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The Fastest Way to Access Qualifying Witnesses for Your Notary Procedures

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Can you grow a law firm remotely? This is exactly what one of our clients did. He continued growing his practice in Atlanta, virtually from Chicago:

“[Amata’s on-staff notary] is a huge, huge convenience for me,” says Michael Milliman, a Michigan attorney who has a satellite office in Chicago through Amata.

When clients call, they don’t necessarily know that Michael is located in Chicago or frequently traveling, which he attributes to the professionalism of Amata’s receptionists. This is one example of how our legal support and live reception services can help you practice law on your own terms.

Three people at a table during a document review, with one person handing over a document to another while a woman prepares to sign it.

We Run The Office, You Run Your Practice

Notary services are a must for lawyers. The problem is that authenticating documents, certifying copies, and maintaining records are all time-consuming activities that do not add directly to your bottom line or energize most lawyers. So, following Amata’s philosophy of delegating as a way to grow your practice while enjoying life, we believe in most cases notary-related tasks should be delegated.

One example of this is finding qualifying witnesses. As you probably know, the law requires that you have two witnesses when signing legal documents, and they cannot be connected to the business. Their presence adds an extra layer of credibility to the procedure, confirming that signatories are acting willingly and without coercion.

However finding, scheduling, and coordinating these witnesses can be a time-consuming activity, especially with growing law firms that deal with a large number of contracts, affidavits, wills, and power of attorney. That is why Amata provides you with these witnesses, and can also act as the notary.

Two people sitting at a table, reviewing and signing documents, focus on their hands and the paperwork.

With Amata, you get on-demand notary services and qualifying witnesses. With Amata’s notary services, lawyers can quickly access a qualified professional to verify signatures, administer oaths, and certify document copies—all right in their office space. This allows them to focus on the most important parts of the case, like getting the parties to agree.

We are the only office space provider in Chicago who equips their locations with legal admins, certified paralegals, notary services, and more. Our expert legal staff charges by the minute, not the hour, so you only pay for help as needed. By having witnesses readily available within the office environment, lawyers can eliminate the need to coordinate external witnesses and avoid the risk of delays.

These witnesses are not only qualified but also familiar with the specific requirements and protocols involved in witnessing legal documents. This familiarity ensures that the witnessing process adheres to all legal standards and regulations, providing an added layer of confidence in the authenticity of the signatures.

Beyond the time-saving benefits, Amata’s comprehensive notary and witness services contribute to a more secure and controlled legal environment. In-house services reduce the reliance on external parties, minimizing the potential for errors or complications that may arise when dealing with unfamiliar notaries and witnesses. This enhances the overall reliability of legal documentation and reduces the likelihood of disputes or challenges.

“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

The Fastest Way to Access Qualifying Witnesses for Your Notary Procedures

Having readily available witnesses and notary services is a game-changer for legal professionals. Every moment saved in admin procedures can be redirected towards billable hours, business-building tasks, and life-enjoyment activities. Lawyers get to focus on their core responsibilities, meet tight deadlines, and serve their clients more efficiently — while ensuring their notarization and witnessing processes are seamless, secure, and compliant with legal standards.

Reap the benefit of having on-demand support from legal staff you know and trust. Our law office spaces include readily available qualifying witnesses, centralized notary services, and much more. Contact our team to learn more.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Why Lawyers Need Sabbaticals

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Abu Fofanah, a 7 figure business owner, announced on his website:

📍On sabbatical

📌 I can’t promise anything, ask somebody else to do it

👨🏾‍💻 After years of working to pour into others— I’m walking away from millions in order to save myself.

While this may sound extreme, the reality is that burnout is a real problem that is increasingly affecting lawyers and remote professional service providers. According to the American Bar Association, 32% of lawyers experience symptoms of depression, and 23% struggle with anxiety. Also, a study by the recruitment agency Realm Recruit found that two-thirds of legal professionals have experienced burnout at least once throughout their careers.

“It’s a dangerous combination where people with ambitious personalities are working in an environment where clients demand so much and everything is urgent,” said Jan Dernestam, Co-Chair of the IBA Law Firm Management Committee.

As a leading voice on the importance of work-life balance, Amata is creating this article to help lawyers avoid burnout and stay fresh for their most rewarding work.

Why Lawyers Need Sabbaticals

There are certain things that just come with the territory. Lawyers often face heavy workloads and tight deadlines, leading to long working hours and high-pressure situations. The demands of handling numerous cases, managing client expectations, and meeting court deadlines contribute to chronic stress.

Dealing with legal cases can also take a significant emotional toll. Complex cases require critical decisions that can have profound consequences for clients. The weight of these responsibilities, combined with the potential for moral and ethical dilemmas, can all contribute to emotional exhaustion and burnout.

Lawyers may also find themselves in situations where they have limited control over their work environment, such as tight court schedules, unexpected case developments, or unpredictable client demands. The pressure to bill a certain number of hours can lead to overworking, sacrificing personal time, and neglecting self-care.

On top of that, the legal profession can be highly competitive, and lawyers may face uncertainty in their career paths. Clients often have high expectations and lawyers may feel compelled to meet unrealistic standards. This combination of unique factors can make lawyers more susceptible to burnout.

So when we say that lawyers need sabbaticals, we recognize taking 6 months off is likely not realistic for most lawyers. But there are three alternatives to stay fresh and enjoy a better work-life balance:

Strategy 1: Schedule Time Off (“Mini Sabbaticals”)

Mini sabbaticals are brief periods of time off, distinct from traditional vacations, that allow you to step away from the daily legal grind. These breaks, whether a long weekend or a few extra days sprinkled throughout the month, serve as a strategic investment in well-being, with positive impacts on both personal and professional life.

The key is to not wait for your schedule to be empty (something that will likely never happen), but to schedule your time off in advance. Even a few hours of rest can renew your focus and creativity, prevent burnout, and allow your best ideas to flourish.

And if you are worried about missing a call during your time off, that’s what our virtual assistants are here for.

Strategy 2: Delegate

Most professionals underestimate the time it takes them to check email, handle appointments, and return calls. These essential but time-consuming tasks can be delegated to a virtual legal assistant, which frees up your time to get new clients, win more cases, and run a profitable law firm.

With Amata’s “office-as-a-service” model, you can access on-demand (hourly) support services in the form of admin assistants, paralegals, receptionists, and business phone/phone app services that free your time to focus on billable hours and enjoying your life.

Strategy 3: Set Limits and Boundaries

Scheduling time off and delegating will get you a long way. But in the legal profession, where demands are incessant and the stakes are high, setting clear limits and boundaries is a must.

What is important to understand is that these boundaries not only safeguards your mental and physical well-being, but will they serve your clients and team in the long run. Having downtime is not selfish or a sign of weakness, but a key component of sustained high-performance.

This becomes even more important when working remotely. With constant connectivity, it’s crucial to set limits on after-hours emails and calls. Designate specific periods for uninterrupted focus or relaxation, and delineate reasonable working hours unless something truly urgent comes up.

Regular breaks are non-negotiable. Lawyers should make time for lunch, short walks, or moments of relaxation during the workday. These brief respites contribute to mental rejuvenation and prevent the cumulative stress that leads to burnout.

Working remotely is great but, without boundaries, it can also become unsustainable. By scheduling time off, delegating time-consuming activities that do not energize you (or directly add to your bottomline), and learning how to say no, you’ll create a healthier work/life balance and a more profitable law firm.

Contact us today and our team will guide you on how our flexible office plans and on-demand support staff can create a profitable law firm you never want to escape from.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Proven Delegation Framework for Lawyers

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Growing a law firm has several stages. In the beginning, you are hungry for clients and looking to make a name for yourself. You work on promotion, your track record, and never miss a networking event. But there comes a time when your problem is actually having too much work. If you are in that stage, this article is for you.

People who move to the third stage (where your law firm is running without you and you can focus on your most energizing work and growing the business) have learned how to delegate effectively. Mastering the skill of delegation will allow you to free up your time and uncap the ceiling of your income and impact potential.

The problem is that most law schools do not teach fundamental business schools, so many lawyers who end up running a law firm lack a proven framework for delegating — Which is what we will explain in this article.

The 10-80-10 Principle

Entrepreneur and coach John Maxwell developed a simple principle for delegation after working with thousands of leaders for over 40 years: The 10-80-10 Principle.

It works like this:

  1. You get involved in the first 10% of a project. This is the ideation and planning phase, where your team will require your involvement to really know what is the expected outcome, the standards and the deliverables.
  2. You delegate the 80%, which is the implementation phase. You have steered the wheel towards the direction you want, it’s now time for your team to take over. You remain available for them and keep them accountable while they bring the vision laid out during the first 10% to life.
  3. You jump back into the last 10% of the project. This is the completion phase where you do “quality control,” fill any loopholes, and make sure everything is up to your standards. You also ask deep questions so your team can grow from this experience.

“I call those two parts the bookends of success. I could also compare the process to piloting a plane. The crucial parts of the flight are the takeoff and landing. They’re the most dangerous, and the most complicated. By involving myself in the team’s project during those crucial times, I’m able to help them make a successful trip.” John Maxwell

 

The 10-80-10 Principles has many benefits for lawyers:

  1. You delegate implementation but maintain control of outcomes. The legal world requires precise execution, confidentiality, and maintaining strict deadlines. Client matters may be too sensitive to delegate them completely, which is why you are getting involved in the first and last 10%, and making sure everything gets done promptly through the middle 80%.
  2. You delegate the most time-consuming part of the process. Your genius becomes creating the strategy and maintaining client relationships, while your team takes over the most time-consuming activities. In this way, you are still contributing with your years of experience to win cases, while being more efficient with your time.
  3. You can grow new leaders from every project. One of the things that Maxwell recommends is to use the last 10% of any project to identify people who took the lead in the project. When you are constantly on the outlook for rising leaders and invest in your people, you can develop new leaders to take over your role so you can ascend to an even higher position in your law firm.

If you are looking to get more done while making sure quality is maintained in your client delivery, the 10-80-10 principle is the place to get started.

More Than 21 Years Helping Lawyers Delegate More Easily

We know that delegating is not an easy task. You worry about not having enough funds, about the quality of the delivery, and about the time it will take to find, train, and retain people. That is why here at Amata we have made delegation a breeze with our on-demand support services.

-If you need a virtual assistant to manage your calendar, new client form intake, and inbound calls

-If you require diligent paralegals who will research on your behalf and write document drafts

-If you require staff to do errands and daily runs to courthouses for you, while also managing your mailing and greeting any clients who come to your office

Then Amata’s support services are for you. We help you save time and money with pre-vetted professionals who act as an extension of your law firm, and who are paid on a per-hour basis. You only pay for the work you are receiving, and do not need to devote days to train every new hire because they are all experienced in the legal industry.

“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

By blending Amata’s support professionals with the 10-80-10 principle, you can expand your clientele while maintaining profitability, delegate time-consuming tasks, and create a thriving law that can run and grow without you.

Contact our team today to inquire about our on-demand support services.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

The Real Cost of Not Having a Virtual Receptionist

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We recently heard from an attorney:

“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:

  1. Determine the revenue you desire to generate from your law firm each month.
  2. Define the number of hours you plan to dedicate to your business each month.
  3. 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.

But if virtual assistants are so important, why do so many law firms wait to hire them? There are 4 reasons:

  1. They don’t know they can delegate these things
  2. They feel like nobody can be trusted
  3. They are afraid hiring will cost them too much money
  4. 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:

  1. Losing precious time and focus from serving your clients.
  2. Getting stuck in the weeds of daily management, phone answering, and office tasks
  3. 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.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Practicing Law Without The Errands

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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:

        1. 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.
        2. 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.
        3. 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.
        4. 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.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

3 Steps to Growing Your Law Firm

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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.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Virtual Office vs. Physical Office: Finding the Right Fit with Amata

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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.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

Litigation Services: Win More Cases With Less Stress

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Litigation can be inherently stressful. There are counterparties, financial and reputational risks, and time-consuming processes. But could it be less stressful?

At Amata, we provide attorneys with litigation services, so they can take the administrative side of litigation off their plate and focus on strategy and client management. We allow attorneys to do their best work while we do everything else that is important to win cases: from scheduling court hearings to drafting motions and answers.

Two Reasons Why Attorneys Don’t Delegate

Most solo practitioners and small law firm owners have a corporate background. They experienced the comfort of having a paralegal attending administrative hearings on their behalf, researching cases in a fully-equipped library, and delegating calls to an assistant.

So when they took the leap to start their own firm, they gained more freedom and higher profits from their book of clients, but also gave up something important: a support team.

That is why the first reason why attorneys don’t delegate is that they simply cannot afford an army of paralegals, virtual assistants, and receptionists to support their work.

But there is another reason. Many times, attorneys assume hiring support staff is not only expensive but stressful. They are busy enough to add hiring, training, and managing a team to their plate.

Hiring more legal support staff then becomes a catch-22 situation for most attorneys. On the one hand, they are overworked and struggle to keep up with never-ending tasks and casework. But on the other hand, they have a tight budget.

Will a new employee be worth the investment? Will you have enough work to keep them occupied eight hours a day? Will revenue increase with this new hire?

That is why at Amata we created a solution that is cost-effective, flexible, and doesn’t add more stress to your plate.

Get Legal Support, Without the High Costs or Stress

Our team of paralegals, virtual assistants, and live receptionists act as an extension of your team. You can hire them hourly and not incur the costs, risks, and stress of hiring full-time employees. Only pay for the work that you actually need!

On-demand legal support is the affordable solution you’ve been looking for. During periods of intense workloads, our pre-vetted paralegals can help relieve you from the added stress. You can get more work done, focus on your clients, and grow your firm while protecting your profitability.

Here are the litigation support services that we provide on demand:

  • Electronic filing – state, federal, and administrative (IWCC, IDHR, EEOC).
  • Coordinate/schedule court hearings, depositions, mediations, expert witnesses.
  • Draft simple motions and answers.
  • Coordinate service of process with the sheriff or private process server.
  • E-discovery consultation (tools for litigation hold/preservation, document review platforms, document production planning, etc.).
  • Draft routine motions, orders, and affidavits (i.e. motion for leave to file sealed exhibits, motions for extension of time, motion to appoint special process server, motion for alternative service).
  • Appear for clerk’s status call; administrative hearings; enter agreed orders.

Prior to any work being performed, our team members will review the scope of work with you and establish cost expectations. Our professional paralegals, printing and mailing services, live receptionists, and virtual assistants have different experience levels that adjust to your budget. Alternative fee and project-based fee arrangements are also available for certain projects.

The reality is that Amata started as a bootstrapped startup handling litigation copy work for attorneys. Giving you a healthier work/life balance and supporting your profitability is what moves us, and litigation services are an example of that.

So if you want to win more cases without stressing about court runs, assembling copies, coordinating depositions, preparing witnesses, and drafting subpoenas, contact us today and get a quote of our litigation support services.

Discover our paralegal services in Chicago.

The New Business Card for Lawyers

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Time is everything for lawyers and professional service providers. It is their greatest asset, and the thing that they need to protect the most.

But in today’s world, there are many more tasks beyond serving clients that need to be done:

  • Keeping your inbox clean
  • Responding to new client inquiries
  • Creating a professional website
  • Staying top of mind with social media

This blog post is for those lawyers who recognize the importance of executing those ‘business building’ tasks, but who still want to protect their time to do what they love most: serve clients, strategically lead their firms, and enjoy life.

How to Keep Up With The Digital Era

The legal industry has shifted in so many ways during the last decade. From remote work to AI legal tools and smart contracts on the blockchain, there is so much innovation that many times is it hard to keep up.

Take, for example, social media: In the last 3 years alone, Twitter became X, Facebook shifted to Meta, and 6 new platforms were launched. Yet over 80% of law firms maintain an active social media presence, according to a 2021 survey by the American Bar Association.

This is because social media has become the new business card. Clients now want to look at your website and social media posts to stay informed, read client reviews, and screen your law firm before deciding to engage you. Social media becomes a filter through which potential clients vet your firm’s reputation and expertise.

Consider this data from a 2022 survey by the National Law Review: 87% of clients surveyed said they check lawyers’ social media profiles before deciding to engage their services. Today, when potential clients consider hiring a lawyer, they are not limited to evaluating credentials on a piece of paper or a static website. 

Social media platforms provide a dynamic window into a lawyer‘s professional life, offering insights that extend beyond traditional qualifications, such as:

  • Professionalism: Clients need to trust their attorneys. That is why inconsistencies, unprofessional behavior, or a lack of presence will raise red flags.
  • Expertise and Specialization: Lawyers who actively share valuable insights on social media platforms are positioned as industry leaders — especially if they are sharing expert articles, case studies, and legal updates.
  • Client Reviews and Testimonials: Just like on Amazon, positive testimonials and reviews from previous clients can significantly influence purchasing decisions.
  • Relevance: Clients expect lawyers to stay informed about the latest legal trends and use your social media presence to signal connectivity and up-to-date knowledge.

In an era where information is readily accessible at one’s fingertips, clients WANT to find reliable information on social media to research, select, and evaluate your legal services.

But how can you post on social media while keeping up with the demanding nature of legal work?

Delegating Your Social Media Presence to Experts

Your online presence should convey your professionalism, expertise, and credibility. A well-maintained social media profile can serve as a powerful business development tool, attracting clients and enhancing your reputation.

That is where Amata comes in. Our virtual assistant service can help you take care of several tasks, including:

  • Social Media Posting
  • 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

Most solo practitioners and small law firms do not have large teams or budgets, which is why our virtual assistants work on demand. They are carefully selected by us, and only work the hours that you need so you can save on salary and benefits.

We understand that the idea of posting on social media, building an online presence, and engaging with a digital audience can be an added layer of stress you don’t want. In fact, according to a 2021 survey by the American Bar Association, over 75% of lawyers feel overwhelmed by the demands of their profession. 

That is why our virtual assistants will curate and post engaging content on your behalf. Your law firms can keep active on social media, strengthen your reputation, and demonstrate authority, without needing to hire an in-house legal assistant or a social media marketing agency.

This is a cost-effective solution that goes beyond posting on social media. We can offload your redundant but essential tasks, such as new client intake and calendar management, without you having to worry about employee benefits, providing the requisite software or training, or bearing any infrastructure costs.

Our experienced virtual assistants will take care of all this, so you can focus more on building your practice and serving clients doing the tasks that energize you.

Enhance Your Practice With a Virtual Assistant Specifically For Lawyers

We provide virtual assistants so you can stay relevant on social media while saving time and focus. If you want someone to update social media posts, enter billing, and return client calls for you, we can help.

Contact us here and rally the support you need to grow in the digital era.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Will Office Space Become Obsolete?

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With remote work on the rise, will office space become obsolete?

According to a study done by Boston Consulting Group, ‘1.5 billion square feet of office space could become obsolete’, with low utilization, high vacancy levels, and financial viability slipping away for many.

Here at Amata we provide office spaces for law firms and professional services companies in Chicago, so this is a trend that could deeply affect us. But the reason why we’re not worried (and actually feel hopeful for the future), is because we have lived this already through the pandemic and found that Office Space will not become obsolete, it just needs to twist to effectively serve the new demands of the market.

Enter The New Era of Office Space

During the pandemic one of our natural worries was, “Will people stop needing an office?”. And contrary to our fears, Amata grew and today we serve more than 800 clients all over Chicago.

There are a few reasons for this:

  • While companies had to go fully remote for some years, many have realized that this is not a sustainable work arrangement for them. Their associates desire human connection, a dedicated space where they can be productive, and the prestige that comes from an office in downtown Chicago.
  • This means that most solo and small law firms today are either working on-site or with hybrid arrangements.
  • Hybrid companies are giving their team members the option to choose between remote work or on-site work. 


The 2022 Practice Forward Report by The American Bar Association found that 44% of lawyers practicing 10 years or less were more likely to leave their current job for one that offers a greater ability to work remotely. At the other end of the age spectrum, only 13% of those practicing over 40 years would leave their place of employment for the greater ability to work remotely.

This means that there is a clear generational divide, where more established lawyers desire to work at the office while younger generations work more flexible options. This is why hybrid companies choose to retain talent by giving their employees options.

But how can they keep an office space without spending excessively or being locked by a 5-year lease?

At Amata, we help them with our flexible plans which allow them to add or drop office space during the term of the contract, without penalty, so they can scale up and down as their company grows. This means that they can add new team members or create a leaner team without being worried about unutilized office space or relocating.

We also provide Hybrid companies solutions that match their desired flexibility, such as conference rooms for the day, support staff on-demand (only pay what you need), mail handling, and networking events.

  • Even fully remote companies can benefit from some physicality. For example, listing your home as your official business address can hurt credibility in the eyes of clients, and also not be the best idea for safety reasons.

    That is why at Amata we provide remote companies a virtual business address, so that clients associate your organization with Class A, prominent office buildings in the Chicago area. A virtual business address also entitles you to receive correspondence at the location and enjoy mail processing and forwarding from the on-site staff.

What we have found is that office space will not become obsolete, it just needs to be reimagined. Lawyers and professionals want a healthier work/life balance, and they want office spaces that provide it.

That is why our unique model at Amata offers:

  • Flexibility – Programs that allow you to cancel offices during a contract term.
  • Hourly paralegals that work as if they are on your staff.
  • Administrative assistants that work with you virtually and in person, depending on your needs and circumstances.
  • Quarterly office socials to make new acquaintances and build relationships with others working in the center.
  • Monthly attorney socials with over 800 attorneys involved to expand your network and business opportunities.
  • Paralegal assistants that go to city hall, the Recorders Office and deliver courtesy copies to judges for you.
  • Live receptionists that can screen your calls, handle new client in-take and greet your guests.
  • Easy access to decision-makers and owners of Amata.
  • Notary/witness service program at all locations; plus a remote notary/witness service program that includes video recording.
  • Conference room usage is not rounded up to the nearest hour. You only pay for time you use in 15-minute increments

All so you can:

        • Maintain profitability: When your revenue goes down, as a business owner you need to reduce expenses to maintain profit. Amata provides flexibility in order to achieve this in your office space costs (which are a large chunk of expenses).
        • Access office space on your own terms: Amata provides 12-month lease terms with a 30-day notice to adjust office space. This provides a key ability to reduce costs and maintain profitability when needed.
        • Be fully supported as you grow: Whether you’re doing a virtual or physical office, Amata provides on-demand (hourly) support services in the form of admin assistants, paralegals, receptionists, and business phone / phone app services that you get tasks off your to-do lists and back to growing your business.

So if you are a small law firm considering not renewing your office lease, try Amata. Our model is designed with you in mind: To give you modern offices that boost your team’s productivity and your firm’s prestige, while protecting your bottom line and giving you a support team that grows as your firm grows.

Contact us today to see how our virtual and on-site, flexible office plans can help you scale.

Discover our offices for lawyers in Chicago.