Let’s face it. Every business sector has its fair share of challenges. But, when it comes to the challenges that a law firm faces, the list doesn’t seem to end.
From being overburdened with work to fighting for clients, law firms were already having a tough time surviving. And then, as AI came and automated several tasks, the time these firms spent on client work declined, leading to a fall in billable hours and revenue. And law firms really don’t have much of a choice or room for maneuvering.
Clients today have become agnostic—or rather welcoming—toward law firms using AI, because this reduces their final bill. But with a drastic reduction in billing/ client, what can law firms do to survive and thrive? Simple: offer better value to clients by hiring virtual paralegals to handle client communication, critical thinking, and legal analysis.
We know it sounds counterintuitive.
You are surely wondering why we are advising you to hire virtual paralegals when research says that 69% of hourly billable work performed by a paralegal could be automated by AI. Well then, let’s first address this dilemma for you.
1. Why Hire Virtual Paralegals in the Age of AI?
With AI increasingly being used to automate work like research, data entry, and document review—typically performed by paralegals—many have started questioning whether AI will replace paralegals or whether law firms still need to hire virtual paralegals. In this context, it is important to emphasize that paralegals perform tasks that can be classified into routine and strategic.
So, as AI takes up routine tasks, paralegals will have more time to dedicate to high-value activities. For instance, paralegals are highly skilled at quickly analyzing documents to extract relevant information. However, when a paralegal has to extract valuable information from a large number of documents, they can take advantage of AI to accomplish the task in minutes or seconds.
If doing volume work in minutes is the forte of artificial intelligence, then nuanced decision-making is the forte of human paralegals. So, as AI takes up and handles these routine tasks like drafting, information extraction, and more, paralegals will be able to focus more on client communication, legal analysis, and critical thinking.
Moreover, the output of AI needs to be reviewed and vetted by a trained paralegal to ensure its accuracy and relevance to the case at hand. Thus, when you hire virtual paralegals who are skilled at prompting AI bots to find hard-to-locate case details in minutes—while being equally capable of applying their own abilities to offer maximum value to clients, you gain an edge over your competition.
Another area where human paralegals hold an edge over AI bots is client communication. Clients often seek empathy while communicating, which only a human can offer. While AI can initiate and organize client intake forms, you need a human to console a divorce applicant or listen empathetically to a widow describing her estate wishes. Thus, you always need human paralegals to act as a client’s daily contact for handling personal and sensitive information.
2. Why Choose Virtual Paralegals over Local Talents?
The above discussion makes it amply clear that paralegals can be the difference that sets your law firm ahead of the competition. But you might ask why you should hire virtual paralegals over local talent. Before answering, let’s consider some statistics.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that there were 366,200 paralegal and legal assistant jobs in 2023, a figure that is projected to increase by 37,300 per year or by 1% between 2023 and 2033. BLS also states that the median salary of paralegals was $61,010 per year or $29.33 per hour in 2023. The figures, although small compared to other sectors, are still substantial for a small or medium business.
Thus, small law firms trying to hire paralegals have to spend considerable funds in hiring top talent. Moreover, with each new hire, the firms also have to bear admin expenses, contributions to retirement funds, compliance costs, etc. And despite putting in all the effort, the firms may have to wait for days or months to fill each vacancy.
This is where you can stay ahead by partnering with a remote staffing organization to hire virtual paralegals. Every leading remote staffing organization like Remote Resource® has a ready pool of talent carefully vetted from the top 10%. You can onboard these virtual paralegals at a fraction of local hiring rates and also forget about admin and other expenses.
Moreover, by partnering with a remote staffing organization, you can scale with ease while also enjoying flexibility and zero compliance hassles. And unlike opting for legal support outsourcing services, hiring virtual paralegals gives you complete control over the process, as the virtual paralegals work as an extension of your team.
3. What are Benefits of Hiring Virtual Paralegals?
So, if we were to summarize the benefits of hiring virtual paralegals, here is how they would look:
Cost-effective– Virtual paralegals charge a fraction of the hourly rates charged by local employees. Moreover, having virtual employees eliminates expenses associated with equipment, office space, and employee benefits—making this a highly cost-effective model.
Flexible– When you hire virtual paralegals, you have the flexibility to choose between full-time and part-time resources depending on your business needs.
Expert support– Choosing to hire virtual lets you onboard top talent. Moreover, you also get the support of a competent team with years of cumulative experience to offer you expert consultancy and help you whenever you are stuck.
Scalability– With the virtual staffing model, you can expand or downsize your team as per needs without worrying about compliance, legal, or other hassles.
Final Words
Law firms today face a number of challenges, including a tough competitive environment, a fall in revenue per client, lack of customer referrals, and more. As such, they can stay ahead by hiring virtual paralegals who master AI prompting and client communication through a premier remote staffing agency like Remote Resource®.
In the above pages, we have talked about some of the benefits of hiring virtual paralegals. Connect now to know more. And if you want to experience these benefits firsthand, start now with a one-week free trial.
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