When your law firm is just starting out or operating when the economy is down (like during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis), you may be tempted to do everything in-house to save money. The problem with this approach is that your staff may spend too much time on tasks that are either mundane or beyond their skill set.
Because of this, you may want to consider outsourcing instead. Outsourcing can actually be more financially beneficial to your firm since it frees up your employees’ time, enabling them to work on matters that actually generate revenue. You also save on the costs of hiring full-time staff, as you’re not locked into a long-term commitment and you can even pay for services on demand.
Outsourcing also enables your employees to practice law, making what they do more fulfilling, and making the firm easier to manage.
Here are some tasks that your law firm may want to outsource:
1. Administrative support
Administrative assistants play a very crucial role in the legal world. They help book appointments, answer phone calls, reply to emails, and accomplish other support tasks. However, having an in-house admin assistant can be very expensive, which is why some law firms eschew this. But having no one fulfill this role can lead to a workload that is too much for your firm’s lawyers to handle.
To get support tasks done without breaking the bank, you can outsource admin support to a virtual assistant (VA) instead. With today’s cloud-based and highly connected world, a VA can do practically almost anything that an in-house admin assistant can, but remotely. In fact, you can hire a VA from anywhere in the world, which can translate to reduced labor costs. Also, since a VA is typically considered an independent contractor, you don’t have to think about their taxes, paid leaves, insurance coverage, and other benefits. More often than not, you also don’t have to provide VAs with equipment and supplies because they usually have that covered as well.
2. Accounting
As a law firm manager, you know that having accurate and timely accounting is vital to keeping your business profitable. However, handling billing, collections, payroll, deposits, bank account reconciliation, and financial statements can easily take up a large chunk of your time. And if accounting is not your expertise, you may make the wrong business decisions. That’s why it’s best to let a professional accounting firm handle this side of the business. By doing so, you’d work with a team of experts that knows the tax codes, laws, and any updates inside out. They may even help you find tax exemptions and other legal provisions that you can leverage.
[img src=”https://www.recordrs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Law-firms-outsourcing-tasks-infographic.png” link=”https://www.recordrs.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Law-firms-outsourcing-tasks-infographic.png” target=”_blank”]
3. Legal research and drafting
Conducting research and drafting pleadings, memoranda, and other legal documents are some of the most time-consuming tasks that lawyers do. To ease the load, some law firms hire in-house paralegals to take on these tasks instead, which can be quite expensive.
A more cost-effective option is outsourcing to a company that specializes in legal research and document drafting. What’s great is that many of these providers also offer proofreading and review services. These extra services guarantee that you’ll receive documents that are practically ready for filing, saving you a lot of time and effort.
4. Record retrieval
Winning legal cases relies heavily on having accurate and complete records. However, retrieving paperwork requires multiple follow-ups and knowledge of the laws and regulations on retaining and releasing documents. That’s why many US law firms outsource this task to reliable providers like Record Retrieval Solutions (RRS).
Further reading: 4 Signs it’s time to outsource record retrieval
When you outsource, obtaining paperwork becomes easier and faster. For example, when you partner with RRS, all you have to do is submit your record request via our online portal, then we’ll take it from there. You can also use this portal to check that status of your request. What’s more, you can expect to have your paperwork within 12 days on average. Since these documents go through a quality check process, you can rest assured that the records you receive are correct, readable, and complete.
Ready to enjoy hassle-free and fast record retrieval? Partner with RRS today. Contact us to get started.
Obtain your paperwork fast and hassle-free when you partner with Record Retrieval Solutions.