures, ensuring your data and confidential meetings remain protected.
We Can Help You Grow, On Your Own Terms
The choice between virtual and physical offices depends on your unique situation. While virtual offices offer flexibility and cost savings, physical offices provide a professional space for enhanced productivity and collaboration. With our flexible office plans and scalable solutions, we ensure you’ll find the perfect solution for your business, whether you require a modern office space, virtual office services, or legal support in Chicago.
Contact our friendly team and discover your ideal office solution to grow — whether you work remotely, on-site, or with a hybrid arrangement.
