You don’t need to hire more staff when your law firm grows. By hiring a virtual assistant, you are not tied down as you were when hiring onsite staff. Moreover, with rising living costs, onsite staff are demanding higher salaries. For example, in 2024, US employers spent between 3.5% and 3.9% on average salary increases. Then again, many companies cannot increase salaries. Therefore, these employers have lost staff through quiet quitting for greener pastures. Companies, including law firms, thus have had to increase the workload on their existing staff component.
Consequently, office managers have noted a stark increase in burnout cases. However, this is easily avoided: firms can hire additional “staff”, albeit not per the traditional route, but through hiring, for instance, a virtual assistant for lawyers. In this way, partners in a law firm can grow their firm from a small to a mid-sized firm by increasing client load, offering more services, and taking on a heavier caseload. However, one key aspect that must first be grasped is the cost of hiring in-house compared to virtual delegation.
The Cost of Hiring In-House versus Delegating Virtually
It is wrong to assume that the cost of hiring onsite staff is merely a paycheck. Besides the expenses linked to sourcing the talent, the onboarding, and offering training, firms should also cover office space and purchasing the equipment their staff will need. The most expensive cost, typically, is rent.
For instance, if you have an office based in New York, the costs per square foot will range from $26 to $130, depending on the building and neighborhood. In addition to the rent, you will need to pay for insurance, electricity, and other costs.
However, by hiring virtual talent, you pay only for what you use: their skills. No office costs, no insurance costs, and no equipment. That saving is key to growth, and to growing quickly. On average, you could cut costs by 70% compared with hiring in-house. But what can a virtual assistant handle?
What Can a Virtual Assistant Handle in a Growing Law Firm?
A virtual assistant, such as a legal VA, can take on tasks that support firm growth without adding to your in-house workload. These tasks are mostly the low-level tasks that waste your in-house staff’s time, such as managing intake calls, screening potential clients, and handling scheduling across attorneys’ calendars.
Although less critical, these tasks are still needed to keep operations running smoothly while client volume increases. Additionally, having a virtual assistant to draft and edit routine legal correspondence frees attorneys to focus on higher-value work. Besides that, a virtual assistant for lawyers can help with discovery prep, legal research (under supervision), and ensuring that your CRM and case-management systems are always up to date. Moreover, virtual assistants can conduct billing tasks, consistently sending invoices and following up on payments. You can help reduce delays and improve cash flow by delegating these tasks to a virtual assistant.
Virtual Assistant for Lawyers: How to Integrate a Virtual Assistant into Your Legal Workflow
To successfully integrate a virtual assistant into your legal workflow, you can start with a straightforward onboarding process. Walk the new person through your systems, tools, and expectations. Office managers should provide access to secure platforms such as Clio or MyCase and use task-management tools such as Trello to assign work and to track progress.
Managers should focus on offering assignments that create real impact, not just busywork, first ascertaining that the virtual assistant comprehends the standards. Set up regular communication routines such as daily check-ins or weekly briefings, and use SOPs to maintain consistency. This structure builds reliability and keeps everyone aligned.
Delegation Mistakes to Avoid When Expanding with a VA
Many law firms wait too long to delegate, holding onto tasks until they are overwhelmed. Bringing in a virtual assistant late can reduce their impact and create rushed onboarding. Another common mistake is dumping tasks without explicit instructions, which leads to errors and wasted time.
Firms must also set strict confidentiality guidelines to protect sensitive data from day one. And while VAs can support legal work, they’re not licensed professionals; never assume they have legal training. Clear boundaries, documented processes, and realistic expectations are key to successful delegation.
When to Hire In-House vs. When to Stay Virtual
Not every role in a growing law firm needs to be filled in-house. Use this rule of thumb: keep high-value, client-facing, or strategic work internal, but delegate repetitive, admin-heavy, or overflow tasks to a virtual assistant. This approach keeps your core team focused while maintaining efficiency.
As your firm scales, a hybrid model works best. Build a lean internal team supported by virtual professionals who can flex with your workload. This is a cost-effective way of growing without overcommitting to full-time hires.
Final Thoughts: Virtual Assistant for Lawyers
Law firm growth doesn’t require adding more people: it requires building more intelligent systems. Virtual assistants aren’t just temporary help; they’re a long-term solution for creating lean, efficient operations that scale with demand. If you’re considering expansion, test your readiness with a virtual assistant. This is a low-risk way of offloading work, improving workflow, and seeing where a lean support model can take your firm.
Practice Law. Let a VA Handle the Rest.
You didn’t go to law school to chase paperwork or manage calendars. A virtual assistant for lawyers takes on the admin, client follow-ups, intake, and more, so you can focus on winning cases and growing your firm.
Ready to scale without the overhead?
Book your free consultation with Aristo Sourcing and get matched with a legal-savvy virtual assistant who is ready to support your success.