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Friday, December 3, 2010

Virtual Paralegals in Litigation Part 1: Think of us as Telecommuters!

In the legal industry, virtual paralegals are gaining ground in a number of practice areas, such as bankruptcy, corporate matters, and estate planning. However the reality encountered by many of us working virtually is that in the area of litigation many attorneys and law firms are reluctant to contemplate hiring virtual paralegals. To be sure, there are bold exceptions. For example, I work with some solo practitioners who are delighted to get help without relinquishing precious office space.

But many attorneys in litigation cite roadblocks to working with virtual paralegals. Their practice may be perfect for it. They may be superb candidates because they have frequent work overloads which tax their existing staff, they have no budget for adding to their payroll, and their physical space and equipment resources are limited.

Yet many resist.

Thus begins my five part series looking at the reasons behind this resistance, and what we as virtual paralegals can do to allay these fears and convince litigators of the benefits of hiring us.

So what is the first roadblock?

Misunderstanding the term. First and foremost is a misunderstanding of what the term “virtual paralegal” means. True, lawyers active in social media or keeping abreast of technological trends may understand it well enough. But I have encountered many a blank stare when I’ve used the term in gatherings of legal professionals as I seek to explain to them what I do. If an attorney doesn’t understand what a virtual paralegal is, he or she won’t understand the benefits of hiring one. In fact, some in the field are abandoning the term altogether for this very reason.

In the case of a virtual paralegal, “virtual” does not mean “almost,” as in “virtually unknown.” Nor does it mean “simulated,” as in the “virtual reality” of a video game.

It simply means working remotely - virtual as in “occurring mostly online.” Think of it as telecommuting!

Telecommuting is certainly not a new concept in law practice. Both lawyers and staff work from home at many law firms. Technology permitting, they even log into a work server remotely to exchange emails and edit documents from home. Heaven knows when I worked in BigLaw, I spent many happy hours searching databases, drafting privilege logs, and all manner of other fun tasks from my own home computer.

Virtual paralegals are telecommuters! It's just that we are not full time employees, and we use our own equipment instead of the law firm’s resources - two factors which can and should be viewed as cost saving benefits!

However this leads us to the next roadblock: Technology! Tune in for Part 2 of this series coming soon!

And please share your thoughts in the comments!

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