Christopher McKinney supplied a wonderful guest post over at Home Office Lawyer. The post provides a great explanation for one way a virtual-based office can work for a lawyer. Christopher uses a setup similar to what I’m planning on working with.

It’s funny, although understandable when you look at the sheer numbers of people and logistics involved, but it seems like a lot of sole practioners or small firms are able to work with these more advanced and portable case management systems that aren’t easily available within big law firms or government firms. At least not the ones I have worked with! When I worked with the govt only certain individuals had access to laptops, let alone the software for case management – it just wasn’t in the budget. Now that I’m on my own, I can have a great setup because I don’t need 3 levels of managerial approval – it’s all up to me!

Tina of Clerical Advantage has a great post up on Home Office Virtual Assistant about the mechanics of working with a VA.

Tina’s post really got me thinking – it’s easy to work with a VA, especially once you get over the hurdle of realizing how much can be done off-site from your business location. At first it seems overwhelming to realize how many choices there are – choose a VA, choose a method of communication that works well for you, maybe you need to learn how to use a shared workspace. But once you take those first few steps, think how much easier running your business will be! It’s great to share some of that burden of running a small business and realize we really don’t have to do everything for ourselves isn’t it?

It’s such an exciting and challenging prospect, for me as a virtual assistant and for businesses who can get exactly the help they need.

It can be hard for any of us to embrace new technology, but a recent article from law.com addresses how lawyers in particular have trouble embracing advances that would improve their work experience (and probably their bottom line too!)

It certainly has been my experience that lawyers can be cautious about embracing technology. I know of many sole practitioners who were hesitant to even get internet in their offices – they were more concerned about abuse by employees than the many benefits online access could offer.

Personally, my favorite technological advances are the ones that reduce my dependence on paper! I have found in my years of legal assistance work that the legal system uses entirely too much paper. I want to get away from this when possible and try to go paperLESS (not paper-free)!

I am looking to upgrade my scanner soon to a high quality one so I can scan everything into my computer. I’m going to use an electronic fax system so that I can receive faxes by email and only print when absolutely necessary. I’ll also have an automatic off-site backup system in place soon so that I don’t have to worry about a computer crash causing me to lose everything. I keep my computer drives pretty “clean” and organized, so I know that using my computer for organizing all my documentation is going to be a great system for me!

I’m curious – what is your favorite technological advance? Leave me a comment to discuss!

I just read this article about a large lawfirm in the US that laid off 70 legal support staff – wow! It’s pretty scary for people during these times of economic slowdown, layoffs and paycuts.

This is an excellent time though, I think, to take a chance and change your approach to support staff. Freelancers make it easier to slow down on the amount of work being completed (and thus save some money), but also leave open the opportunity to ramp up quickly when work picks up again. You keep your experienced and professional support personnel near to hand but don’t have to provide busywork when your practice has taken a downturn.

When I first decided to start a freelance secretarial business, I worried it would be a difficult concept to sell. I still worry actually! But when I read this article from Law Practice Today I realized that so many services are already outsourced by lawfirms and businesses that my fears are unfounded.

Virtual assistance (legal or otherwise) may not be a “job” people are well aware of, but for visionary people it’s actually a logical step forward in the rapidly changing business market. After all, what business owner doesn’t need to free up some time? What business owner doesn’t want a skilled and experienced assistant to tackle at least part of their to-do list? And most importantly what smart business person wouldn’t want maximum benefit at minimum risk?

A freelance administrative professional provides all the help a business owner needs in a manner that is time and cost-effective. It’s a smart solution if you can just think a little outside the traditional “box” of in-house secretarial staff.

I first read about the company Fairway Divorce Solutions a few months ago in Alberta Venture magazine.  Now I see an article about it in the Financial Post and I’m so glad.  Divorce is a sad and often ugly process and I love that there are alternatives coming into existence.  I’ve worked as a legal assistant in a couple of firms that did divorce law and I enjoyed certain aspects of it but always felt that mediation would be very helpful to a lot of clients.  It’s pretty tough in an emotional and volatile situation to step back and really come to a resolution that works for everyone but it’s definitely the best choice, especially when children are involved.

I would so enjoy working with a company like this, or lawyers that try to  use a similar approach (it certainly can be done, although the legal process often brings out the adversarial nature of people).

I like to think of virtual assistant and paralegal services as being another way of challenging tradition.  We all need to remember that there are many ways of accomplishing tasks and goals – just because we’ve always done things a certain way doesn’t mean it is the best solution for our businesses or our clients.  Virtual professionals can be so cost effective and efficient it is a wonderful alternative to traditional office models of practice.

I participated in a blog carnival over at VagabondetteVA this week.  I think a va carnival is a great idea and hope more va’s participate next time!  And I better get a good post or two going so I have something to submit!

Often, it seems many of us small business owners try to do everything for our business ourselves.  I know I’m guilty of it – I’ve been trying to design my own business cards and brochure instead of paying someone to do it right and quickly.  We think we can’t afford to pay for the services we need, but the truth is that we usually can’t afford not to pay for them.  Wasting our valuable time costs us more in the long run than appropriately delegating tasks will cost.

I read this CBA article

yesterday and while it mostly discussed how solo lawyers need to “hire” staff, the main point of the article was completely accurate.  Solo lawyers (or any solo business owner really) will be more successful if they hire appropriate help and I think a freelance secretary is definitely one of their best options.  It allows them the ability to get the assistance they need without taking on full-time staff, with all of the responsibilities that come with employing someone.  A freelancer will be responsible for themselves and will give true value for the precious money and time of the solo practitioner.

Now I think I need to go research graphic designers for those business cards…

This post from Self Made Minds was a great one about networking. I find it interesting that on my va boards a lot of people think of networking as connecting with other va’s. I enjoy that form of networking but don’t expect much return out of it. I hang out on those boards for interest and a little bit of education. I plan to network for my secretary/paralegal business in several ways:

1. local Chamber of Commerce
2. Women’s Enterprise Centre meetings in the nearby city
3. Connecting with fellow bloggers (especially lawyer bloggers)

I definitely think networking in person will be the best strategy for me (but hey, I could be wrong!) to start out with.  I am the type of person who enjoys the contact so it will benefit me by giving me a place to meet fellow business owners/entrepreneurs.

As I started making plans for my business I of course thought long and hard about my business name. I chose to use “Secretarial Services” as the descriptive portion. I frequent a couple of virtual assistant message boards and this topic comes up a lot. Most on those boards seem to prefer the term “virtual assistant” but at the same time there are many threads discussing how they always seem to be explaining what a virtual assistant is. I didn’t want to waste valuable time explaining what I was, when I could spend that time explaining to potential clients how I could help them. That’s what it is about for me – helping the client grow and improve their business. Secretaries help their bosses in that way. They are behind the scenes but on the front line all at the same time – that’s what I will be to my clients – a helpful presence who makes life easier!!

I was therefore thrilled to read this post by Carol Ann Wilson about being proud to be a legal secretary. It reminded me of the virtual assistant discussions and it also reminded me of my days working in lawfirms. Our names kept changing – legal secretary, legal assistant, paralegal. And yes I know they don’t mean *exactly* the same things (depending on who you ask especially) – essentially we all worked to support the lawyers and the clients. Personally, I say call me what you prefer – as long as I get the chance to show you how I can help you and your clients!