Law departments are adamant about cutting costs by having their law firms reduce or not increase their hourly rates. This has law firms scrambling to keep their clients’ business by offering alternative billing to hourly rates. Research as shown that some firms will do an entire discovery in a case for free, and then take the case on a fee basis thereafter. Some will charge half of their hourly rate for the first phase of a case and then their standard hourly rate for the completion of the case. Others are offering flat rates.

According to a recent survey by Altman Weil, law firms have reported an overall average increase in rate of 3.2% in 2010. This is contradicting if their clients are expecting them to reduce or freeze their rates for the coming year. However, law firms believe the standard increase is necessary to balance their own business.

Virtual paralegals are the ultimate alternative to hourly billing because they help to reduce the overhead costs for law departments as they eliminate the need for: training, employee insurance, benefits, superannuation, workers compensation, taxation, sick leave, personal leave, holiday leave, maternity leave, parental leave, coffee breaks or any other costs which are incurred by employing full-time or part-time staff.

A virtual paralegal is a paralegal that is independently contracted by a lawyer or law firm to provide paralegal support services on an as needed basis. They communicate with their clients with the use of technology such as the internet, e-mail, fax and remote access systems. An attorney may ask a virtual corporate paralegal to draft an article of incorporation, by-laws and organize company records whereas; a bankruptcy attorney may ask a virtual paralegal to draft petitions.

Using a virtual paralegal is a highly efficient, economical way for solo practitioners, small law firms and in-house legal departments to keep their legal budget under control, while maintaining the excellent service demanded by their clients from their legal practice.

Cordina Charvis is the managing paralegal of CD&C Virtual Outsource Paralegal. She has been working as a paralegal for more than 12 years and a virtual paralegal since 2005. She is also a contributor for The Virtual Paralegal Training Center. Ms. Charvis can be reached at inbox@cdcvop.com or visit her website at http://www.virtualparalegaltrainingcenter.com

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