Popular Threads on SolosezMaking Solo Law Practice – One Attorney/No Staff – More ProductiveI operate a solo law practice - one attorney, no staff. Since the bulk of my practice contingent fee-based collections work, I feel I'm between a rock and a hard place; I cannot afford the cash outlay for staff (and municipal codes forbid me from having employees in my home-based office), and yet my practice would be more productive - and thus presumably bring in more money - if I could delegate many routine tasks to someone else. Any thoughts or advice? You should use a virtual assistant. Sit down and figure out how much work someone can do virtually - then you just hire someone for the # of hours you need. The best thing about VAs is that they are entrepreneurial, so they are always out looking for more work and do not try to pressure you to commit to a specific # of hours. Carolyn Elefant, District of Columbia It sounds like a virtual assistant (VA) might be a good option for you. VA's work from their location, so you wouldn't have to worry about office space, computer, etc. You can also hire many (most?) VA's just for the number of hours you need. You wouldn't have to hire a full-time assistant or even a 20 hour per week person. You could just use the VA for 5 hours per week, or whatever you need. I'm in a similar boat as you. Solo with no staff. I see that an assistant could potentially help me get more done and earn more money. It's just a bit mind boggling to tackle, though. Andrew Flusche, Virginia Are VAs that useful? The greatest benefit to an admin person is being able to hand things off to him/her. Meyer Silber I guess I feel like Myer. What do you have virtual assistants do? Randy B. Birch, Utah Virtual work! Seriously, a VA could do quite a bit for you. I'm still learning this myself and trying to wrap my head around having an assistant at all. One easy thing: calling courts to schedule things, check info, whatever. It seems like I'm always on the phone with a clerk, just getting a simple traffic continuance. VA could do that. Documents can be produced offsite. With a proper tech setup, the VA could save the docs right into your digital client file for you to print. You could also have a VA email or call clients to request documents, confirm appoints, etc. I know several people on the list use VAs, Carolyn Elefant being one. I hope they'll chime in. Andrew Flusche |
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