Virtual assistants have expanded since the early days of outsourcing only IT. As virtual assistants become more normalized, they are being snapped up by once-traditional professionals, knowing they need to innovate to remain competitive.
Law firms are one of these professional bodies. Law firms have seen the value of hiring legal virtual assistants to augment their staff and enhance business dealings. Winston Ong, CEO at BruntWork, highlights, “Virtual assistants allow legal professionals to reduce labor costs by 50-70%.”
Increasing Productivity with the Right Tool – a Legal Virtual Assistant
The internet and globalization have changed how businesses hire talented people, removing certain strictures. For example, researchers indicate that “Experts predict that by the end of 2025, over 90% of firms will integrate virtual assistants into their daily operations.” Today, companies, including law firms, have begun to tap into the new virtual legal assistant industry.
These legal virtual assistants have excellent legal education and training. Therefore, they can offer legal support to a law firm, regardless of location. The virtual assistant can work remotely independently, and to the hiring firm’s advantage.
The Business Support Services Offered by a Virtual Assistant
A legal virtual assistant can perform the core tasks of general correspondence, memos, dictation, transcription, filing documents and notices, and assisting with litigation and legal coverage. It is important to note that a legal virtual assistant is a remote professional offering vital support to law firms and attorneys through tasks like administrative work, legal research, and document management.
Additionally, these remote professional legal assistants can attend to legal research, database management, billing, and calendar management. Such assistants are willing to offer their business support services to large and small businesses.
Hiring a Virtual Assistant to Assist in a Legal Firm
When hiring a virtual assistant for your legal firm, list the skills and qualities you require of such a person. This will also help you to communicate your expectations of your virtual assistant.
You should ideally hire someone who is an expert at something you are not. As Marc Wallace states, “Virtual assistants offer law firms flexibility, allowing them to scale support as needed without the costs of full-time staff.” For instance, if you are not highly skilled at managing your firm’s social media accounts, outsource this task. In addition, if accounting is not something you enjoy and you would instead focus on your legal cases, you can outsource your accounting.
Where a VA Can Benefit Your Firm
While you are compiling your expectations of your virtual legal assistant, there are some benefits you would be prudent to consider. Firstly, a virtual assistant can assist with customer support.
This means anything from answering emails to taking calls or sending out newsletters, to begin with. More so, the lawyers can focus on their core work and not have to manage social media channels or answer calls. This can help boost productivity.
Adding Precautions
One provision when considering precautions is to have monitoring mechanisms in place. According to Reuters, “Law firms that manage risks such as data security and ethics while embracing these changes will thrive.” Your company can add monitoring tools to record and check the quality of the work your virtual assistant provides.
If missteps occur, they can be corrected, and additional training can be provided.
The Bottom Line: Legal Virtual Assistants for Law Firms
As virtual legal assistants are remote workers, there are many business cost savings.
In addition, having the assistance of a remote worker means that all work will be done. This will create a harmonious system.
At the same time, you can scale your legal firm without being burdened with low-level tasks that would not add value should you have to deal with them.
Interested in cutting costs, improving client service, and scaling your firm with ease? Book a free consultation and learn how hiring a legal virtual assistant can give your law firm a competitive edge.
What does a legal virtual assistant do for a law firm?
A legal virtual assistant provides remote administrative and legal support to law firms, attorneys, and legal departments. Their tasks typically include document drafting, case research, transcription, filing legal notices, managing calendars, billing, and handling client communication. Because many legal VAs have formal training or paralegal backgrounds, they are able to support litigation workflows, discovery, and database management. This allows lawyers to focus on high-value legal work instead of routine administrative tasks. As experts predict that over 90% of firms will integrate virtual assistants into daily operations by 2025, these roles are becoming essential for productivity and efficiency.
Why are law firms hiring virtual assistants instead of in-house staff?
Law firms are increasingly hiring virtual assistants because they reduce operational costs and increase flexibility. According to Winston Ong of BruntWork, “Virtual assistants allow legal professionals to reduce labor costs by 50–70%,” making them an attractive option for both small and large firms. Remote assistants can scale support up or down as needed, without the overhead of full-time hires, office space, or benefits. They also provide access to global talent with specialized legal training, enabling firms to operate more efficiently, respond faster to client needs, and remain competitive in a changing legal landscape.
Are legal virtual assistants secure and compliant for law firms to use?
Yes, legal virtual assistants can be secure and compliant if law firms implement the right systems and protocols. Firms typically use encrypted communication tools, secure file-sharing platforms, and monitoring mechanisms to protect sensitive client data. Reuters notes that “Law firms that manage risks such as data security and ethics while embracing these changes will thrive,” highlighting the importance of oversight rather than avoidance. By establishing confidentiality agreements, training VAs on firm policies, and using proper cybersecurity tools, law firms can safely leverage remote assistants while maintaining ethical and regulatory standards.
