A Virtual Paralegal Assistant handles administrative functions for your law practice -- including tasks like e-mail management, drafting correspondence, intensive legal research, preparing form pleadings -- so you can focus on profitable, billable work for your clients. A strong paralegal also acts as the go-between for the attorney, clients, witnesses, experts, court officials as the paralegal works to ensure that everything comes together in the best interest of the client.
By using a Virtual Paralegal Assistant, your legal team is strengthened by using an experienced and affordable supplemental team member. Outsourcing paralegal services to a company like Virtual Assist USA allows you to control costs and increase revenues while securing the competitive advantage of accessing paralegal assistance.
There are several advantages for attorneys who hire Virtual Assistant paralegals including:
Billing clients for the entire cost for the contract paralegal (The general rule, arising from two U.S. Supreme Court cases, is that paralegal work is recoverable in a fee award and may be billed for at market rate within its own line item. This is in contrast to the services of support staff, such as secretaries, messengers, librarians or janitors, whose costs are reimbursable in a fee award along with other overhead costs. Market rates vary by state regarding paralegal utilization, so be sure to consult state law and local rules in your area.)
No overhead costs typically associated with an employee such as benefits, paid holidays, technology, equipment and more
No excessive downtime for training or ongoing education
You only pay your Virtual Paralegal for the time you actually use their services
As an all-inclusive Virtual Assistant Service, we're proud to offer paralegal services to our clients. Our Virtual Assistant Paralegals assist clients with:
managing case files from client retention through settlement and/or trial
drafting and proofreading pleadings, discovery requests and responses, correspondence, memoranda, reports,
contracts, agreements and summaries
coordinating the procurement of medical records and generating
through digests of the same for purposes of determining case value and uncovering any inconsistencies in the claim
ensuring compliance of both Court and client mandated procedures and deadlines
coordinating depositions, hearings, meetings and the subsequent travel or vendor services
supporting in the review, analysis, redaction and organization of documents to be used as evidence and exhibits
establishment and maintenance of material and electronic record management systems
Solo legal practitioners - and even those who work in larger law firms - often find themselves caught up in the regular, repetitive day-to-day administrative and operational tasks. Hiring a Virtual Assistant paralegal can assist with this.