Debra Bruce is President of Lawyer-Coach LLC. She practiced law for 18 years in several firms ranging in size from international mega-firm Baker Botts, to medium-size and even her own entrepreneurial firm. Debra focused on securities law and mergers and acquisitions, but also consulted to and assisted trial attorneys in a number of cases.  Debra draws on her extensive legal experience, as well as a degree in Psychology and well over 500 hours in training as a professional coach, to help lawyers improve their management skills, increase productivity and bring in more business. She also helps burned-out lawyers redesign their practices for greater fulfillment or transition to a new career.  Debra can also be found on Twitter: @LawyerCoach.

Solo attorneys throughout the United States are hearing the terms virtual paralegal and virtual legal assistant for the first time.  Today’s economy and the desire to keep a home-office practice are leading many solo attorneys to seek more information about virtual support.

What is a virtual paralegal?

The American Bar Association defines a legal assistant or paralegal as a person, qualified by education, training or work experience who is employed or retained by a lawyer, law office, corporation, governmental agency or other entity and who performs specifically delegated substantive legal work for which a lawyer is responsible.  The virtual paralegal meets the ABA’s definition, but this paralegal is also good at working independently and is tech-savvy when it comes to sharing files and information via the internet.  Most virtual paralegals work as independent contractors from a fully equipped home office.

 Why should a solo attorney consider partnering with a virtual paralegal?

Many solo attorneys do absolutely everything for themselves.  While that may be an initial budget requirement for hanging out your shingle, you should consider a virtual paralegal partnership as soon as possible for these simple reasons:

• Many tasks can be completed by a virtual paralegal who charges much less than the  attorney’s normal billing rate.
• Virtual paralegal time may be billable to a client at rate higher than the contract rate charged.
• Attorney time and mental energy is free for other client work at normal billing rates.
• Specialized paralegal support might be available on a virtual basis at a less expensive rate than in your geographical area.

 What costs can I save by hiring a virtual paralegal working as an independent contractor as opposed to hiring a paralegal employee?

      Payroll taxes, employee benefits (holiday pay, sick leave, vacation pay, health and life insurance, 401k or other retirement benefits, professional dues, training expenses, coffee breaks), personal phone calls, overtime, office and parking spaces, computer hardware and software as well as other office equipment; and routine office supplies.

 What expenses are involved?

• An hourly contract rate ranging from $40 per hour to as much as 30% of the attorney’s normal hourly billing rate for the time the paralegal works on your assignment;
• Reimburseable expenses similar to those you would charge your client (including postage, mileage, copies, binding, court costs, research fees, etc.).

 How can I locate the right virtual paralegal for my practice area and jurisdiction? 

• Internet or social media searches (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) using a combination of the following search terms.  If no suitable results, drop the practice area and state from your search terms, then ask for referrals from the virtual paralegal firms which do appear.

[virtual paralegal] or [virtual legal assistant] + [your practice area] + [name of your state]

• Check with local and state bar associations, as well as other attorneys

 What credentials should I look for when deciding on a virtual paralegal?

You should evaluate the paralegal’s education, training, work experience and  certifications.  Look at the requirements of the certifying organization, exam descriptions and CLE requirements.   Key National Paralegal Association Links will lead you to more information concerning NALA, NFPA, NALS and AAPI.

Most virtual paralegals who have made serious commitments to virtual work have invested in a website.  They often maintain a blog which will help you understand the paralegal’s writing skills.   Social media activity on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook will reveal a clear picture of a paralegal’s professional demeanor.   Ask about client base, current caseload and availability.

A virtual paralegal partnership means you can be solo and successful without going it alone.  Try it, you’ll like it!

Recently I connected with virtual paralegal Misty Sheffield who also happens to be certified by the National Association of Legal Assistants.  Misty specializes in civil litigation and real estate in Georgia, and in today’s guest post, Misty shares some misconceptions she has encountered along her journey.

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Misty Sheffield, Virtual Paralegal specializing in litigation and real estate in Georgia

Recently, at a local paralegal association meeting, I was surprised to find that I was dubbed by some as their enemy and by others as their hero.  Despite my natural inclination to associate only with my “fans”, I decided to find out why some fellow paralegals seemed offended when they found out I was a virtual paralegal (VP) and not a law firm employee or an in-house paralegal.  After a few short conversations a pattern began to emerge; it was the fear of the unknown.  The paralegals who saw me as their enemy had never worked with a virtual or freelance paralegal before and had several misconceptions about how we work.  I would like to dispel the misconceptions and maybe we can all be friends, or at least most of us.

Misconception #1 – Virtual Paralegals Work Directly for the Public and Take Business Away from Law Firms – Yes, there are independent paralegals in the market place who work directly for the public.  However, virtual and freelance paralegals work for attorneys only, and are very careful not to engage in any type of unauthorized practice of law. All of the work I do is supervised by an attorney.  VP’s take ethics very seriously because their business depends on their reputation in the legal community.

Misconception #2 – Virtual Paralegals Are Really Seeking Full-Time Positions in Law Firms – VP’s are business owners, not temps looking for permanent positions. When a paralegal invests time, money and sweat into starting a freelance business, the goal is to grow that business.  It becomes like a child that a mother will not abandon.  I have been offered a permanent position in almost every firm I have ever done work for.  I have refused the offers because that would be contrary to my goal.

Misconception #3 – Virtual Paralegals Are Expensive and Will Cut Into Firm Profits – VP’s can save firms a considerable amount of money.  My clients pay only for the time I spend on their projects.  Firms save money by not being responsible for my office space, office equipment, vacation time, health insurance and the many other costs of a full-time employee.

Misconception #4 – Virtual Paralegals Make Law Firm Paralegals Look Bad To Their Employers – Many times, attorneys hire VP’s because their paralegals have more work than they can handle, but not enough to justify hiring another full-time employee.  By having a VP relieve some of the workload, the permanent paralegals meet their deadlines, complete their projects, and focus on high priority tasks.  They look great to their employers!

I hope this clears up some confusion about how VP’s work.  Law firm and in-house paralegals should truly view the virtual paralegal as a friend and not a foe. 

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If you are interested in contacting Misty for virtual paralegal support, please contact Digital Paralegal Services at 800.531.7527 or send an email to cribble@digitalparalegalservices.com for more information.

I am writing this article from my hotel room overlooking the city of Denver and the beautiful snow-capped mountains of Colorado.  This business trip with my husband has reminded me how important it is for legal professionals to frequently step out of our normal every day perspective.

• Get out of town!  This was a business trip, and our first flight was canceled due to the blizzard and 14 inches of snow which visited Oklahoma City.  Unfortunately, it was not canceled until we had made our way from the country into the city on the snow and ice.  We spent the night locally at our daughter Stacey’s home because she lives closer to the airport.  It was a wonderful evening with both of our daughters.  We spend lots of time with them, but staying in their home gave us a different kind of opportunity to truly appreciate the women they have become.  The next morning we caught a 6:00 a.m. flight for Denver.

• Make specific plans and just do it! I think we have great expectations for dream vacations.  Sometimes we are guilty of just waiting for those trips — dream vacations or any vacation — to magically happen.  Making memories and experiencing times of renewal rarely happen without planning and stepping out to take action.

• Make your personal Bucket List! Life can be much shorter than we plan.  Don’t rob yourself of life’s joys by simply saying, “Someday, I’ll…!”  Have you made that personal Bucket List?  No one knows exactly how many days are left in this life.  Imagine the quality of life you might enjoy if you begin doing some of those things on the List now.  The new perspective, energy and zeal you gain could totally change the direction of your personal and professional life.
• Capitalize on the ebb and flow changes in normal daily activities!  The first day our Denver temperature was in the teens.  The clerk at the hotel registration counter excitedly told us we would have a view of the mountains from our room.  For nearly 24 hours, the clouds and snow blanketed the city so my field of vision was limited to immediate surroundings only.  Today is a totally different story.  It’s a beautiful, clear day and the view is breath-taking.
• Frequently change your altitude!  We all experience frequent altitude changes in our emotions as we daily embrace the challenges of the legal profession.  I’ve learned a valuable lesson this weekend.  Physically changing my altitude gives me an opportunity to get a new perspective, new focus and new motivation.  I’ve traveled in a car going up, down and around slick snow-packed local roads allowing me to see that other people were experiencing greater challenges than my own.  I do not frequently travel by air, but every time I do, I feel the weight of everyday challenges lift from my shoulders as that aircraft climbs upward.  Somehow, my true priorities and life balance come back into focus through this experience.  When the aircraft descends back to earth, and the wheels touch that runway, I’m ready to embrace life again with new excitement.  By the time I experience this process again on the return flight home, all those internal thought patterns and emotions which sometimes prevent me from moving forward have been replaced with new energy and zeal.
• Look for patterns! I experienced this same dynamic on a secondary level during this trip.  Our hotel room was on the 22^nd floor.  Each time I rode the elevator down to street level and then up again to the beautiful view of the mountains, I recognized new things in my surroundings.  The first time I looked out that 22^nd floor window, I was totally oblivious to the beautiful church and steeple in the distance snuggled at the foot of the mountains.   I think I was more shaken though that I did not even see the tall slender clock tower which was located in the forefront of my view.  It was even eye-level, but I had totally missed it!

It’s been a wonderful trip, but I am looking forward to returning home to apply these same principles to my daily work as a virtual paralegal and business owner.  I’m going to look at the tasks at hand from different perspectives.

Just maybe I have missed something right in front of me at eye-level which is within my easy reach!

Be selective when making social media connections.

Online social media friends and followers represent part of my professional network.  For those of us doing business virtually, social media contacts are a major part of that professional network.  Do you realize that social media contacts can help or hinder online reputation and credibility?

In personal face-to-face relationships with business acquaintances and personal friends, sometimes it becomes necessary to draw boundaries.  Simply put, there are some people with whom I do not want to be associated, either personally or professionally.  I am quite sure that will upset someone, but it is the truth.  Some relationships do not benefit us.

This truth also applies to online social media connections.  For over 18 months I have worked diligently to build a professional network using Twitter and LinkedIn targeting people connected to the legal industry and/or virtual services.  My accounts were opened specifically for the purpose of business networking.  More recently, I have added a FaceBook personal page and business fan page.  As a result of that networking, I have benefited from numerous opportunities which would not have occurred had I not been building relationships via social media.

I was recently contacted via email by someone wanting to connect on Twitter, but the individual had been blocked.  I reviewed the account in question, and immediately discovered why the block had been placed.  There was a pattern of language and subject matter which I did not feel was appropriate in my professional network.

Policies and rules are usually established because of abuses or inappropriate action.  Social media is no different.  Unfollow, block and reporting spam features were created for a reason.  But, do you ever use them?

If you do not have a personal or business social media policy, I encourage you to start the new year by evaluating what you want to gain from social media. Do your followers and the people you are following meet the “ideal connection” profile?  Are you selective?

The name of the game is not getting the most followers.  I have read about numerous instances of individuals who decided the mass following they had spent hours developing was doing them no good.  So, these individuals unfollowed everyone and started over, building real relationships.

For me, my personal and business social media accounts are for connecting and building real, authentic, credible relationships with people who have similar interests.  I have invested time, energy and resources in building this network, and I want to preserve its integrity.

It’s my network.  I can block you, and I will block you if I do not believe our interests are aligned, or if your content falls outside what I deem appropriate for my network.

ServeNow makes tracking your citations easier

Today’s guest post contains great tips for paralegal job security.  I know these tips are valid because I have personally experienced the rewards of applying these practices.  I might add that they apply to traditional paralegals, freelance paralegals and virtual paralegals.

Thanks, Seth, for reminding paralegals of these important facts!

7 Ways for Paralegals to Become Indispensable to Employers
By Seth Davis, ServeNow.com

The paralegal profession is bucking the roller-coaster trend of the rest of the labor market and heading sharply upward. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that employment of paralegals and legal assistants will grow 28 percent between 2008 and 2018. The good news for paralegals is that the profession is booming. The less-obvious downside is that more people joining the paralegal ranks means more competition for open jobs.

If you’re a paralegal, now is the time to bring out your competitive side; you need to separate yourself from the pack and make yourself indispensable to employers. We have gathered a list of ways that you can increase your value as a paralegal, with some great advice from former National Federation of Paralegal Associations President Georgette Lovelace, RP.

1. Take Your Education Higher
College degrees have become more important than ever before in employers’ eyes. Paralegals once were able to jump right into jobs without having associate’s degrees or bachelor’s degrees, but modern employers have begun to ask that paralegals furnish a degree as a prerequisite of employment.

“When I became a paralegal, I went to school to earn a bachelor’s degree and that was 30 years ago,” Lovelace said. “At the time the paralegal profession was new and not many people went to school for legal studies. Nowadays it’s almost required.”

Lovelace explained that there aren’t many places in the country where paralegals can get by without higher education, and that some states are creating regulations that require it.

“We’re approaching the time when employers won’t hire a paralegal without formal education,” she said.

2. Don’t Rest on Your Laurels After Earning Your Degree
Employers like to see that paralegals are on a constant quest for self-improvement through learning. Paralegals have access to many continuing education courses and can work toward various voluntary certifications, and pursuing these options can be the extra step that boosts your resume above another.

When discussing voluntary certifications, Lovelace said, “I think it’s important because individually it gives you a sense of accomplishment. And employers in some areas are starting to require it and list it as a preferred component. It demonstrates the importance of paralegals in the industry, demonstrates professional and personal growth, and demonstrates commitment to your chosen profession.”

Voluntary certifications can take the form of NFPA’s PACE program that leads to the status of Registered Paralegal, National Association of Legal Assistants’ certification program that leads to Certified Legal Assistant/Certified Paralegal status, and National Association of Legal Secretaries’ three levels of certification. Many or all of these programs require paralegals and legal assistants to maintain certification by taking continuing education courses.

If you’re new to the paralegal industry, Lovelace shared that NFPA is developing an entry-level exam for paralegals called the Paralegal CORE Competency (PCC) Exam.  CORE stands for Competent, Organized, Responsible and Ethical, four elements that NFPA has identified as essential qualities of a good paralegal.

3. Become a Well-Rounded Paralegal
The Bureau of Labor Statistics asserts in its 2010-11 Occupational Outlook Handbook that, “Employers are trying to reduce costs and increase the availability and efficiency of legal services by hiring paralegals to perform tasks once done by lawyers. Paralegals are performing a wider variety of duties, making them more useful to businesses.”

Because today’s paralegals are expected to possess comprehensive skill sets, the catch phrase of any paralegal when assigned a new task should be, “Yes, I can.” Through a mixture of volunteering for new responsibilities at work and participating in continuing education, you can fill in any gaps in your array of skills and become any employer’s dream staff member. According to Lovelace, paralegals should be able to handle any task that lawyers perform, with the exception of representing a client in court and giving legal advice.

“I think the role of most paralegals is to perform ‘substantive’ legal work, which includes duties that are typically performed by attorneys,” she said. “Substantive legal work consists of responsibilities such as legal research, drafting legal documents, interviewing clients and witnesses, analyzing and summarizing documents in a legal matter, etc. Paralegals can’t go to court or give legal advice, but they should be able to do anything else if adequately trained.”

4. Save Time and Improve Processes
Whether it’s finding ways to reduce paperwork or streamlining the phone system in the office, you can impress employers by implementing changes that produce noticeable improvements. Lovelace used ServeNow.com – an online trusted network of local, pre-screened process servers – as an example of something that frees up time for other important duties.

“Learning how to do anything including services available on the Internet such as ServeNow.com helps to get things done much more quickly. If you’re looking for a process server in another state, you can get on the Internet and plug in information and find a process server in minutes instead of making six phone calls. Employers are always looking at the bottom line, and with this you’re saving them time and money,” Lovelace said.

5. Decide Whether to Specialize or Generalize
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also mentions that many paralegals are beginning to specialize in niche practice areas such as real estate, bankruptcy, medical malpractice and product liability because they are growing quickly. This strategy can lead to increased employment opportunities, so you may want to research the benefits of becoming specialized, but Lovelace cautions that specializing in one area can limit you professionally.

“I think specializing in certain areas is fairly common now. It gives an applicant an advantage over a paralegal who only has minimal experience in the same area,” she said. “On the other hand, I think it’s important to have diverse experience. It can limit you if you’re too specialized.”

Lovelace said she made it a point to gain experience in several different practice areas so if she was applying for a real estate position, she could emphasize to the prospective employer her relevant experience in that sector.

“I would encourage paralegals to become more generally experienced because it can help you find the practice you’d like to spend the next five to 10 years in,” she said.

6. Become the Office’s Technology Guru
Staying on top of new software programs and learning to use them will elevate you quickly in employers’ eyes. Lovelace shared that she took the initiative to learn Adobe Pro and soon became the go-to person in her litigation department whenever someone needed to manipulate PDF files. Many software companies also allow you to download free trial versions of their products and participate in their educational tutorials or free webinars.

If you’re looking to bring your firm up to speed with the latest programs and technology, consider technology such as:

• ServeManager – Web-based application that enables you to assign, track and manage your service of process all in one place.
• Google Docs – A free web-based word processing tool that enables people to collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations and more.
• Online hourly billing software – You can use these secure, web-based programs for invoicing, time tracking and billing.
• Imaging software – Paralegals can use this software to scan images into databases.

Becoming proficient in the latest technology is wise because as Lovelace points out, “Attorneys are far more interested in law than learning mechanics and making something work on the computer.”

7. Maintain a Smoothly Running Schedule
“Setting deadlines for yourself and tracking deadlines for your boss is essential, not only because missing a deadline could result in a malpractice suit, but also because it helps everybody stay on task. You become very valuable to your employer when you can keep track of all those deadlines,” Lovelace said.

Some of your free and paid options for tracking deadlines include Google Calendar, ScheduFlow Online and VueMinder Calendar Lite. Lovelace uses her Outlook calendar as her scheduling system, but you can explore other programs and methods to figure out which is most effective for you and your employer.

Conclusion
You can position yourself to ride the wave of increased employment opportunities in the paralegal profession all the way to the top. Use the above tips to get you started and always be looking for new ways to increase and showcase your value to current and potential employers. And remember: The end goal is to be able to say, “Yes, I can!”

Seth Davis is the content manager for ServeNow.com, which is a trusted network of local, pre-screened process servers. Visit www.ServeNow.com for more information.

It has been a very busy year for Digital Paralegal Services and the Ribble family!  The leaves and the temperatures are falling in Oklahoma, and the wind comes and goes.  It’s that time of year when we let ourselves exhale, relax and say to ourselves “Life is good!”  I hope you will pause long enough to give thanks for your blessings before you jump into the next holiday season.  Don’t miss out on the thanksgiving season in your soul – it will do you wonders!

I am so thankful for the support and encouragement of new friends across the country during the last year.  If I had not taken this journey, I would never have met so many people in the legal industry.  Your blog posts, your tweets and your emails inspire me.  We celebrated our first anniversary as a full-service virtual paralegal business.  I’m excited about our accomplishments and progress.

Now, more than ever, I am thankful for my husband, Park.  We’ve been married almost 35 years, and I have him to thank for the name Digital Paralegal Services.  My daughters, Stacey and Lindsay, are constant encouragers in my professional and personal life.

My son, David and his wife, Erin, have had an extremely busy year.  Their twin boys, Bryce and Beckett, are now 2.  For those of us who have already traveled that road of parenthood, we all know what that means!  It’s a major milestone for our family.  The twins were born 3 months early and only weighed around 2-1/2 pounds.  At one point they dropped below the 2-pound mark.    They are truly miracles for which we are thankful!

Have a great weekend counting your blessings!