Your firm is busy. Resist the knee-jerk reaction to hire another lawyer. Instead, assess whether hiring a paralegal can fill the need.
Consider hiring a freelance paralegal to manage varying workloads without long-term commitments, reducing hiring costs and efficiently handling overflow work during peak times.
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Your solo or small law firm is busier than ever and you desperately need another warm body to complete the work. Resist the knee-jerk reaction to hire another lawyer. Instead, assess whether hiring a paralegal can fill the need. You’ll find that in most practice areas it can.
What is a Paralegal and What Do They Do?
Definition of a Paralegal
A paralegal is a legal professional who assists lawyers in a law firm with various administrative and research tasks. Often referred to as legal assistants, paralegals are an indispensable part of the legal team. They are responsible for conducting legal research, drafting legal documents, and performing law office administration tasks. While they work under the supervision of a lawyer, they are not licensed to practice law.
Paralegals can specialize in specific areas of law, such as corporate law, criminal law, or family law. Some may choose to work as freelance paralegals, offering their services to law firms on an as-needed basis. To excel in their roles, paralegals must have specialized knowledge and training in legal procedures and practices. Additionally, they need excellent organizational and communication skills to effectively collaborate with lawyers, clients, and other legal professionals.
Reasons Why It’s Better to Hire Paralegals Than Lawyers for Your Law Firm
1. Less Money
Paralegals cost less than lawyers. Why increase your overhead more than you have to?
2. Increased Billable Hours
Many firm owners seem to forget that paralegals can be as much of a profit center as the best grinder lawyer. Good paralegals can handle various legal tasks, such as research, communicating with clients, and drafting letters, emails, and memos. Some can even do these tasks better than lawyers. And the time it takes to do these things can be billed just like a lawyer.
3. Increased Profits
Don’t assume that leveraging an associate always brings more to the bottom line than leveraging a paralegal. Let’s do the math:
- Assume you hire a paralegal for $50,000 and an associate for $100,000.
- Assume each bills 1,000 hours annually.
- You bill out your associate at $200 per hour and the paralegal at $150.
- The profit for the associate is $100,000 ($200K in revenue minus the $100K salary).
- The profit for the paralegal is, lo and behold, the same ($150K in revenue minus the $50K salary).
Further, you can play with these numbers and create situations where paralegals can be even more profitable than an associate.
4. Improved Client Benefits Through Legal Research
Using the same numbers above, clients get lower bills. Yes, I realize the firm’s overall revenue will decrease. But the focus should be on profits, not revenue. Profits don’t have to suffer when substituting paralegals for lawyers.
5. Easier to Manage Administrative and Research Tasks
Let’s face it, many lawyers think they know everything and don’t take orders all that well. They can be quite difficult to manage.
A generalist paralegal, with their versatile skill set, can meet various needs and be easier to manage compared to specialized lawyers.
Anecdotally, I can tell you from my coaching and consulting experience that it’s the rare owner who complains to me about an underperforming paralegal. Likewise, it’s the rare owner who doesn’t complain to me about an underperforming lawyer.
6. Less Competition
Last, but certainly not least, paralegals don’t quit and compete against you as lawyers can.
Paralegals play an important role in a legal practice, handling a variety of tasks that enhance the firm’s efficiency and productivity.
Skills to Look for in a Paralegal
Organizational and Communication Skills
When hiring a paralegal, it’s key to seek individuals with outstanding organizational and communication skills. Paralegals must juggle multiple tasks and deadlines, prioritize their workload, and maintain meticulous records. Effective communication with lawyers, clients, and other legal professionals, both verbally and in writing, is also essential.
Paralegals should be good at drafting clear and concise legal documents, such as contracts, pleadings, and motions. They must also be outstanding in conducting legal research using various legal research databases, such as Westlaw and LexisNexis. Additionally, maintaining confidentiality and handling sensitive information with discretion.
Technical Skills for Legal Professionals
In today’s environment, paralegals must possess technical skills to perform their job duties efficiently. Proficiency in using law office software, such as document management systems and time tracking software, is essential. Familiarity with electronic filing systems and the ability to e-file documents with the court are also necessary.
Depending on their area of specialization, paralegals may need to use specialized software, such as bankruptcy software or immigration software. They must be quick learners, able to adapt to new software and technology, and troubleshoot technical issues as they arise.
In addition to technical skills, paralegals should possess generalist skills, such as data entry, document preparation, and record-keeping. They should be capable of working independently and as part of a team, prioritizing tasks, and managing their time effectively.
Overall, paralegals play a critical role in the legal profession, and possessing the right skills and training is essential to success in this field.
Your Default Consideration Should Be Hiring a Paralegal with Certification
My message here is that when help is needed, the first thing to consider is hiring a paralegal. Of course, there are some practice areas where a paralegal is not suitable. For instance, if you need someone to make a lot of court appearances, you must hire a lawyer. Whenever possible, however, default to a paralegal instead of a lawyer.
Really good paralegals are worth their weight in gold.
Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com
You Might Also Like:
“Expanding Your Solo Practice Without Hiring an Associate” by Russell Knight
“To Hire or Not to Hire: The Solo-Solo Dilemma” by Dustin Cole
“Effective Delegation for Lawyers,” Part 1 and Part 2 by Yuliya Roe
“Outsourcing: When You Can’t Clone Yourself” by Kristin Tyler
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