Reduce Your Staffing Expenses with Virtual Help

In-house employees can put a serious strain on your law firm’s finances. But thanks to tech advancements, virtual help has emerged as a game-changer.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how virtual staffing can revolutionize your law firm’s operations and save you money—all while enhancing efficiency and client satisfaction.

Types of virtual help

Here, virtual help refers to remote professionals who provide various administrative, receptionist, and assistant services from off-site locations. These virtual staff members function like contractors. Meaning you aren’t responsible for salary, benefits, and employee management. Instead, you’ll pay a flat fee based on hours or minutes.

Virtual Receptionists: Saving on first impressions

When a potential new client calls your law firm, that first impression can make or break their decision to hire you. However, for small law firms on a tight budget, the cost of an in-house receptionist often isn’t justifiable. This is where virtual receptionists come into play: A cost-effective alternative that doesn’t compromise on professionalism or quality of service.

Virtual receptionists will:

• Answer & route incoming calls
• Schedule consultations & appointments
• Screen leads
• Complete new client intakes
• Answer commonly asked questions
• Process payments
• Represent your law firm in the best light possible

Virtual receptionists are trained to provide exceptional client service, ensuring that every caller is treated with warmth and understanding. Plus, catching every call leads to more new cases and happier clients.

So what’s the cost saving? 

According to Salary.com, an in-house legal receptionist will cost you around $46,659 per year in salary alone. When you factor in benefits and taxes, you’re looking at a number closer to $70,637. That’s about 5,886 per month!

With a virtual legal receptionist plan, you can get full-time phone coverage for an average of $350-$1,400 per month, depending on the number of calls your law firm receives.

Virtual Assistants: Streamlining operations

As a small law firm attorney, you know the pain of late nights in the office, bouncing back and forth between administrative tasks and casework. Unfortunately, you likely don’t have the budget for a full-time staff member to provide relief. (You’d probably already have hired one if you did!) Enter virtual assistants and paralegals. Skilled professionals who provide fractional, remote administrative support, allowing you to streamline your operations and decrease the burden of your workload.

Virtual assistants and paralegals will assist with a wide range of tasks, including:

• CRM & email management
• Client communications
• Schedule & appointment management
• Document preparation
• Client billing & bookkeeping
• Lead qualification & detailed client intakes
• Translation services
• Content writing & SEO
• Website & social media management

Outsourcing these tasks to a virtual assistant will free up your time to concentrate on your clients and casework.

Finding a highly qualified, in-house legal assistant who is willing to work part-time is nearly impossible. This is what makes virtual assistants such a unicorn solution for small law firms. You’ll gain an experienced team member who doesn’t need you to provide them with a full-time position because they work with multiple clients at once to fill up their time.

So what’s the cost saving? 

According to Salary.com, an in-house legal assistant will cost you around $61,658 per year in salary alone. When you factor in benefits and taxes, you’re looking at a number closer to $91,870. That’s about $7,655 per month!

A virtual legal assistant plan will cost you $420-$2,160 per month.

The benefits of virtual help

1. Cost savings: Hiring virtual receptionists and assistants significantly reduces your staffing expenses by eliminating the costs associated with recruiting, training, salaries, benefits, and office space.
2. Flexibility & scalability: Virtual help offers the flexibility to scale your support staff according to your law firm’s needs. Whether you want additional assistance during peak phone hours or want to scale back during the slower months, virtual professionals can adapt your needs seamlessly.
3. Increased efficiency: Delegating administrative tasks to virtual team members allows you to focus on billable work without the burden of managing and training in-house staff.
4. Enhanced client service: Having virtual receptionists and assistants available to catch every call, email, web chat, or contact form ensures your clients feel cared for—improving client satisfaction and loyalty.

Conclusion

Hiring virtual help, like virtual receptionists and assistants, allows law firms to:

• Streamline operations
• Enhance efficiency
• Provide exceptional client service
• Keep costs in check while growing

Want to learn more about how virtual receptionists and assistants can reduce your staffing costs? Schedule a free Discovery Call today.