There are lots of tools and gadgets that a home office lawyer can use to great advantage. But even the biggest technophiles can only save so much time with gadgets. Recently I read a post from someone who said she wished she could “clone” herself so she could get more done in a day.
Cloning might be a rather expensive solution though, and frankly I’m not sure when all is said and done if it would be worth the hassle. If you need another set of hands and some true human intelligence to go with it, you may want to consider the much easier option of hiring a virtual paralegal or virtual legal assistant. And you won’t even need to feed her like you would the clone (an occasional Starbucks card isn’t a bad idea though….just kidding!)
The list of tasks you can get a virtual legal assistant to help you with is impressive. You can have her do a rough draft of affidavits or agreements; proofread and format documents; conduct legal research and provide a summary; liaise with clients; transcribe from audio or digital files; or any number of administrative tasks. You can also get assistance with your online profile, blog research, blog comment moderation, monitoring of Google alerts or email management.
Another great way to utilize your virtual legal assistant is as backup when you take time off for vacations, maternity or sick leave, or to attend conferences. Your virtual legal assistant can monitor your email and voice messages for you and contact you only in truly urgent circumstances. It gives clients a point of referral when they feel the need to speak to a real person in your absence, instead of just getting an “out of office” message.
So next time you find yourself wishing for a clone, or just a whole lot of help, consider a virtual legal assistant. I think you’ll find it to be a wonderful tool for your practice!
Laurie Mapp is a Virtual Legal Assistant and owner of Halo Secretarial Services. She posts regularly at Halo Secretarial’s Blog.
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