What is a Legal Virtual Assistant and why do you need one?

Learn how a legal virtual assistant can help your budding legal business bloom.

It’s no secret that the legal sector is fast paced, and is always chopping and changing. With COVID came the rise of remote working, and with the rise of remote and flexible working, came, arguably, the rise of legal consultants.

LexisNexis have estimated that 1 in 3 lawyers could be working as legal consultants by 2026. They also found that in 2023, a key challenge for law firms was lawyers having to complete tedious and repetitive tasks, hitting firms hard with retention rates and encouraging lawyers to make the move to self-employment, because what talented lawyer wants to be doing these tasks, right?

With the rise of consultants, LexisNexis have outlined the keys to success, one big one being entrepreneurialism – something which sadly doesn’t always come naturally to lawyers.

As Richard Branson said...

"If you really want to grow as an entrepreneur, learning to delegate is a must."

So, if you are in the legal word and have taken the plunge to start your own business, a key to success is learning to delegate, and this blog is going to outline the benefits of delegating those tedious tasks you’re trying to escape, to a legal virtual assistant who (weirdly perhaps) loves those tasks!

Otherwise, you’ve traded in one evil for another – because running your own business comes with a whole other heap of tasks that you’re going to need a hand with!

What actually is a Legal Virtual Assistant?

A few years ago, people were probably asking the same question about consultant solicitors, but now they’re becoming more and more commonplace, and with that so are legal virtual assistants.

A legal virtual assistant is a remote, freelance assistant who has experience within the law, enabling them to help with legal administrative tasks.

In some instances, legal virtual assistants can cross over with remote paralegals and can carry out tasks that a paralegal would, especially if they have paralegal experience and/or a law degree (cough, like me!)

The main objective of a legal virtual assistant is to carry out the tasks that aren’t generating you income, tasks that you find tedious, that you may not be good at, or tasks that you simply don’t want to be doing.

They’re exceptionally helpful when you’re running your own business, as they take the pressure off on the admin front, allowing you to focus on generating more billable client work.

What tasks can a Legal Virtual Assistant help you with?

This can vary massively depending on the assistant you work with, however, here’s a glimpse of some of the services I offer.

Opening and closing files via Leap and file organisation

I open and close new matters on Leap on behalf of clients, and ensure the files correspond with the client’s template, and that everything is organised in an easy-to-use manner. I also carry out conflict checks, companies house checks, you name it! On average, it takes between 1 to 1.5 hours to open a file on Leap, so this is a big time saver for my clients.

Legal research

I conduct in-depth legal research so clients can get a head start on their upcoming tasks and deadlines, without starting at all. The research is always presented in a clear and easy to read format, but in some cases, in a format the client has requested e.g., via PowerPoint, in the form of discovery type questions, etc.

Legal document reviews

I proofread, cross-reference, edit, combine, highlight issues and provide some pointers on drafts of legal documents, so by the time my clients come to view the document and finalise it, they already have a head start on the issues they need to focus on with their own clients.

Client Onboarding

I design client onboarding processes based on my client’s, and their clients, needs, and can recommend the best send to sign software in order to level up your onboarding process to an electronic format. I’m also able to draft client care letters based on your needs, and take care of new client enquiries, so each new client is responded to promptly, reducing the risk of them not going ahead with the transaction!

Audio transcription of legal files

I can transcribe a variety of legal files with a quick turnaround time.

Email and diary management

My knowledge of the legal sector and meeting types, court hearing types, client enquiries, allow me to plan and manage both emails and diaries according to your needs. You’ll never be overbooked, or overwhelmed by an overflowing inbox!

Xero and legal billing

I'm able to organise and upload invoices and receipts to Xero transactions, and remind you on a monthly basis of what we need for the following month. I also make outstanding payments and chase any unpaid invoices.

Travel planning

If you’re lucky enough to be jetting off regularly, or travelling the UK for court hearings or meetings, I’m able to plan your travel itinerary, and locate the best deals based on your preferences.

To find out more about what I offer, see my services page here, or feel free to reach out.

Sometimes clients do come to me and ask about tasks that I haven't advertised as a service. If this does happen, and it's something I'm able to do, I get straight to it! Flexibility is a massive benefit of working with a legal virtual assistant.

Why should I use a Legal Virtual Assistant?

You might be in two minds on whether to work with a virtual assistant vs employing a full-time member of staff. However, working with a legal virtual assistant opens doors to multiple benefits for your business.

Scalability

With a full-time member of staff, you’re paying for them whether the work comes in or not, which isn’t cost effective. With a legal virtual assistant, you can choose how much you use them, and scale this up, or down, based on your needs month by month.

For example, I offer ad-hoc hours, so you could choose to use one hour one week, and five hours the next.

Cost

Working with a legal virtual assistant is far more affordable than hiring a member of staff.

If you were to hire a full-time paralegal in the UK, for their salary alone you’re looking at £18,000-£30,000. Then, you also have to consider the cost of annual leave, pension contributions, national insurance, sick pay, maternity and paternity pay. When factoring in these costs, a salary of £27,600 is actually closer to £63,000!

So, if you're looking to hire someone, be prepared to pay roughly double their salary...

Not to mention the issue of retention rates. Paralegals and legal assistants often aspire to move on and train to become lawyers, so you’re running the risk of paying the price and other ongoing costs time and time again for a member of staff who might not stay – even if you are really lovely to work with!

The going rate for virtual assistants in the UK is £30 per hour – and this also applies to me, and comes with no hidden costs or taxes. For more information on the packages I offer, see here.

Time Saving

Although you will need to do some minimal onboarding with your virtual assistant, it is nothing compared to what you invest into training a full-time member of staff.

A virtual assistant is already well versed in the tasks you need a hand with, so all they need to learn is your working style, and obtain access to any systems you’d like them to help with, and you’re good to go!

Another drawback of employing a member of staff as deferred productivity. It can take up to eight months for an employee to become fully productive in your business, and that’s eight months you’re not seeing a return on investment.

Specialist Skills

Legal virtual assistants can provide you with specialised skills when compared to a generalised virtual assistant.

We understand legal jargon, we understand legal document types and how to proofread and edit these, we can conduct legal document reviews, open files via case management software’s (Leap in my case), and can deal with client queries, to name a few!

Increased Productivity

Arguably the most important benefit to working with a legal virtual assistant, is protecting your productivity. It’s extremely difficult to be productive when you’re trying to spin multiple plates, and ultimately you’re running the risk of burnout, which isn’t the why behind starting your own business.

Whilst your virtual assistant takes care of tasks you don’t have to, or want to do, you can focus on more important billable tasks, such as meeting with new clients, attending meetings with potential business partners, and well, anything that grows your business.

Admin is usually like a ball and chain around your ankle, stopping you from reaching your goals, so it's a good idea to hand it over to someone else.

Work-Life Balance

Lastly, a big driver for moving to self-employment is taking back control of your work-life balance.

However, running your own business comes with it's whole own administrative tasks, on top of your day job, giving you a run for your money when you're trying so hard to achieve that balance!

With a legal virtual assistant, they take care of the tasks you shouldn't be doing, so your skills are utilised best elsewhere to grow your business, or so you can take a well earned day off and not worry about responding to every email, as your VA has it in check.

How does it work?

So, if I’ve managed to convince you that working with a legal virtual assistant is a great thing for your business (welcome to the party, finally!), you might be wondering how it all works.

Us virtual assistants usually offer a free 30-minute consultation call, I do anyways. This allows me to get to know you and your business, and for you to get to know me, and ask any questions you have. The goal of the call is to see if we’re the right fit, and if I can help you with the services you require – on the call I will usually provide some suggestions of how we could work, and how I could solve the issues you’re having.

If you do decide to go ahead, you have a range of options to choose from. Most virtual assistants offer ad-hoc packages, which means you can use as much or as little time as you need (dependent on their capacity of course). Clients usually go for this option first, because they’re not always sure how many hours they need, and this can be a good guide. It’s also a good way to trial the assistant you’re working with.

Or, you can go for a retainer package, which allows you to retain that virtual assistant for an x amount of hours per month. This can play out in a number of ways – some clients ask to reserve set time slots per week, and others are simply happy sending over work as and when they have it. It’s totally up to you.

I can’t speak for assistants on the whole now, but at this stage, I provide a booking form, my terms and conditions, and a data processing form if you don’t have your own, along with my security policy – because I think an added reassurance that all data is treated with the highest security is a must.

Although, if you choose to use a virtual assistant who is based abroad, this becomes a lot more tricky, so do so at your own risk!

Conclusion

So, if you’ve decided you’d like a virtual assistant, or even if you’re still on the fence and want to learn more, please feel free to reach out and utilise a free 30-minute consultation call so we can discuss how I can best support your legal business thrive.

I can be contacted via email at elliehogarty@elh-assistance.co.uk, or if you prefer, fill out my contact form here.