The economic headlines have been uncertain for months. We’re in an unprecedented time of rising inflation, and economists predict an upcoming recession over the next year.
Recessions typically worry law firm owners and managers since they usually come with reduced revenues and less access to capital. If an organization doesn’t have much cash, it can be much more challenging to manage expenses and keep the business running.
Employees often make up a significant portion of an organization’s costs. Full-time workers require a set salary or hourly wage and benefits. While employees help keep the organization running, their expenses can become too much for the company to handle in tough financial times.
Fortunately, there is a solution to keeping your employee costs down at your law firm. Outsourcing positions like paralegals, administrative workers, and executive assistants allows you to obtain the help you need without taking on a full-time employee.
Here are a few advantages to outsourcing your legal administrative staff.
Financial Savings
At the top of the list is saving money. Outsourcing your workers allows you to pay only for the help you need. You can set the hours you need from a professional each week without having to onboard them full-time to your legal firm.
You can likely find month-to-month contracts for virtual legal assistants to help you in the areas required. You can choose your assistant and the hours you need them to work each week.
For instance, if you need help with client intake, you could hire an intake specialist for ten hours each week. You’ll pay the hourly fee, but you won’t need to offer them any benefits.
Greater Flexibility
A growing law firm often has busy periods followed by slower times. You may need multiple assistants for a few weeks but only one assistant at other times. When you outsource your legal staffing, you can accommodate your workload. You’ll purchase more hours when needed and reduce your help during slower periods.
Flexibility allows you to purchase only the help you require. As your legal firm grows, you can slowly increase the number of workers needed to support it.
Minimal Commitment
Hiring employees comes with particular challenges. Many companies make hiring decisions without much more information than a resume and an interview with the applicant. Interviews are usually relatively short, and the candidate is putting their best foot forward.
However, sometimes a hire doesn’t work out quite as you expected. You may find that the new employee doesn’t put forth the effort you want, or they don’t have the skills you need. Usually, employers are stuck with the employee (and their salary) until the worker decides to leave or the employer finds a reason to let them go.
With outsourcing, you don’t have to keep a poor performer on board. If you don’t click with the professional you have, you can find another one without worrying about running afoul of complicated employment laws.
Qualified Workers
Outsourcing your legal assistants ensures you have access to a pool of qualified workers. Most outsourced workers have significant education, skills, and experience that allow them to perform at the top of their game. You won’t need to worry about spending lots of time training them.
Hiring employees comes with a lot of risks. While applicants may say they can do the job, nothing is certain until you see them in action.
With outsourcing, you can be confident that your contractor has the necessary skill set to handle the work. They’ve already undergone extensive testing and interviewing and performed similar tasks to yours with other legal firms.
No Worry About Employee Turnover
When you hire an employee, you spend lots of time training them on the work you need in your office. While you hope they stay with you for the long term, sometimes they decide to leave and take their knowledge with them.
Frequent turnover wreaks havoc on your law firm. It can deplete the morale of your remaining team members and cost you time and money as you try to find a replacement.
If turnover is a problem you regularly face in your law firm, you should consider outsourcing. You won’t need to worry about training someone only to watch them leave several months later. Instead, you’ll have a reliable team you can turn to with your contractors.
Growth of Your Law Firm
While having a few full-time employees may seem beneficial, they can eat into your overhead expenses, and you might need more expertise to keep all the balls rolling in your company.
As you grow your law firm, outsourcing important tasks to skilled workers decreases costs while allowing you to accommodate your clientele. Rather than having a single paralegal working on all of your open cases, you can outsource some of the work to people with the necessary expertise.
For instance, if you take on a case that your full-time worker doesn’t have the experience to handle, you can connect with an outsourced worker who does. You’ll be able to expand the types of cases you take on without spending lots of time training your staff.
Operational Control
Outsourcing important activities gives you complete control of your law firm’s operations. You can increase your number of workers when you have a heavy caseload and decrease that number when you don’t require many hands to help you.
You’ll also be able to improve problem areas in your law firm. For instance, if you’re not sure whether your accountant is keeping firm control of your financials, you can outsource the work to a qualified IOLTA bookkeeper.
IOLTA bookkeepers have extensive experience in legal billing, monthly reporting, and compliance. You won’t need to worry whether your financials are accurate.
Woven Legal Is Here to Help You with Your Staffing Needs
Woven Legal connects qualified legal assistants, paralegals, and bookkeepers with growing law firms. Our virtual assistants go through various assessments to ensure they have the skills necessary to support your law firm. Contact us today to schedule a discovery call and learn more about our services.
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