Legal Practice

Value of Law School

Posted by Laurie on Jan 30, 2009 in Legal Practice, paralegal, virtual paralegal | Comments Off

I was reading again yesterday a post over at Law21 about law school and the legal system. It was a fascinating read since Jordan touched on whether students going into law school truly realize what the realities are for them once they finish law school.

It reminded me of when I first decided to go to school to become a paralegal. I took a couple of years off after high school (in my family it was a big deal simply to have graduated high school, there was no expectation to do anything more). I knew that I wanted more out of my life than minimum wage jobs and I’d always had a keen interest in the legal field. I did consider going to university and then law school, but I was well aware that it was going to cost me a LOT of money. I decided paralegal school would be a good option since the program was much shorter, the overall tuition more reasonable and i would still have decent earning potential.

It also reminded me a job I had at a law firm about 3 years after getting my paralegal diploma. I’d worked for a sole practitioner for those three years and gained invaluable experience. Then I went to work for a mid-size law firm. It was a very different experience and my first time working with articling students. They were paid barely more than I was (I made about $30,000 a year at the time). They often seemed ill-prepared for the real work of a law firm. Don’t get me wrong, they were smart and I really enjoyed working with them. It just made it clear to me that law school didn’t bother with practical matters, teaching a lot about theory and research and not much else. These are important things, but my opinion is that all schools should combine theory with practical work. An articling year helps, but it would, in my opinion, probably be worthwhile to incorporate some on the job time in every year of study. Why wait until all the studying part is over?

Thankfully for me, my paralegal program did prepare me quite well for my career in the legal field. The ten years I spent working for lawfirms further enhanced my skills, leaving me feeling particularly prepared for my current career as a self-employed paralegal. I love the work I do and I love helping lawyers meet their business goals. Being a virtual paralegal is a perfect choice for me!

Change

Posted by Laurie on Dec 30, 2008 in Entrepreneurial, Legal Practice, virtual legal assistance | 1 comment

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.

Choosing a Virtual Assistant Twitter Style

Posted by Laurie on Dec 29, 2008 in Entrepreneurial, Legal Practice, virtual assistance, virtual legal assistance | 2 comments

I’ve seen a lot of chatter on Twitter lately about needing a virtual assistant. I think the start of a new year encourages people to plan for their coming business needs and Twitter is a great way to find a VA to help you streamline and grow your business.  I personally love finding clients on Twitter and I know many of my colleagues also respond to tweets about possible virtual assistant opportunities!

I do think it’s important though not to get caught up in the ease with which you can find a VA (on Twitter or otherwise) and make sure you stop and really think about what you need from a VA and be sure to choose one who meets all of your qualifications. You may want a virtual assistant with a particular skillset, a certain personality, or one who is familiar with your industry.

To get you started, consider these virtual assistant niches and how they might (or might not!) be appropriate for your needs:

• Marketing virtual assistant
• Speaker’s virtual assistant
• Virtual bankruptcy assistant
• Author’s virtual assistant
• Coach’s virtual assistant
• Virtual assistant catering to Web Designers/Technology Gurus
• Real estate virtual assistant
• Construction virtual assistant
• Virtual assistant to insurance industry professionals
• Bookkeeping virtual assistant
• Virtual receptionist
• Virtual assistant to wedding professionals
• Virtual legal assistants/paralegals (like me!!)

As you can see, there are many virtual assistant niches and if you are, for example, an accountant who needs some general virtual assistance and someone who can help with your Quickbooks work, your best bet is probably a virtual bookkeeper. But, if you need email management you may want a virtual assistant generalist, or you may find that a virtual assistant familiar with your  industry would be your preference. Of course there is a lot of overlap between the services offered by virtual assistants, as most virtual assistants offer some general administrative work.  If what you need is highly specialized or requires some training don’t feel that means you can’t hire a VA, as you will find that most VA’s love to learn new skills!

And if you are finding or vetting your virtual assistant choice via Twitter, do make sure to read through their tweet history. Does he or she seem professional? Friendly? Thoughtful? It’s a great way to get some insight into the person you may be working very closely with!

Take care!

Independent Paralegals

Posted by Laurie on Dec 10, 2008 in Legal Practice, paralegal | Comments Off

So recently I was contacted by a couple of very nice ladies that actually live quite close to me. They had found me through my blog! They recently started up an independent paralegal practice, providing document preparation services for the general public, including things like uncontested divorce documents, dependent adult applications and will preparation.

And I have to admit that my first reactions to their business were “cool!” and “trouble” all at the same time.  What can I say? I’m a rule-follower, I like to colour inside the lines most of the time. The idea of running an independent paralegal business and risking being charged with unauthorized practice of law isn’t so appealing to me, although I do think independent paralegals can offer a cost-effective benefit and if they were regulated and insured they would be a viable alternative for some people.

In Alberta, where I live, there is very little that an unsupervised paralegal can do on their own.  In Ontario though, they’ve recently allowed paralegals into the law society on a limited basis.

What are the rules like in your province/state/country? Do you agree? Do you think there are better options? I read a report from 2005 about reform in Alberta’s system which discussed mechanisms that might give litigants more choices (unbundled services, pro bono requirements for lawyers, better information for self-represented litigants) but no solution will be perfect for everyone.

And for the record, personally I provide virtual paralegal services to lawyers – not the general public! This way I get to do work I love but my work is always supervised by a lawyer, and therefore completely “by the rules” so to speak! I do provide general virtual assistance to business owners and entrepreneurs, but not legal assistance!

A Non-Lawyer But a Legal Blogger

Posted by Laurie on Dec 8, 2008 in blogging, Legal Practice, virtual legal assistance | 1 comment

Sometimes life is so interesting. Last week I posted about my favourite Canadian law blogs and the 2008 Clawbies nominations. I received several comments in response and was told that although I referred to myself as not being a real law blogger, I was of course a law blogger. The comments were much appreciated and a reminder to myself to not disparage my place in the blogosphere. I’m not a lawyer, but I serve clients in the legal field and I (sometimes) blog about legal topics, therefore I guess I am a legal blogger!

This little situation also is a reminder to me that non-lawyers have an important place in the legal world, whether we are talking about “in real life” or online.  I follow plenty of non-lawyer law bloggers in fact in my RSS feeds and I think of them as “real” law bloggers, even though I wasn’t identifying myself that way! Some of my favourites include the blog at Stem Legal, Law Firm Blogger, and Connie Crosby’s blog! And of course two of these blogs are run by fabulous Canadians (Steve Matthews of Stem Legal and Connie Crosby). Canadian law bloggers definitely are heavily involved in the blogosphere!

Non lawyers are important and valuable assets, whether to brick and mortar law firms or virtual practices. In fact in every law firm I have worked at the non-lawyer staff members were a critical part of the success of the team. The secretaries helped manage timelines, completed dictation and often completed the first draft of pleadings.  Paralegals did the research, helped organize large files and oversaw support staff. The library staff were always so amazing, especially when a deadline was looming and the supporting caselaw for a brief had to be quickly found! Oh and let’s not forget the IT staff who made sure our information was all backed up and accessible!

I still remember when I decided to go to school to be a paralegal and a family member asked me why I would do that, instead of trying to go to law school.  It was not easy for me to explain back then, but I know why know.  I am a very nurting person and I truly enjoy being the support person. I love knowing that when I do my part right I make life easier for the people I work with.  I also have to admit that I liked the guarantee of being able to go home on time most nights! The lawyers in my firms didn’t always have that option. Of course now, being a business owner who supports other business owners, my life is pretty different. I have a far greater responsibility to my clients to complete the work and can’t have an exclusively 9-5 work life. I enjoy the overtime and late nights now though (amazing how different you feel about your own business!) I especially appreciate that I have control over how many projects I take on at one time so I can make sure that the work will fit into my timetable and be completed on time (and properly!!)

Clawbies 2008

Posted by Laurie on Dec 5, 2008 in blogging, Inspiration, Legal Practice | 5 comments

I’m not a Canadian “law” blogger per se, but I am Canadian, my blog does target the legal field and of course I  read tons of legal blogs (plenty from the fabulous Canadian Law Blogs List!), so I wanted to share a quick post on my 3 favourite Canadian law blogs. I hope they all get recognition from Clawbies!

My absolute favourite has to be Law21 by Jordan Furlong.  Jordan always shares such great information and has wonderful insight into current happenings in the legal field.  And can I say how much I love the look of his blog since his redesign – it’s a great example of how a blog should look in my opinion.

Another Canadian legal blog I really enjoy reading is Human Rights in the Workplace by Donna Seale. Donna has a great conversational tone to her blog and she shares her knowledge about human rights issues in a thoughtful and useful manner.

Another Canadian law blog I discovered some time back that I really enjoy is Rule of Law – Stan shares a lot of helpful information about estate law with just the right amount of personality thrown into the mix!
There are tons of other great Canadian Law Blogs out there to enjoy, but these are my favourites! And now it is time to get on with the weekend (and while I’m a Canadian mom, thankfully my weekend is in a warm soccer complex, not on a chilly ice rink – until next year at least!) I’ll be keeping my eye out for other blog posts about everyone’s choice for the 2008 Clawbies – should give me plenty of weekend reading!