I’m preparing to write a post series on how to find and start working with a virtual legal assistant. My general plan for the series is to address:

• Where to look for a virtual legal assistant
• How to interview and choose the right virtual legal assistant for your practice
• How to actually start working with the virtual legal assistant you have chosen
• What to do if your chosen virtual legal assistant is not working out

I’m open to any suggestions or questions you may have on the topic of working with a virtual assistant though – so please feel free to comment or drop me an email (laurie@halosecretarial.com) if you have anything you’d particularly like to see addressed.

Also, if you are looking to work with a general virtual assistant, don’t worry! Most of the tips will be applicable whether your are a lawyer, an entrepreneur or a freelancer!

One part of the series will run each week on Tuesdays, so please check back regularly.

I just read the tuition announcement from Solo Practice University (courtesy of founder Susan Cartier Liebel via Twitter).

I’ve been keep an eye on all the amazing faculty announcements and developments happening over at SPU recently and I have to say it sounds like such an amazing concept! I can’t imagine a better way for new lawyers to learn about running a solo law practice. Topics that will be covered include blogging for your law practice, business strategies, virtual law practices, marketing for attorneys, technology, along with many in-depth courses on specific legal areas like accident law, trial law, entertainment law, estate planning and so many other great topics!

I also was so impressed to see that a virtual legal assistant will be on the faculty. Aretha Gaskin is the owner of The Virtual Legal Assistant and a respected member of the virtual assistant community. Having a professional virtual legal assistant educating new solo attorneys on the benefits of utilizing virtual legal assistants and virtual paralegals can only be good for our industry.

I think Solo Practice University is a model for virtual education and I personally would love to see something similar in the virtual assistant industry! There are plenty of learning programs, books, and certification processes available, but most are over-priced and several offer little value at all. There are definitely some good (and reasonably priced!) books available, but to have an interactive community of learning and support like what SPU is offering would be amazing. And if the legal community can provide it at such a reasonable price, the virtual assistant industryshould be able to offer it at a price that is affordable to those just starting out or considering their options.

Anyway, if you have recently hung your solo practice shingle, or if it’s a move you are considering, I highly recommend you check out Solo Practice University!

What can I say? It was too exciting to be on tv, even if just for a short interview!  Here’s the link to CTV Edmonton’s Twitter story from Monday, March 2nd, featuring yours truly.

Interestingly (to me, probably not to anyone else!) the story was about using Twitter and discussed the angle of how I’ve networked on Twitter to the advantage of my virtual legal assistant business. Interesting because they actually found me only because of my personal twitter account, not my business one! Now I’m sure that’s not a reason to have two accounts (as per some interesting discussions on Twitter recently), but I stand by my choice to keep my personal tweets fairly separate from my business ones!

I’ve talked about Twitter pretty regularly on this blog. I always  share that it is my absolute favorite place to network. Still, every time I talk to “real-life” friends or acquaintances I have a hard time helping them understand exactly what the appeal of Twitter is.

I started my virtual legal assistant business last fall officially, but I started networking earlier in the year to try and make connections within the online legal community and to learn from other virtual assistants. I was pointed to Twitter by several bloggers and last July I created my first Twitter account. I was immediately enchanted and saw what an interesting place to “hang out” it would be. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no visionary and I didn’t realize all the business benefits it would have at first, I just knew I liked it!

In August I connected with my first client – via Twitter. Other opportunities arose also, guest posts on blogs I respected, participation in events, and even a mention in an article for a legal journal. I followed more and more people, started using applications like Tweetdeck and Twhirl and eventually started a second Twitter account so I could have a more personally-oriented Twitter experience.

I then found more clients through Twitter, some long term, some for just short projects, but all great people who I’ve very much enjoyed working with. I think a big part of my success in finding clients on Twitter is the way I interact. I try to follow the unwritten rules of having a business account on Twitter. I don’t spam my followers with links or direct messages, I don’t spend much time self-promoting. I simply interact much as I would at a business conference. If someone asks, I tell them about what I can offer them. I share links and retweet interesting information. Although I save most of my mom stuff for my personal Twitter account, I do mention my children or the weather occasionally. It is very clear that my business account is run by a real person. My picture is my avatar and I respond to other people’s questions and messages promptly.

So my secret to success isn’t really a secret obviously. I’m real and I take time to really participate. And I’m grateful to be rewarded! And on the topic of rewarded, last week I had my most surprising and exciting Twitter-related experience yet. I received a telephone call from an anchor at my local television station. She had found my personal Twitter account and was planning a news feature about Twitter. I answered a few of her questions (thinking that was all the interaction there would be) and then she asked to come to my home to interview me! So last Thursday I was interviewed and later today I should be able to see myself on tv!! The link should be available by tomorrow and I will share it here on my blog!

Now, maybe you’re thinking that is just one person’s experience. Maybe you still aren’t on the Twitter bandwagon and can’t for the life of you figure out why you should hop on. Here are a few interesting links to check out to help convince you of the amazing benefits of this simply and yet utterly complicated social networking application.

1. From Copyblogger, this is a must read, how businesses have utilized Twitter
2. Use Twitter to monitor keywords important to your business
3. Build an effective business profile on Twitter
4. Twitter enlightenment for business owners

Stay tuned, I’m sure I’ll be posting more about Twitter and my business again soon!

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!

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!