The Cost Savings of On-Site Admin Support for Small Firms

March 17, 2025March 10, 2025 by Amata Law Offices

businesswomen working together at a coworking office

On-site admin support is a strategic way to streamline operations, cut costs, and focus on growing your practice. For small firms, effective time management and operational efficiency are key to staying competitive.

Here’s how it works and why it’s worth considering.

Why Admin Work Costs More Than You Think

On the surface, handling your own admin tasks might seem like the “cheaper” option. After all, you’re not paying someone else to do it, right? But the hidden cost lies in what you’re giving up: billable hours.

Let’s break it down:

If you spend 10 hours a week on admin work, and your hourly billing rate is $300, that’s $3,000 in lost revenue every week.
Over the course of a year, that adds up to $156,000 in opportunity cost—just for tasks that don’t generate income.

Tasks like scheduling, scanning documents, or managing client correspondence might not seem significant day-to-day, but over time, they can drain your energy and your bottom line. On-site admin support lets you focus on what matters most—serving clients and building your practice.

Efficiency Without Full-Time Overhead

Hiring full-time staff might seem like the obvious solution, but it comes with its own set of challenges:

High Costs: Salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, and training expenses add up quickly.
Underutilized Staff: During slow periods, you’re still paying full-time employees, even if there’s less work to do.
Recruitment Hassles: Finding the right person takes time—and keeping them requires ongoing management.

On-site admin support offers a middle ground. Instead of committing to a full-time hire, you can access skilled professionals on an as-needed basis. This means you only pay for the time and tasks you need, giving you the flexibility to scale up during busy periods and cut back when things slow down. It’s a solution that aligns with your workload and your budget.

Free Up Time for High-Value Work

As a lawyer, your expertise is in practicing law—not chasing paperwork or managing office logistics. By delegating administrative tasks, you free up valuable time for the work that truly matters:

Preparing for court appearances
Strategizing on complex cases
Networking with potential clients
Building long-term relationships with existing clients

Even small changes in how you allocate your time can have a big impact. Imagine reclaiming five extra billable hours each week. At $300 an hour, that’s an additional $1,500 in revenue. Over a year, it adds up to $78,000—without having to increase your rates or take on more clients.

When to Consider On-Site Admin Support

Not sure if on-site admin support is right for your firm? Here are a few signs it might be time to delegate:

Juggling client work and admin tasks is leading to mistakes or delays.
Late nights and weekends are spent catching up on non-billable work.
You want to take on more clients but don’t have the capacity to manage the workload.

Admin Support in Action

Admin support professionals can court filings efficiently while ensuring compliance with court rules.
They can also handle client correspondence, follow up on client inquiries or schedule meetings.
They can scan, organize, and format documents. These might feel like small tasks, but they quickly add up.

Delegating these tasks doesn’t just save you time—it also ensures they’re handled by someone who specializes in them, reducing errors and improving efficiency.

The Bigger Picture: Building a Sustainable Firm

On-site admin support isn’t just about saving money—it’s about creating a practice that works for you, not against you. By streamlining your operations, you can reduce stress, increase profitability, and focus on the big-picture goals that drive your firm forward.

Whether you’re looking to improve client service, take on more cases, or simply reclaim your evenings and weekends, delegating administrative work is a powerful first step. For small firms, it’s a way to operate more like the larger firms you compete with—without taking on the overhead they carry.

Takeaway

Every small law firm owner wants to serve their clients better, increase profitability, and enjoy a healthier work-life balance. On-site admin support is one of the most practical and cost-effective ways to achieve that. It lets you focus on what you do best while leaving the rest to experienced professionals.

Ready to explore how this could work for your firm? Speak with our team today.

How Fractional Support Services Transform Law Firm’s Productivity

January 13, 2025January 13, 2025 by Amata Law Offices

Running a law firm often feels like managing two full-time jobs: practicing law and running a business. Between drafting motions, responding to clients, and keeping the office organized, administrative tasks can consume hours better spent on billable work.

That’s where fractional support services come in. They’re not just an alternative to traditional hiring—they’re a new, smarter way for law firms to boost law firm productivity and profitability.

Here’s how fractional admin assistants, paralegals, and receptionist are transforming productivity for law firms like yours:

1. Reclaim Hours for Billable Work

How many hours a week do you spend handling emails, scheduling meetings, or reviewing documents? For many lawyers, it’s a significant chunk of time that directly cuts into billable hours.

With fractional virtual assistants (VAs) and admins, those tasks are taken off your plate. Imagine delegating your inbox management or having someone else prepare client correspondence, freeing up 10–15 hours per week.

At an average billable rate of $300/hour, that’s $3,000–$4,500 in recovered revenue every week.

2. Scale Up or Down Without Hassle

Law firm workloads fluctuate—big cases, seasonal demands, or onboarding new clients can create spikes that overwhelm your team. Hiring full-time staff for short-term needs isn’t practical, but fractional services are designed for flexibility.

For example, during trial prep, you could scale up your support team to handle document preparation and court filings. When the workload lightens, you can scale back without the commitment of a long-term hire.

It’s support that adapts to your firm’s needs, instead of the other way around. The ability to control costs when needed can make or break successful firms.

3. Expertise Without the Overhead

Hiring a full-time paralegal or legal admin means more than just paying a salary. Benefits, payroll taxes, training, and downtime add up fast. Fractional support services eliminate these hidden costs.

Let’s say you need a paralegal for 10 hours a week to manage case files or draft motions. With a fractional solution like Amata’s Paralegal 10 package, you pay $900/month, compared to $3,000+ for a full-time hire.

That’s a savings of over $25,000 annually—without sacrificing quality or expertise.

4. Deliver a Seamless Client Experience

Clients expect quick responses and professional interactions. With fractional support, you can ensure their needs are met promptly and professionally.

Picture this: A client calls with an urgent question while you’re in court. Instead of missing the call, your fractional admin answers, gathers the details, and assures the client that their concerns are being handled.

It’s a level of responsiveness that builds trust and sets your firm apart.

5. Built-In Backup for Peace of Mind

What happens when a full-time staff member is sick, on vacation, or leaves unexpectedly? Fractional support services include built-in backup, so there’s always someone ready to step in and keep your operations running smoothly.

For example, if your executive assistant is unavailable, Amata’s team ensures your calls are answered, schedules are managed, and deadlines are met. No gaps, stress, or scrambling to cover critical tasks.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Consider this: If you’re spending 15 hours a week on administrative work, you’re losing 780 billable hours annually.

At $300/hour, that’s $234,000 in lost revenue.

With Amata’s fractional support services starting as low as $585/month, the ROI is clear.

Transform Your Law Firm Productivity With Amata

Amata’s fractional support services are designed specifically for law firms that want to grow. Whether you need paralegal assistance, virtual admin support, or help managing office tasks, we provide flexible solutions that save time, money, and stress.

Contact us today to learn how fractional support can help your firm work smarter, grow faster, and deliver an exceptional client experience.

5 Hidden Costs of Handling Admin Tasks In-House

December 17, 2024December 16, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

Managing a law firm is challenging enough without getting bogged down by administrative work. Yet, many firms keep these tasks in-house, thinking it’s the most cost-effective option. The reality? It often costs more than you realize—in time, money, and missed opportunities.

Here’s a closer look at the hidden expenses of handling admin work internally and why outsourcing might be a smarter, more efficient choice for your firm.

1. Lost Billable Hours

Every hour spent on administrative work is an hour not spent practicing law. Tasks like scheduling, billing, and responding to routine client emails might seem minor, but they add up quickly.

If your billable rate is $300 per hour, and you spend just five hours a week on admin tasks, that’s $1,500 a week—or over $75,000 a year—lost to non-billable work. By outsourcing these tasks, you free up your time to focus on client work and revenue-generating activities.

2. Employee Burnout and Turnover

Overworked employees are far more likely to burn out, leading to mistakes, lower morale, and ultimately, turnover. When a staff member leaves, you’re faced with recruitment costs, training time, and reduced productivity during the transition.

Outsourcing admin work lightens the load for your team, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities. This not only improves employee satisfaction but also reduces the costly cycle of hiring and training new staff.

3. Paying for Downtime

Full-time administrative staff come with fixed costs—salaries, benefits, and overhead—whether or not the workload justifies it. During slower periods, this can become a financial strain.

Outsourcing offers a flexible alternative. You pay only for the services you need, whether that’s support during a trial or help with filing documents during a busy season. It’s a scalable solution that adapts to your firm’s needs.

4. The Hidden Costs of Technology and Training

Keeping up with the latest legal technology is essential for efficiency but can be costly. From software licenses to ongoing staff training, these expenses add up.

When you outsource to a professional team, they bring the expertise and tools with them. This means you benefit from up-to-date technology without the expense of purchasing and maintaining it yourself.

5. Missed Opportunities for Growth

When your attorneys and staff are tied up with admin work, they have less time to focus on activities that drive growth—like networking, client development, and marketing.

Outsourcing frees your team to concentrate on these high-value tasks, helping your firm grow and thrive in a competitive market.

Why Outsourcing Makes Sense

Outsourcing administrative tasks isn’t just about cutting costs—it’s about creating a more efficient, productive, and profitable law firm. With fractional support services, you can reclaim your time, reduce overhead, and focus on what truly matters: serving your clients and growing your practice.

Contact Amata today to learn how our fractional support services can help your firm succeed.

Amata Partners with Clio to Empower Small Law Firms

December 17, 2024November 21, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

We are thrilled to announce Amata’s new partnership with Clio, the leading legal practice management software. This collaboration is set to benefit the entire legal industry, especially small law firm owners. Together, we aim to simplify law firm operations, enhance client service, and drive efficiency across the legal landscape.

Clio offers a comprehensive platform designed to meet the evolving needs of modern law firms, including:

Client Intake and CRM: Streamline client onboarding and relationship management.
Time Tracking: Capture billable hours accurately to boost profitability.
Document Management: Access and organize files effortlessly, from anywhere.
Billing and Invoicing: Simplify financial processes with integrated tools.
Online Payments: Provide clients with secure, convenient payment options.
Calendar Management: Stay on top of deadlines and schedule with ease.
Secure Client Communications: Protect sensitive information with encrypted messaging.

Amata’s role in this partnership ensures that small law firms not only access Clio’s powerful tools but also receive ongoing support to maximize their benefits. Our team of administrative assistants will assist firms with onboarding, troubleshooting, and day-to-day management of Clio, allowing law firm owners to focus on practicing law and growing their businesses.

This partnership is a meaningful step toward leveling the playing field for small law firms, giving them the same cutting-edge tools and support typically available to larger firms. Together, Amata and Clio are empowering small law firms to thrive in a competitive legal market.

Celebrating Collaboration: Clio Launch Event Recap

To celebrate this exciting partnership, Amata recently hosted an exclusive event for the Chicago legal community at the iconic O’Callaghan’s Pub. The event was a fantastic opportunity for legal professionals to network, learn, and connect over great food, drinks, and a complimentary whiskey tasting.

Co-hosted by Bridgepoint Technologies and Clio, the event showcased live demonstrations of Clio’s practice management software. Current Clio users shared real-world insights on how the platform boosts efficiency and revenue. Attendees also engaged directly with Clio representatives, learning practical tips to maximize the software’s features.

The event underscored the shared commitment between Amata, Clio, and Bridgepoint to support law firm growth through innovative solutions. From learning how to streamline client intake to discussing strategies for improving billable hours, the evening was filled with actionable takeaways for all attendees.

Join the Future of Legal Practice Management

Ready to transform your practice? Learn more about how Amata and Clio can simplify your operations, enhance client service, and help your law firm thrive. Explore the benefits of our partnership and see how we can elevate your firm’s efficiency today.

6 Ways Fractional Support Services Save You Time and Money

December 17, 2024August 19, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

With the rising costs of hiring full-time employees, law firms are finding innovative ways to keep increasing their staff without the added costs of salaries, benefits, and extensive recruitment efforts. One particularly effective strategy is the use of fractional support services. Here are eight ways they can save you both time and money:

Adapting to Workload Fluctuations

Law firms often face fluctuating workloads due to varying case volumes and client demands. Flexible staffing allows you to scale your operations up or down based on current needs. This ensures that you pay for support you actually need, without the long-term financial commitment of full-time employees.

Accessing Specialized Expertise on Demand

Fractional support staff bring specialized expertise without the price tag. By leveraging them, you can ensure high-quality work while avoiding the time and cost associated with training new full-time employees. This on-demand access to specialized skills can significantly enhance productivity, as tasks are handled more efficiently and with greater precision.

Reducing Overhead Costs

Full-time employees require not only salaries but also benefits, office space, and equipment. In contrast, flexible support staff can work remotely or on a flexible schedule, which reduces your need for additional office space and resources.

With our scalable office plans, you can add or drop office space without penalties, saving on overhead costs by only paying for the space you actually use.

Avoiding Long-Term Commitments

Fractional support services provide flexibility. This is particularly valuable for handling short-term projects or temporary increases in workload, such as during major case preparations or when full-time staff are on leave.

Focusing on Core Activities

By outsourcing administrative and paralegal tasks to flexible support staff, you can focus more on billable hours, case strategy, and enjoying life. This significantly increases the revenue per employee of your firm: lawyers and key staff are able to dedicate more time to client interactions, case strategies, and courtroom preparations, while your fractional staff focuses on everything else.

Mitigating Risk

With fractional support services, you can test and expand your law firm’s capabilities risk-free. You can strategically deploy support staff where and when they are most needed. This proactive approach helps prevent overstaffing or understaffing and ensures optimal resource utilization.

If a particular service or staff member does not meet expectations, adjustments can be made quickly without the complications of employment law issues or severance costs.

Fractional Staffing Is Here to Stay

Flexible staffing offers a strategic, flexible, and cost-effective solution to optimize your operations. By leveraging the specialized skills of fractional paralegals, virtual assistants, and administrative staff, you can better manage workload fluctuations, reduce overhead costs, and enhance overall productivity.

This approach not only leads to significant cost savings but also ensures that your firm can adapt quickly to changing market conditions and client demands, positioning you for sustained growth and success in today’s competitive legal landscape.

Click here to explore with a member of our team how Fractional Support Services can save you time and money!

The One-Paralegal Trap

December 17, 2024July 1, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

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

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

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

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

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

The One-Paralegal Trap

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Running a ‘Lean & Mean’ Boutique Law Firm

June 18, 2025June 24, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

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

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

Revenue Is Vanity, Profit Is Sanity

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

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

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

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

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

Finding Your Sweet Spot for Profitable Growth

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Building A Lean, High-Quality Legal Team

June 18, 2025June 17, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

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

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

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

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

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

b) Focusing on solving bigger, more expensive problems

c) Lowering their expenses without compromising quality

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

The True Cost of In-House Support

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

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

Associate Attorneys

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

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

Paralegals

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

Executive Assistants

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

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

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

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

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

December 17, 2024June 10, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fractional Support Service Programs

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

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

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

Paula Kaplan Berger BERGER LAW, LLC

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

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

Your Employees Are Not Working 8 Hours A Day

June 18, 2025June 3, 2024 by Amata Law Offices

Recently International Workers’ Day was celebrated across the world, but not in the US. While in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, workers’ day is celebrated (on May 1st), labor day is celebrated in the US (on the first Monday of September).

The differences are immense. One celebrates the person, and the other the activity. Without getting into any political or moral discussions, this highlights the culture of glorified work that exists today in the US.

The eight-hour workday was created during the Industrial Revolution, after factory workers started to riot against 10-16-hour workdays in Chicago. The day was divided into “eight hours labor, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest.”

But this eight-hour moment didn’t become mainstream until in 1914, Ford Motor Company decided to cut the daily hours down to eight while doubling wages for workers. To everyone’s surprise, this increased productivity.

Today, a new movement arises: Should we cut the eight-hour, five-day-per-week work schedules even further? With the advances in technology, is working all these hours even necessary?

Your Employees Aren’t Probably Working As Much As You Think

The truth is that most humans cannot concentrate for 8 hours per day. According to field studies, the average worker is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes per day.

That means only about 3 hours per day are devoted to meaningful work. The rest are spent checking emails, browsing social media, discussing non-work-related things with co-workers, taking breaks, researching, and making calls.

This means that your employees aren’t probably working as much as you think, which is great because it means they can still get a lot done with just a few hours each day. What is hard is realizing that you are likely overpaying for full-time employees, which impacts your clients because you need to raise prices just to stay profitable.

It is not that your employees are ‘bad’ or have dishonest intentions. Just like them, we probably only have 3 hours every day to do truly productive work. So what should we do, given this reality?

The New Way To Work

What people are realizing is that there are smarter ways to work. If we trim everything in our workdays that isn’t our core functions (such as emails, managing social media, answering calls, etc), we are left with just a handful of tasks that are within our zone of genius. These are the tasks where we can have the most impact, that we enjoy the most, and what ultimately we get paid for.

This is why at Amata we created Fractional Support Services. Most small law firms will not need a full-time paralegal, virtual assistant, and on-site administrative staff. What they need are flexible packages that allow them to hire support on demand (hourly), so that their in-house team can focus on their core responsibilities and become more productive.

Some of the benefits of hiring fractional (part-time) support are:

Save 60% compared to a full-time employee
Take mundane tasks off your daily to-do list
Spend more time working with your clients
Work with a team to support your practice, not just one or two employees
No more time or money spent recruiting
Zero employee benefits costs
Scale team up for busy periods, scale down when done
No more payroll to cover during slow periods
Get expertise to help organize your days and reduce the anxiety created when you feel under pressure
Make more client deadlines without sacrificing work/life balance
Make time to take on more clients

This removes the bottleneck on your operational needs while maintaining flexibility on costs. You can scale up and down without needing to pay for full-time employees, so your full-time associates and key employees can do the most profitable work that they love doing.

You don’t need a large hiring budget to get operational support for your law firm. With Amata’s new Fractional Support Services, you can hire the specific help you need at affordable rates, and only pay hours actually worked.

Click here to learn more about the different packages we offer!