I just read this post by Jordan Furlong over at Law21. I know it doesn’t seem like it at first, but it is a post about hope and about change. And I was honoured that Jordan mentioned Halo Secretarial as being a legal secretarial service that is ready for the changes that are (hopefully) coming in the future to law firms. Being included with the likes of game changers like Solo Practice University, JD Supra, or Virtual Law Office is so rewarding.

Change is exactly what I was after when I started my virtual legal assistance practice. Change for me personally but also with an awareness that if I could do this, so could so many other people! I have many friends who are paralegals, legal assistants and legal secretaries who feel trapped in the world of big law. They hang on to the ideals of pension plans, benefits and employer provided equipment. They love the idea of having flexibility, but traditional law firms think flexibility is letting you start at 9 am instead of 8:30 am!

Being a virtual legal assistant allows me the ability to create my own future – one where my days are about finding solutions for my clients, not just about putting in my time. If my clients are having a slow month, or are taking a vacation, I’m not going to bill them just to protect my own income. I believe in results oriented billing – when I am doing work for you, then I deserve to be paid a good rate, but when I take a break and go for an hour long walk, that’s on my dime! That’s why I didn’t even go with the traditional virtual assistant model of offering mostly hourly billing or retainer only. I don’t worry about minimum hourly requirements. I simply provide whatever level of assistance my clients need – an hour a month, an hour a day, or working on a project by project basis.

I plan to keep evaluating the changing legal world too – I sure hope I always have the vision to keep up with the changes that are sure to come and the wisdom to know that the best way to get ahead is to be an early adopter of whatever new systems and technologies seem to be the most valuable.