Digital dictation is an ideal way to get information to your virtual legal assistant. You can upload instructions or dictate entire documents. You can dictate from your office, from your home or from the road. Some lawyers are wary of digital dictation, having comfort with the old-fashioned tapes they know and are used to.

Digital dictation is incredibly easy though and especially useful when time-sensitivity is a factor. A lawyer can upload a file and have it to me in minutes, so that I can start working on it immediately. It also means each task is separated out, for easy prioritization.

There are a couple of easy ways to start using digital dictation in your legal practice: buy a digital recorder (can be quite inexpensive) or use a program like Express Dicate. Some cellphones even offer the ability to record voice memos and then send them by email; both iPhones and Blackberries have applications that may provide you an option for voice recording!

I have more information on my post on the value of legal dictation over at my regular blog if you are interested.

Laurie/Halo Secretarial

I’ve officially been a virtual legal assistant (or virtual paralegal if you prefer that term!) for 9 months now! I can’t believe how quickly my first year in business is going, and I’m more sure than ever that this was the best career movie I could have made! I love the work my clients have me do and I love being my own boss.

I’ll be doing an official mid-year (calendar year, not business year) review soon on my blog, but just needed to put a quick post in here about how happy I am and how much I love what I do! And if you are a lawyer who found this post via a search or something – I’d love for you to check out my services page! If you think I’m happy being a virtual legal assistant, think how happy you could be if you had less work to do because you found someone like me to partner with and allow you to be even more successful in your law practice!

I received my confirmation today that I passed my IVAA EthicsCheck exam! I was pretty sure I had passed it, but it feels great to be sure! It is really a great way to reassure my clients that I am well capable of following ethical standards.

Here is the seal I am now able to display on my site!

Laurie Mapp, Verification Number 09-02-20113

The most current blog posts for Halo Secretarial can be found on our blog’s main page – please check it out and remember, feedback is very much appreciated!!

This list is by no means exhaustive, but here’s a great starting list of tasks your virtual legal assistant can perform for your law practice:

1. Draft Affidavits and motion materials
2. Draft initial retainer letter to a new client
3. Proofread and format a court document
4. Research caselaw and provide summarizing memorandum
5. Update and manage your calendar
6. Review transcripts and highlight critical text
7. Type handwritten notes from a meeting or seminar
8. Convert files into PDF format
9. Balance a monthly bank statement
10. Delete spam accumulated in your email account overnight
11. Sort/answer and/or redirect email messages
12. Transcribe voice messages
13. Make calls to confirm your appointments, engagements, or reservations
14. Create a database
15. Build an email distribution list
16. Create a basic sales flyer or postcard
17. Create a PowerPoint presentation
18. Setup the process for a monthly newsletter
19. Build a custom spreadsheet
20. Follow up research on a client, prospect, applicant, or competitor
21. Book hotel, rental car, and/or travel reservations
22. Mail merge marketing letters

I have just been getting my virtual legal assistance practice off the ground (in fact my website is currently under construction now that I’ve hired a web designer!!) and sometimes I have worried that lawyers won’t be comfortable hiring a virtual legal assistant. Maybe they won’t be comfortable with me being so far away or won’t be sure that I truly understand the nature of confidentiality rules and ethical practices. In my previous job they weren’t even fond of telecommuters because they felt it wasn’t protective enough of the client’s documentation. Really I think they just didn’t trust any of their employees to work without supervision.

So I was heartened to read this post over at Home Office Lawyer. Grant uses a virtual assistant, so it was no surprise that he is comfortable with the concept. Still it was good to see it so clearly set out and I LOVED the post he referred to by Stephanie Kimbro of Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC. I’d highly recommend you check out Stephanie’s post if you are at all interested in retaining a virtual legal assistant/virtual paralegal for your law practice.

I’m sure many of these skills – collaboration skills, emotional intelligence, financial literacy, project management, technological affinity and time management – aren’t required courses in typical law school curriculum, but I totally agree with Jordan Furlong’s post on Law 21 detailing the 6 skills lawyers should have today.

I personally think the most interesting skill noted is the need for emotional intelligence. Winning clients in the modern time is DEFINITELY going to require an ability to truly empathize with and respect clients’ positions. As a businesswoman I always prefer my service providers to understand where I’m coming from.

As for time management I’ll just repeat my favorite advice to delegate, delegate, delegate!!! (Hint, hint – consider a virtual legal assistant – we love to help!!!)

I was surfing LinkedIn this morning, as I’d like to start making better use of its networking possibilities. I was searching Canadian members of the Legal Blogging group and found the blog of Donna Seale, a lawyer who niches in the human righs area. Donna shared this fascinating article from Susan Goldberg for National Magazine, an article which Donna was interviewed for. I love how the article addresses the benefits of blogging as a marketing tool for solo law practices.

The article, which is about the changing face of solo law practices in Canada, also features some wonderful comments from Susan Cartier Liebel of Build a Solo Practice, LLC fame about how niche marketing could be the savior of solo law practices.

I highly recommend checking out this article, and the blogs of Donna and Susan!

This is an older article I came across recently, but stress, not surprisingly, continues to plague lawyers and business people alike.

Work and life balance is a common topic in the work world, certainly with many people I know anyway. I know it’s on my mind. I love working – I love the challenge of difficult assignments, I love helping clients, I love the planning process! But without balance between my work life and my personal life I feel VERY stressed. I love my kids and husband and I need time to enjoy being with them. Don’t most of us need time away from work? Maybe we want to go to our kids’ soccer games or go for a long walk after dinner, or maybe we just want to sleep in on the weekends!

So how do we make it all work? For me the answer is starting my own virtual assistant business, but there are many other options!! Part-time work and flexible work arrangements are another great solution. Delegation is key for small business owners. Don’t get bogged down thinking you need to do it all or be everything for your company, balance can be achieved!!

Yesterday I read this article by Melanie Jester from Oklahoma Bar Journal Articles. It discusses work-life balance for lawyers. And then later yesterday I took my boys to the park and ran into a very nice lady, who it turns out is a lawyer on maternity leave and we discussed the topic of lawfirms and trying to have a career and a family.

I think balance is an elusive but achievable goal – it just takes having an open mind to doing things a different way. This is the part lawfirms struggle with I think – there is often a tendency to do things as they have always been done, since it has worked for so long. But there is a long list of ways to give your employees some flexibility while still achieving the firm’s goals and providing results for the client:

1. Telecommuting -easily a top choice for workers – it allows work from home or really anywhere. For example a parent home with a sick child can try and get some work done if allowed the opportunity to access work files from home.
2. Part-time work – another great option for some people. Some staff want more time for hobbies, travel, family etc., but they don’t want to give up their career either. I think that as the population ages we’ll really see a demand for this, as people who’ve worked so hard on their careers are ready to loosen up a bit without letting go altogether.
3. Alternative hours – people have different “peak” hours in the day. My husband is a total morning person, I am best midday and I have a friend who works best late at night. If we all work 9-5 the reality is that we won’t all be performing optimally. Workers who can adjust their hours even somewhat to work around their natural inclinations will work harder and will appreciate the trust placed in them to show up and do the job regardless of if the boss is in and working the same exact hours.
4. Flex time – put in extra hours and get time off later, it’s a simple and easy solution and I’m surprised more lawfirms haven’t taken advantage of it. It saves money on overtime costs and allows staff an occasional extra day or even half-day off.

I think the most important thing to note about all the above options is not only that they will be a wonderful benefit to workers but that they all offer rewards for the employer. Win-win in my books!