I just read Tina Marie Hilton’s post over on Home Office Virtual Assistance regarding trying to come to agreement about what a Virtual Assistant really is. My preferred definition is this one, but really they all do a reasonable job of defining what a va is, I think. And I’m pretty much in the “Factor B” group as defined by Tina – I think a professional va should have some real world admin experience and behave as...

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....

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...

It’s almost Canada Day so why not check out this edition of the Canada 9-5 Blog Carnival from Alphablogs – my post on Law Practice and Life Balance is mentioned!! One of the posts I particularly enjoyed was Sarah Welstead’s post called For the Price of a Cup of Coffee. Hope you enjoy the...

A resounding NO to this question from me! I’m of the opinion that experience in an administrative setting is the key to being successful as a VA, or at least one of the keys. Administrative experience will help you with your client’s work, but you will need some entrepreneurial skills also to help you run your business and you need to have some tech skills for the online and marketing aspects. A professional virtual assistant...

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...