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Productivity & Efficiency

Maximizing the Value of a Full-Time Employee

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Employee utilization rates may be the most ignored or misunderstood stat in small businesses and law firms. Instead of using quantifiable data, many small businesses rely on emotions or intuition to determine when it is time to hire a new employee.

What metrics is your company using to ensure an employees’ time is effectively utilized. Is there accurate data available to help determine when to make a new hire?

It is hard to imagine a law firm that generates revenue through billable hours hiring an additional lawyer if their current lawyers are only billing 10 hours each week.

EMPLOYEE UTILIZATION USING BILLABLE HOURS

We define employee utilization as the hours an employee is engaged in productive work divided by the total hours the employee is paid.

Generally, employees are paid for 2,080 hours annually (including vacation and sick time, excluding overtime). If you expect your employees to generate 1,352 billable hours each year, their utilization rate will be 65%.

Once an employee consistently reaches the utilization rate goal, it is time to hire an additional employee to continue growing your business. If the employee continuously fails to reach the utilization rate goal, it may be time to reevaluate if you have the best employee for the job.

ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO MEASURE EMPLOYEE UTILIZATION

For employees that do not generate revenue through billable hours, such as my companies accounting team members, require them to maintain a work log each day detailing what they worked on and how long it took. A simple spreadsheet is easy to create for each employee to log into throughout the day. This is a valuable tool for employees that work remotely and those that work in the office.

Understanding how much time employees spend on productive work versus time spent surfing the internet, emailing friends, and shopping will help companies increase productivity. Just knowing accountability measures are in place will quickly increase productivity among team members. A Google search on office worker productivity statistics may surprise you. The average office worker is productive 31% of their workday. In an 8 hour day, employees are not doing productive work for 5.5 hours, yet companies are paying for those hours.

BEST PRACTICES

To maximize employee utilization, here are some best practices to consider:

  1. Effective Workforce Planning
    Analyze your business needs, forecast workloads, and plan your workforce accordingly. This involves understanding the demands of different projects, departments, or seasons and aligning your staff resources accordingly.
  2. Clear Communication and Goal Setting
    Ensure that employees have a clear understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations. Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals with your employees.  This enables them to prioritize their tasks and utilize time effectively.
  3. Efficient Task Assignment
    Match employees’ skills, expertise, and interests with the tasks they handle. Assign tasks based on strengths and provide opportunities for growth and development.
  4. Optimize Work Processes
    Streamline workflows and eliminate unnecessary steps or bottlenecks that can hinder productivity. Encourage employees to provide input on process improvements and implement their suggestions when possible. This will lead to increased efficiency and reduce time wasting activities.
  5. Regular Performance Monitoring
    Implement a system to track and monitor employee performance, enabling management to identify areas where employees may be underutilized or overburdened. Provide constructive feedback and offer support to help them overcome challenges and improve performance.
  6. Training and Skill Development
    Invest in training programs and provide opportunities for employees to enhance their skills. This helps them become more versatile and capable of handling a broader range of tasks, improving their overall utilization.
  7. Flexibility and Cross-Functional Collaboration
    Promote a culture of flexibility and cross-functional collaboration. Encourage employees to share their skills, knowledge, and experiences with one another. Foster a dynamic and resourceful workforce that can adapt to changing needs and fill gaps in different areas.
  8. Effective Time Management
    Work with employees on how to set priorities, avoid multitasking, and minimize distractions. Encourage breaks to maintain a healthy work-life balance and avoid employee burnout.
  9. Technology and Automation
    Deploy tools to streamline repetitive tasks, minimize manual effort, and free up employees’ time. Implementing the right tools can significantly increase overall productivity and employee utilization.
  10. Recognition and Rewards
    Recognize and reward employees for their achievements and efforts. A positive and motivating work environment can boost employee morale, engagement, and overall productivity.

Remember, maximizing employee utilization is not synonymous with overworking employees. It is crucial employees are able to maintain a healthy work-life balance. An alternative to overworking employees or hiring new employees before revenues justify them is Amata’s on-demand virtual assistants, executive assistants and paralegals. Amata can assist with overflow work, back-up when a full-time staff member is out or on a temporary basis while the company is searching for a new full-time employee.

Would you like to speak with Amata team members to find someone that is a fit for you? Contact us today.

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Paralegal Services Provider: What You Need To Know

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Today’s law firms are at no shortage of things to do. From handling an ever-increasing caseload to keeping up with the latest changes in the law, attorneys have their hands full. This is where a paralegal services provider come in.

What are Paralegal Services?

Paralegal Services are defined as the provision of legal services by a non-lawyer who is qualified to perform substantive legal work through a combination of education, training or work experience. These services may be provided to lawyers, law firms, businesses or individuals and can include everything from legal research and writing to assisting with closings, trial preparation and more.

Paralegal services give law firms the convenience of on-demand support staff to extend their operations. Through ticketing based systems, providers match clients with the right paralegal for the task at hand, making it easy to get started with little-to-no administrative hassle.

The use of paralegal service providers has increased in recent years as the legal industry has become more complex and competitive. The need for qualified support staff has never been greater, and paralegal services provide an efficient way to get the help you need without the overhead of a full-time employee.

This type of support can be especially helpful for small law firms who may not have the budget to support a full-time staff member, or for attorneys who handle infrequent legal matters.

What a Paralegal Service Provider Can Offer You

Paralegal services have become popular for good reason. They have a slew of applications and benefits to take advantage of, including the following.

Great Value at a Low Cost

What is perhaps the greatest advantage of using a paralegal service provider is the cost-effectiveness it offers. When you work with a paralegal service provider, you only pay for the services you need, when you need them. This is in contrast to a full-time employee, who you would need to pay even when there is no work for them to do.

With a paralegal, law firms can reap the full benefits of a highly trained legal professional without having to shoulder the full-time costs of salary, benefits, taxes, and more. This can free up a significant amount of money that can be used for other purposes, such as marketing or expanding business operations.

Flexibility and Scalability

Another advantage of paralegal services is the flexibility and scalability they offer. When you work with a paralegal service provider, you can increase or decrease the number of hours you need as your workload ebbs and flows. This can be a major advantage for small law firms or attorneys who handle a high volume of cases sporadically throughout the year.

Wide Range of Applications

As thoroughly trained and experienced professionals, paralegals are able to fulfill almost as many roles as lawyers themselves. The services they provide can be anything from research and writing to assisting with closings, trial preparation, and more. This makes them a versatile tool that can be used in a wide range of situations.

Virtual and Office-based Availability

If the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that the traditional 9-to-5 workday is no longer the only option. With the rise of the internet and advances in technology, more and more people are working remotely. This is true for paralegals as well.

Some paralegal service providers have a physical office where you can meet with them in person, while others are entirely virtual. This gives you the flexibility to work with experienced paralegals that are based in your city or a virtual paralegal that is located elsewhere in the country.

Considering Paralegal Services for Your Law Firm?

Amata Law Office Suites is a leading provider of paralegal and administrative support solutions to law firms across the United States. Our senior paralegals boast more than 20 years of experience in the field and are adept at handling a wide range of tasks, from research and writing to trial preparation and more.
Whether you need assistance on an as-needed basis or are looking for a more comprehensive solution, we have a package that is right for you.

Contact us today to learn more about our paralegal services and how we can help your law firm operate more efficiently.

Discover our paralegal services in Chicago.

Reverse-Engineering A Law Firm To Improve Client And Employee Retention

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A Perspective by Ron Bockstahler, CEO

Raising six children has given me some insight into the creative mind. For years I have been amazed at how my children find creative ways to avoid their chores or how they will spend 20 minutes trying to convince me they completed 2 hours’ worth of homework in 15 minutes so that they can watch a show or go play with friends.  Recently I was reading an article about a first grader that noticed his father was having difficulty with the car radio, so he explained to his father he should reverse-engineer it. After some investigation the father learned the young scholar was learning about industrial espionage at summer camp, where they were deconstructing toys or reverse-engineering them and using the parts to make new toys. College level instruction and material many consultants have built their careers on.

It seems law firms would be well-served to apply the same thinking this first grader used with his father’s car radio to their business operations. Start with considering how best to care for clients, with reasonable profit margins. Yes, profit margins are not a bad thing, but they are when the firm pays little to no attention to expenses with the mindset that they have near unlimited pricing power. When it comes to taking care of clients, this is best done by employees that enjoy their work and the work environment in which they spend most of their waking hours. For more years than I care to admit, I believed working set hours in the office demonstrated my quality of work and commitment to my employer. With age comes wisdom, or so we hope, which is why I have a different view point today.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to creating a work environment where we all can maximize productivity and happiness. Prior to the pandemic most of us came into the office 5 days a week and worked fairly set hours. It was our norm, what we grew up watching our parents do, and what we were groomed to do from an early age going to school. Although, somewhere between school and getting a full-time job we eliminated the long summer vacation we all enjoyed so much. Now that we are reverse engineering the work schedule, place of work and work conditions, maybe this is something that needs to be implemented into work life in some form?

Law firms and other professional organizations are competing for a small pool of available employees and the primary tool being used to lure these employees is compensation, a tool that can run counter to the best interest of your clients, since they are directly or indirectly picking up the tab. There are numerous articles highlighting the factors employees are taking into account when deciding which job offer to accept. As you are going through this reverse-engineering process of your law firm, pay attention to what your employees are asking. If they want flexibility, try to change your business model to allow the most flexibility possible. This may mean introducing flexible work hours, being creative with where they work, implementing a hybrid work model that still allows the firm to maintain the desired culture, or maybe implementing rotating sabbaticals for team members.

Reverse-Engineering A Law FirmAs you work through the reverse-engineering process of how your law firm operates, be open to new creative possibilities. Can you reduce your office footprint and reduce costs to your clients? Are employees more productive and loyal when allowed some freedom to choose when and where they are allowed to work? What is involved in creating and maintaining a culture? These are a few of the questions to consider as you work through this process.

I’ve been providing flexible office space and support services to law firms for 20 years and have never experienced the demand from law firms with 5-15 lawyers and support staff that I am seeing today. Is it possible the traditional office for small and midsize law firms is changing forever? As I client to a few law firms, I sure hope so.  I will add that I expect to see corresponding cost reductions in the services I receive because today’s law firm should be able to operate with a lower overhead than was possible just 7 years ago. If they cannot, it may be time for clients to rethink the law firms with whom they work.

Discover more about Amata Law Office Suites >>

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What Top AM100 Law Firms Get For Law Support

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Do you dream of being at an AM 100 law firm?

The benefits are fantastic. Higher salaries. Huge offices. Challenging cases that have a lot of sophisticated details. Diverse client bases.

And perhaps, most importantly, a lot of support services to help you focus on casework rather than daily tasks.

After all, you are a hotshot lawyer who can win multimillion-dollar cases.

What if you could have the vaunted support system of an AM100 firm even though you are a relatively new lawyer just starting your practice?

What support services do AM 100 law firms get?

The largest AM 100 law firms have robust in-house infrastructure to make your job as an attorney easier. They give you the technology and research tools you need (Abacus Law and access to Lexis-Nexis full-text case law) to make sure you bring your best to every case.

You are also around other high-level attorneys who offer mentoring and tutelage as you work through your career.

Other support services make your physical life more comfortable as a top attorney.

Think these things are out of your reach as a new attorney?

Think again.

Copy & Mailing Services

You can get a virtual assistant who can handle the mail for you at an office that has a physical address. Your VA can also make copies of vital documents for you, such as birth certificates or identification, when needed for your case or client intake.

Deliveries

A lot of legal paperwork is handled electronically now. But there are some things that still require physical handling, such as evidence, old photos that don’t have digital equivalents, and if clients pay their legal fees with paper checks.

Office staff can help with deliveries when you need to make them as part of the regular course of your practice.

Research

Legal research can be exhausting when you’re trying to find the right case law precedent ahead of a trial.

Lexis-Nexis is the best legal research tool out there, with comprehensive case law (full text) of every federal case and plenty of state cases going back many decades, or in some cases more than a century. Getting access to Lexis-Nexis might be easier than you think. Rather than pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the full database, becoming a member of a university’s alumni association may give you library privileges for their Lexis-Nexis subscription.

Digging through online resources and requesting photocopies or documents from law libraries takes time.

Hiring a virtual assistant or in-office can help take care of this for you, from finding the right case law to getting access to Lexis-Nexis through a university.

Paralegals

Hiring a paralegal can give you the help you need to manage a caseload, help with new client intake, and field questions from clients when they call. A paralegal is a way to add professionalism to the office environment while helping you maintain case deadlines, filings, depositions, and answering clients’ questions when they contact you.

Paralegals are masters of organization, details, deadlines, court paperwork, and organizing your files in a way that makes sense. They can also communicate with other attorneys working on the case and give clients answers about case deadlines.

Hiring a paralegal can make a huge difference to your workload when you need it most.

Administrative Help

Office assistants, virtual assistants, and an administrative professional also help take mundane office tasks off of your hands so you can focus on the practice of law.

Administrative professionals retrieve the mail, answer emails, answer phones, manage projects, work on marketing materials, post to social media, proofread written communications and filings, and handle communications with

They can also make digital copies of documents and photos for recordkeeping.

What if you could have these same attorney support services without needing to get on with an AM 100 firm?

Enter Amata’s Lawyer Support Services

Amata is a lawyer support services firm based in Chicago. We can put you in touch with legal professionals and virtual assistants who can act as your staff, whether they are on-site or virtual.

Do you want a paralegal who has basic knowledge of cases and how to handle client intake? Amata can vet the right paralegal for you.

Do you need an administrative assistant to take some workload off of you so you can focus on cases instead? Amata has a staffing solution that can make this happen at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time staffer.

Amata offers on-demand attorney support services that rival what you can get by being an attorney at an AM 100 firm.

On-Demand Paralegals

Our senior paralegals have 20 or more years of experience, some with expertise in certain practice areas, when you need expert help. Others have three years or fewer in experience and are hired as paralegal assistants. We bill our paralegals based on their years of experience and areas of law where their expertise lies.

Along with paralegals, we also offer automated case management tools that can prepare a table of authorities outlining local rules and filing deadlines

Our paralegals are trained to handle:

  • Editing appellate briefs and other briefs per your notes
  • Handle the back-and-forth aspects of discovery, which can last for months
  • Draft simple complaints and motions
  • Assess and prioritize cases
  • Close on real estate transactions

What are you waiting for? If you need extra help with your caseload, assistance is only a phone call away. Pick only the type of work you need, and the team at Amata will only bill you for what you require.

Get started today, and we’ll talk about how we can help take your practice to the next level.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Small Business Resilience Depends on Keeping a Focused Perspective

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

Know The Context

Small Business Resilience Depends on Keeping a Focused Perspective

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

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

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

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

Consider Inflation

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

Taking these three steps can help:

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

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

We’re here to help

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

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

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Practicing law is hard work.

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

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

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

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

It’s Quiet

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

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

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

Deadlines Approach

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You Need a Private Space for Consultations & Conferences

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

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

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

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

You Have Complete Control Over a Private Office

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Our office space services can:

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

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

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

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

Contact us for more information about our private offices.

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

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

Watch Here

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

 

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

Trusted by 50+ Law Firms and Rated 5.0 on Google

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

Watch Here

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Case Assessment Legal Support Services

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Amata’s case assessment support services in Chicago will handle routine office and administrative tasks required to keep a law firm running smoothly. Our services are extensive and help you gain a competitive advantage through efficiency. We work to free up your schedule so that you can focus on navigating your caseload.

Case Assessment

Types of Case Assessment Support Services Amata Offers

Small law firms handle a variety of tasks, often one after the other in rapid succession. Each legal case is unique and presents its own set of difficulties, and case assessment can become overwhelming as your caseload grows. One of the most effective ways to address this issue is to utilize paralegal services, which help reduce the back-office workload associated with each case, ultimately streamlining the law firm’s overall process.

Amata offers comprehensive case assessment support services, including:

  • Fact investigations
  • Interviewing clients
  • Organizing and maintaining case files
  • Act as liaison with local counsel
  • Drafting discovery requests and responses
  • Obtaining documents from clients or third-parties
  • Preparing document productions
  • Preparing exhibits for mediation, arbitration, depositions, and trials
  • And more

Our paralegal support services will help you achieve your law firm’s goals while building your reputation along the way. Amata’s dedication to legal excellence and professionalism ensures that you deliver a satisfying client experience throughout the time we work together.

How Our Paralegal Support Services Work

Amata provides efficient and effective paralegal services throughout Chicago, enabling you to supplement your existing staff and expand your business. We work toward providing the most seamless experience possible for your firm and elevating your practice.

Here is how your solo or small law firm can get started:

  • Step 1. Contact the Amata team
  • Step 2. Email your requests
  • Step 3. Decide if and how you want to work with our office

That’s it!

With support from paralegal team overseeing the practice’s administrative functions, you have more time to take on new cases. Your time is valuable; Don’t waste it drafting simple pleadings or handling routine tasks. Amata can help you manage your caseload from start to finish.

Superior Customer Service at a Fair Price

An overwhelmed law firm team is a stressed-out law firm. Delegate your case assignment and management needs to our office. Amata delivers reliably on paralegal support services that work for you, including:

  • Billing by the minute or hour
  • Spanish-speaking services
  • Administrative and legal services
  • Offices equipped to handle client meetings, depositions & conferences
  • Experienced personnel

Get Chicago Case Assessment Support Service Help

We are ready to learn more about how our Amata support team ca assist your practice. Amata’s paralegal services offer billing by the hour or minute. If you want to learn more about how we can help your solo or small Chicago law firm, connect with our offices today for details.

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Appellate Briefs Legal Support

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Amata eliminates the time-consuming task of preparing, reviewing, and filing appellate briefs. Our appellate briefs paralegal services in Chicago’s legal and financial districts have years of experience that your law firm can trust. Additionally, we review briefs for compliance against local court rules to ensure your caseload doesn’t miss a beat.

Appellate Briefs

Trusted Appellate Brief Paralegal Services Serving the Chicagoland Area

Our legal brief writing service and court filing services in Chicago handle a wide range of paralegal work related to appeals in Illinois’ state courts, federal appellate courts, and the United States Supreme Court. Amata also proudly provides clients with exceptional virtual and cloud-based services to make your experience as seamless as possible.

General Appellate Brief Paralegal Services

You can rely on our Chicago appellate brief paralegal services to deliver on the following:

  • Copying, mailing, and preparation services
  • Conversion of documents and files to digital
  • Appellate brief template set-up
  • Court filing services
  • Checking for compliance with local rules
  • And more!

E-Brief Preparation Services for Appellate Courts

Our appellate briefs paralegal services in Chicago can assist you with various tasks in your law practice. No matter the need, we can help you move toward a more efficient law firm at a fair price.

Our knowledgeable paralegals can assist your law firm with the following:

  • Conducting research
  • Appellate brief editing
  • Appellate brief formatting
  • Appellate brief attorney e-filing services
  • Confirmation follow-ups
  • And dedicate paralegal services

We are the additional set of eyes your practice requires to review your appellate brief to ensure it complies with the court’s formatting requirements. Amata will work with your in-house team to provide seamless legal services that support your law firm’s needs.

Flexibility on Your Terms

We leave it up to you how you wish to utilize our appellate services. Amata will thoroughly review all rules to ensure you access the most up-to-date versions, including searching for any updates or pending rule changes on your court’s website. Alternatively, we can assist you in drafting the necessary motions.

Legal Assistance

Our seasoned paralegal staff handles appeals involving a wide variety of issues throughout Illinois. Amata is well-versed in each appellate court’s written and unwritten rules and is adaptable in handling and resolving unusual situations.

Our team also offers attorney filing and paralegal services that provide:

  • ADMINISTRATIVE, PARALEGAL & NOTARY SERVICES: Amata charges you by the minute, not the hour.
  • FIXED-FEE COURTESY COPIES & COURT FILINGS: Get back to doing what you do best!
  • SPANISH TRANSLATION: Meet today’s market demands for phone calls, meetings, and documents

Apart from being knowledgeable about the numerous technical procedural requirements imposed by each court, our paralegals confidently explain such requirements to our attorneys. Our staff will not hesitate to inform clients when an interpretation of a court policy is unclear or should be discussed further with court clerks to obtain clarification.

Appellate Briefs Legal Support in Chicago

Get in touch with Amata today by calling or completing the form here.

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Mathew Dragatsis: The New Way to Scan and Search Legal Documents | THE 1958 LAWYER Podcast

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Mathew Dragatsis is the CEO of Scan Search, the new way to manage and retrieve documents. In this episode, Matthew talks about what the most difficult part of file retrieval and document management is, and how Scan Search completely eliminates that problem by making it so that you’re able to retrieve a file just like how you’d search on Google. Type any word or phrase that you remember from that document and you’ll find it, it’s as easy as that.

Matthew and Ron talk about the the best business practices, how to keep your relationship with clients and how Matthew was able to adjust, transition, and evolve with the changes that were required of his company. He also talked about the future features of scan search such as email integration, highlighting, and many more.

Key moments:

  • The most difficult part in file retrieval (1:17)
  • Eliminating the problem of indexing (8:46)
  • Evolving with technology and maintaining client relationships (15:47)
  • Future quality of life features (23:52)

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MEMORABLE QUOTES

“If you’re not evolving exponentially with the technology that comes out, you’re gonna fall behind or you’re not gonna be able to capitalize on opportunities that are really out there for you.” – Mathew Dragatsis

Mathew Dragatsis

ABOUT MATHEW DRAGATSIS

Mathew Dragatsis, Scan Search 

Document Imaging

Mathew Dragatsis has been the Founder of Radiant Solutions Corporation and CEO of their new product, Scan Search. He has almost 30 years of experience in document imaging and has served many different kinds of organizations with their document imaging, management, and retrieval needs.

Website: www.scansearch.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-dragatsis-b218883/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScanSearchDAM

Twitter: https://twitter.com/scansearch

Have comments, questions, or concerns? Contact us at [email protected]

“The 1958 Lawyer and his 1938 Dollar” still defines the business of law…
It’s time for a change.

If you’re a lawyer, you’re familiar with the ABA article “The 1958 Lawyer and his 1938 Dollar” which gives our podcast its title, and its inspiration. That article was the start of the billable hour for law firms…And the last major change to the business of law, 70+ years ago now. Well, it’s past time for another change.

This podcast is all about bucking the status quo of the business of law. Your host Ron Bockstahler runs Amata Law Office Suites, providing law firms an alternative to the traditional fixed-cost business model that places unwanted stress on attorneys to work long hours that often-times lead to burn out, broken relationships and in many cases substance abuse. Each week he’ll discuss alternatives to the 12 hours days, endless rotation of clerks and paralegals, and the expensive offices leased to impress clients who rarely show up in person anymore. He’ll interview successful lawyers who are doing law differently, and finding a work-life balance while still running a successful firm.

Do you want to find a better way to run your law firm? It’s time for the next big change in the business of law, and you’ll get it here on The 1958 Lawyer.

More episodes of The 1958 Lawyer podcast

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