Law firms of every size and lawyers in every practice area face increasing client pressure to build greater value and increased efficiency into the legal services cost structure. One result is the growing popularity of administrative service outsourcing. The fundamental principle of outsourcing is simple: Do what you do best (practice law) and let others do what they do best, most efficiently and at least cost to both you and the client.
Commoditized Outsourcing
Outsourcing is familiar to law firms, which for years have hired outsiders to handle functions like the mailroom and records management. The more recent and dramatic direction of outsourcing, influenced by the proliferation of high-speed Internet, has connected firms with the growing pool of highly educated talent in developing countries where the use of English is widespread—India being the prime example. Such offshore legal service providers can reduce the cost of functions like transcription, research, document review, patent searches, data entry and billing by up to 80 per cent.
This is not the practice of law. It’s the provision of quality, low-cost legal support products for licensed attorneys. Because it involves high volume commoditized services, it is also typically not an option for solo practitioners or small firms. These lawyers typically will find virtual assistants (VAs) to be a more viable outsourcing solution.
Specialized Outsourcing
VAs are paralegals or other administrative specialists who work offsite and online, creating work product to your specifications and tailored to your practice. Technology allows access to such services without hiring a person to work full time, on the lawyer’s payroll. As an independent business owner, the VA is neither employee nor subordinate. VAs more closely resemble an accountant or any other business consultant with whom the lawyer has an ongoing, collaborative relationship. They become familiar with your practice and attuned to your business needs as much as any service provider engaged for a substantial length of time.
Virtual assistants are an outsourcing strategy that can give lawyers the best of all solutions to the need for help. You get a professional team member, selected to your criteria, attuned to the business and professional needs of your practice. You are relieved of the cost (and potential liability) that in-house staff can represent, and are freed to do more client representation and business development.
Selection Process
Virtual assistants should be selected like any other professional service provider. Such criteria as an informative and well-constructed website, a business track record stretching at least three years, and adequate professional references should be givens. Don’t make your final selection without benefit of an interview, in person or by telephone. It is important to ensure that the VA has the technical skill and sophistication to conduct an effective online business relationship, and is not just working part time or providing an incomplete service package. Evaluate VA costs using your own professional yardstick: too low a cost structure may indicate lack of business viability, while one that is too high will not enable you to accommodate it within your own costs while still giving your clients the value they demand.
Beyond these business considerations, think through the professional qualifications that you want from the VA. A paralegal should have credentials from an accredited educational institution, and should demonstrate knowledge of local rules regarding court and civil procedure, in addition to practical insights pertinent to your practice. Depending on your needs, a VA paralegal can also be expected to prepare documents for various proceedings (summons, complaints, motions, etc.), summarize depositions and conduct research.
An administrative VA should demonstrate the ability to organize documents and chronologies, and create and maintain client files. A virtual assistant should be able to conduct all these activities electronically from a remote location. That assumes and requires compatible e-mail, word processing, document management and database capabilities. There are of course other document exchange tools, including fax, overnight courier and even surface mail. But effective electronic integration is a must.
Outsourcing Caveats
One of the most important considerations about the outsourced VA relationship is to ensure that it is in fact an engagement of an independent contractor. Do not make the mistake of thinking that every part-time or offsite paralegal or legal assistant qualifies. If the person you hire does not have independent control of their work process – if they rely on their employer for direction not only on what should be done, but for how it should be done – that person may in fact fit the legal definition of an employee, and subject you to all the legal requirements that employers must meet.
Note also that a VA relationship is different from that with a temporary employment agency. Temps can be a viable solution to small firm or solo personnel needs, but if you need anything other than the most basic clerical assistance it would be wise to consider and select a temporary on a long-term basis, known as “temp to perm.” This option accommodates extended projects and protracted litigation, but should only be pursued with a temporary agency that specializes in temporary legal personnel.
The Bottom Line
Knowing what your needs are and what it takes to meet them is essential to finding the ideal VA outsourcing solution. The selection decision itself is ultimately a matter of gut feel. If you are honest about your requirements for integrity, initiative, professionalism and technical skills, the right candidate will emerge. Create your list of candidates by networking to seek referrals from colleagues, clients and bar associations. Be sure to check out all references and credentials of the person you want to choose before making the decision final.
Remember that your goal is to make things better for your clients and more efficient for yourself. The outsourcing relationship, particularly to a professional VA, should create more than cost efficiencies—it should be the foundation of an effective team that enhances your practice.
A version of this article also appears in the October/November 2006 issue of National Magazine.
Edward Poll (edpoll@lawbiz.com) is a certified management consultant and coach in Los Angeles who coaches attorneys and law firms on how to deliver their services more profitably. He is the author of Attorney and Law Firm Guide to the Business of Law: Planning and Operating for Survival and Growth, 2nd ed. (ABA, 2002), Collecting Your Fee: Getting Paid from Intake to Invoice (ABA, 2003) and, most recently, Selling Your Law Practice: The Profitable Exit Strategy (LawBiz, 2005).