I know it’s a plus for us virtual assistants that we can work for clients from all over the world, but I was reviewing my copy of Virtual Assistant, The Series and was reminded that it is very sensible to market locally as well as online. In the case of a virtual legal assistant like myself, I believe this might even be more important because as transferable as my skills are, my background is of course in Alberta law.

So I recently ordered some postcards that I can use to target lawyers in Alberta and hopefully I can welcome some wonderful local clients to my roster! I know that it can be hard to convert people to the beauty of virtual partnerships, but once they see all the many benefits of working with a virtual legal assistant I’m sure they will be spreading the word around themselves! Plus maybe I can convert a few into avid Twitterers like me, lol!

So I’m curious, especially in regard to my fellow VA’s, do you market or network locally at all? Do you find people open minded about the idea of working with a virtual partner? Love to hear from you!

I wrote a guest post about Google Notebook replacements and project management systems that went up today over at the Small Business Idea Generator Blog. If you are looking for a great project management system, I recommend you check the post out – it’s full of details about several leading systems.

If you are a lawyer looking for a project management system, or like me you offer services to lawyers, just make sure you take into consideration security. Not all systems include ssl encryption, particularly free versions or the lowest paid plans. Currently I’m using Zoho Projects for my virtual legal assistant business, but also love the TeamWork project management application. The reason I’m not using TeamWork for my client work is that they don’t offer ssl encryption on their less expensive plans (only at the $49/month level) and I don’t need the project space offered in the more expensive plan.

Project management applications like TeamWork and Zoho (also Basecamp if you are familiar!) are  fabulous tools when you work virtually with your clients. It allows the service provider and client to share documents, make comments, set deadlines, etc all within a secure environment. Email is often not an ideal choice for document sharing, due to both security issues and size limitations on attachments.

Have a great day!

A virtual legal assistant can take on so many tasks and projects for your practice, that the benefits might seem obvious. Still, it’s never a bad idea to analyze the benefits and drawbacks involved in utilizing the services of a professional virtual legal assistant.

BENEFITS

The benefits of working with a virtual legal assistant or virtual assistant are legion (in my biased opinion!) and I don’t want to go on and on, so here are a few of the most significant:

• Cost effective, as you only pay for time you need and you don’t pay “employee” costs such as taxes, health benefits or vacation pay
• If the relationship doesn’t work out it is much easier to sever than that of an employee relationship
• No need to purchase/upgrade equipment, your virtual assistant will be responsible for their own hardware and software
• A virtual assistant is a business owner just like you, so they are very empathetic and aware of your needs and deadlines
• Virtual legal assistants often have significant expertise and experience in their field and they work hard to update their education and skills regularly
• Virtual assistants in general are very tech-friendly and aware.  They try hard to stay on top of the latest trends in networking, software and technology
• Virtual assistants are independent, but they also belong to a community of virtual assistants across the globe. If your virtual assistant can’t help you, she probably can refer you to someone who can
• Increased productivity is probably the biggest benefit you will realize if you work with a virtual assistant, as not only do they provide an extra set of hands, but more importantly they provide another way of looking at things and a fresh perspective on improving and streamlining your business

DRAWBACKS

It would be unfair to imply that there are no drawbacks in a virtual business relationship. Here are a few things to be aware of:

• Time differences may occasionally cause complications if you find a virtual assistant in a time zone that varies from your own
• You need to have some initiative and organization to truly effectively utilize a virtual assistant. You may need to be able to upload files to a shared database, fax documents to your VA, or be available for clarification of complicated tasks
• While facetime is possible through video-conferencing or very occasional in-person meetings, generally speaking virtual assistant/client relationships rely heavily on written communication which does not suit all personality types
• As independent business owners virtual assistants are free to let clients know they will be unavailable at certain hours or on certain days regardless some individuals wishes for “always-on” help
• I hate to say this, but many people who say they are virtual assistants are neither professional nor reliable. It is definitely a drawback of this profession that it is populated by unskilled and overly hopeful individuals in addition to the many amazing and talented professionals.

If you have read the pros and cons of hiring a virtual legal assistant, and you know that a professional is exactly what you are looking for, I hope I’ll hear from you!

I have always had an ethics section on my virtual assistant site, because I realize how important it is to act in a professional and ethical manner. Working as a paralegal for many years gave me a very strong awareness of issues like confidentiality, conflict of interest and duty of care. I believe that all virtual assistants, whether they work in the legal field or not, should follow a high standard of ethics. But until recently I hadn’t given a lot of thought to actually proving to my clients that I could put my money where my mouth was, so to speak.

Last week though I was lucky enough to spend some time chatting with Andrea Cannavina of Legal Typist. Andrea has a very successful virtual assistant business which also primarily targets the legal industry. Andrea was kind enough to give a semi-newbie to the virtual world a little advice and I was more than glad to quickly take action on her suggestion to get a proper EthicsCheck certification from the International Virtual Assistants Association.

So this week I paid my fee and took the ethics check exam. It is a fairly lengthy and in-depth examination, and that was a good thing in my opinion. A designation is worthless if you don’t have to have in-depth knowledge to obtain it. Today, I received my confirmation that I passed the exam!

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

Laurie Mapp, Verification Number 09-02-20113

I’m proud to now be able to offer this assurance to my clients and hope that other virtual assistants who want to be taken seriously recognize the value of such a certification and pursue it themselves.

And now, it’s Friday afternoon and I’m going to go have a little fun! Have a great weekend!

Addison of ProWAHM recently contacted me and asked if she could do a feature post about Halo Secretarial Services on her blog. The post is up today and I invite you to check it out!

It’s nice to be noticed on a blog about being a work at home mom. I love working from home as a virtual legal assistant, but I probably never would have pursued the entrepreneurial path if it wasn’t for my wonderful children. They have inspired me to take on the challenges and rewards of being self-employed and I am so glad they did. I’ve truly never been happier in my career than I am now, and I have really enjoyed many of my past jobs, so that’s saying a lot!

If you are reading my blog and you really want to pursue your dream of self-employment I encourage you to put a plan into place and take steps to make it happen. If you really want it you won’t regret making the move!

Do you think the recession is good or bad for work life balance? Obviously some think that the recession will make some lawyers work harder in hopes of avoiding being laid off.  Wow, what a set back that could be for finding true work life balance!

My take is that the recession can be great for giving you some extra time in your day, if that’s what you want. If you know your employer needs to cut costs it might be better to offer to work part-time and lose some of your pay, rather than end up completely unemployed if your employer starts laying people off. Already some companies are speaking with their employees about taking pay-cuts to avoid layoffs (Fed-Ex did it), so why not go that one step further and say here is a way to save money, and we’ll work as hard as we can while we are here, but we want more time off as a benefit of the pay cuts. Maybe you want shorter days, a shorter work week, or even just one extra day off per month. Time is a gift and may be worth the financial cost.

Yes, I definitely think this is a great time for firms to truly embrace part-time and flexible schedules. I left my paralegal position because I wanted and needed more flexibility in my life. For me being an entrepreneur was the right answer, but I had many colleagues who would have given up money for a part-time position. Unfortunately, in every law practice I’ve worked at it was very difficult to work part-time or flex-time. Many claimed to have flexible work arrangements available, but they weren’t easy to access and sometimes meant as little as working 30 minutes less every day so you could go home “earlier”. Let’s hope that one benefit of a recession is a little more appreciation for the people who want it all – careers and time to enjoy their life!

Oh and if you are concerned about work life balance maybe you should check out this conference in Chicago – the Get a Life Conference for attorneys – looks pretty cool!

It’s one of the biggest topics of concern to both virtual assistants and those who use our services. How much does a virtual assistant cost? Do we provide value? Can you get good and cheap virtual assistance?

There are many schools of thought. Some people want help at the lowest possible cost, no matter what. For example, I was pointed to this post at Matt’s Life Musings about his quest for a $3/hr virtual assistant to help him with his blogging tasks. Matt seems to believe that the typical range for a VA is $2-20 per hour. As I mentioned in a comment at this blog, the typical range STARTS at $25/hr or more. That is, if you are looking for a professional and efficient virtual assistant. Not surprisingly, Matt is already on his third “cheap” virtual assistant and may soon be looking for number 4.

I found Matt’s post through this well written post over at Lawyer On! The Contract Attorney’s Blog. Kimberly is a freelance contract attorney who shares an experience she has had trying to find inexpensive help for a couple of different needs. Kimberly recounts how she posted about her need for clerical work on a message board and had a range of responses from people who wanted a lot of money for virtual assistance ($45/hr – on the higher end for general administrative VA work, but still reasonable) to a law student that was willing to work for an unspecified “reasonable” rate.

These two posts highlighted a concern I have about the virtual assistant profession. It’s one shared by many of my contemporaries (see here and here for a couple of interesting discussions). Virtual assistance as a profession still isn’t fully understood. Too many people call what they do virtual assistance even though they are basically cheap, task-based help.

A virtual assistant is a business owner. Period. I don’t care what you call yourself, you are not really a VA as defined by any of the industry leaders, unless you recognize that you own your own business. A virtual assistant almost certainly has his/her own website, business name, online presence on social networking forums of some kind, etc. A professional virtual assistant might answer your Craiglist ad or elance posting, but it’s a poor way to find a good VA, as you’ll also be inundated with responses from dozens (or hundreds!) of people who figure that because they own a computer and can kind of type that they can provide virtual assistance to you.

A professional virtual assistant is not “cheap”. A virtual assistant will partner with you for the long term, they will learn about your business, help you grow your business and look out for your interests. A virtual assistant will offer you value. You will not need to repeat your instructions four times, your deadlines will be met and the work will be done correctly. If you get anything else, don’t simply walk away – RUN!

So to answer the question – can you get good and cheap virtual assistant help? I’m going with a big NO! If you “can’t afford” to spend more than $5 or $10 per hour, please recognize that you probably aren’t actually looking for a long-term virtual assistant solution. You are not going to save as much time as if you contracted a virtual assistant. You may find a solution that is good enough, and I wish you much luck. If you only want to pay a few dollars per hour you probably aren’t the right client for me, any more than I am the right virtual assistant for you.

Becoming a virtual paralegal is the best thing I have ever done, career-wise anyway! So I was very excited when I was interviewed for an article in Legal Assistant Today about the rising trend to being a freelance or virtual paralegal and I just wanted to share, hopefully there will be a link available at Legal Assistant Today at some point in the future, but for now you can read the text of the article by Tammy R. Pettinato here!

Of course, since the article came out I’ve already had a couple of contacts from people who want to become a virtual legal assistant or virtual paralegal. I know there are a ton of people out there, just like I once was, who love what they do but want more flexibility in their scheduling, or who want to get away from the cubicle world and work with their trusty laptops in a coffee-shop, a tropical paradise or (like me!) just want to work in their comfy home offices. While I don’t mind answering the occasional email about becoming a virtual legal assistant, I generally just refer people to the places I got all of my starting info. Check out the VAnetworking Forum or the Virtual Assistant Forums. Both of these places have tons of really helpful information and both are free, so they make the best starting points.

Take care!