With today’s reliance on technology, and the prevalence of working remotely, it’s more common for law offices to outsource paralegal assistance. Utilizing video call capabilities, secure document sharing platforms, and instant professional messaging services, it’s easier than ever to work together even from thousands of miles away.
There are many reasons why law offices choose to outsource their paralegals. Whether it’s meeting budget goals, increasing flexibility, or promoting client satisfaction, outsourcing can open new doors for your business.
Here are some of the top reasons why more lawyers are choosing to outsource their paralegal support in 2021.
What Services Do Paralegals Provide?
Paralegals are responsible for handling administrative duties, client interviews, legal research, and drafting documents among other obligations. Although they aren’t lawyers, they are well-versed in legal procedures and provide capable support to a firm’s top performing attorneys.
Some of the most essential paralegal responsibilities include:
- Legal Research – Paralegals may be responsible for case-related research tasks like researching facts and gathering further evidence. They also need to be well-versed in the current law, and research any annual changes or amendments.
- Administrative Duties – Instead of having your top attorneys handle emails and calls, outsource these responsibilities to a paralegal. Paralegals are in charge of setting up appointments, contacting clients, and answering emails, which frees up your attorneys to focus on the important details of their cases.
- Client Interviews – In addition to legal research, paralegals may be responsible for conducting client interviews. Paralegals have the authority to complete interviews with clients and are included in your law firm’s confidentiality policy. According to an article on Time Solv, “Even though paralegals are not lawyers, they still have professional and ethical obligations that must be followed in their dealings with law firm clients. In addition, even though outsourced paralegals are not technically employees of a law firm, they are held to the same levels of confidentiality.
- Drafting Documents – Legal proceedings require lots of paperwork. Paralegals help streamline the process by drafting documents, organizing forms, and filing papers for future reference.
What are the Benefits of Outsourcing a Paralegal?
While it’s clear that law firms benefit from paralegal support, this support doesn’t need to come from an in-person, full-time employee. In fact, choosing to outsource your paralegals might make the most sense for a number of reasons.
Outsourcing is More Cost-Effective – Although paying for an external service might seem more expensive, working with outsourced paralegals is actually more budget-friendly than hiring new employees. For one thing, outsourced paralegals don’t require you to provide any benefits, payroll taxes, bonuses, or insurance coverage. An article on Forbes also emphasizes the positive impact outsourcing has on your client’s finances: “delegating less specialized work to paralegals, who are paid less than staff attorneys, also benefits a law firm’s bottom line. Depending on the ways in which clients are billed, delegating certain work to paralegals can also save clients money.”
Outsourcing Enables a Better Client Experience – Aside from the monetary benefits of outsourcing, firms who hire outsourced paralegals provide clients with more consistent support, quicker response times, and increased focus from attorneys on the important aspects of their case. Because attorneys have freedom from monotonous tasks and mindless paperwork, they are able to focus all their energy into putting together a client’s case. Paralegals are there to help support the attorneys so they can offer their clients the best service possible.
Outsourcing Provides Greater Flexibility – Since outsourced paralegals are hired as needed, law firms can tailor paralegal support to match their workload. This is particularly helpful for dealing with a sudden increase of work around a busy time of year. Forbes describes this “scalability” as one of the key benefits of outsourcing paralegals, “the need for paralegal services varies according to the needs of the firm and its staff attorneys at any given time. It can therefore be difficult to know how many paralegals to keep on staff. Hiring too many hurts the firm’s bottom line, but hiring too few creates gaps in necessary support.”
Additionally, outsourcing paralegals is a smart move for firms on a budget. Since outsourced paralegals are only paid in proportion to the work they complete, lawyers can scale down their paralegal support to save money.
Creating an Effective Team at Amata Law Office Suites
At Amata Law Office Suites, we offer lawyers a professional law office environment. Ranging from virtual law office programs to in-person private spaces, Amata Law Office Suites caters specifically to law firms and legal practitioners looking to participate in the legal community. Our virtual law offices offer paralegal services, networking opportunities, and scalable client meeting spaces.
Practice law in a way that works for you. When you work with Amata Law Office Suites, we can facilitate paralegal solutions to help your law firm succeed.