The Smart Law Firm’s Guide to Virtual Legal Assistants

Introduction

Think about all the times a prospective client contacts your law firm and cannot get a hold of anyone, not because an administrative assistant is not doing their job, but because most people will give up in less than 90 seconds when placed on hold. 

 

This can differ between retaining a new client and losing a financial opportunity. Or you may find yourself lost in the weeds of legal tasks that waste your time when you are focusing on billable hours.

 

With virtual support, this will never be a worry again. Not only will your case management processes be taken care of for you, but they will also have massive impacts on remote work and the specific technologies required in a modern law firm.  

What Is a Virtual Legal Assistant?

A virtual legal assistant (VA) is a remote professional—or sometimes a tech-enabled service—designed to take on the day-to-day administrative tasks that often slow down busy law firms. 

Unlike in-house staff, virtual legal assistants work remotely and are typically more flexible, cost-effective, and specialized in legal support. Their purpose is to help your legal practitioners focus on high-value, billable legal work rather than spending time on routine, repetitive tasks.

Think of a virtual legal assistant as an off-site extension of your team. Whether you're a solo practitioner or managing a growing law firm, a VA can handle a wide variety of essential functions. 

These include managing client communications across channels (phone, email, chat), scheduling consultations or court dates, performing legal research and document drafting, organizing case files and contracts, handling billing and time tracking, and even managing accounting and payroll support.

Because they often work with multiple law firms and stay up-to-date on legal industry best practices, virtual legal assistants bring a high level of efficiency and professionalism. By leveraging a VA, your firm can reduce overhead costs, avoid hiring delays, and stay agile—all while delivering exceptional service to your clients.

Key Tasks Handled by Virtual Legal Assistants

Below are a handful of key tasks that you should expect from a virtual legal assistant, including handling various legal documents :

1. Administrative Support

Administrative support from a virtual legal assistant can significantly reduce your workload without sacrificing control. Instead of hiring an in-house receptionist or assistant, you can delegate essential day-to-day tasks like scheduling client meetings, managing calendars, handling data entry, and organizing your inbox. 

A skilled virtual assistant ensures appointments are set, follow-ups are timely, and nothing slips through the cracks. They can also draft routine correspondence, manage client intake forms, and keep your digital files in order. 

By offloading these responsibilities, you’ll free up valuable time to focus on legal work, client relationships, and growing your practice, while staying firmly in the driver’s seat.

2. Document Preparation

A virtual legal assistant can significantly streamline your document preparation process, handling a wide range of tasks quickly and accurately. 

From drafting client letters and formatting legal templates to filing motions and other court documents, a VA can precisely follow your firm’s protocols. 

Once provided with clear instructions and access to your systems, a skilled VA can learn how to file documents with the Clerk of Court, monitor court dockets, and flag any upcoming deadlines. 

They can also track what has been filed, what’s still pending, and send reminders to ensure nothing slips through the cracks—minimizing human error and maximizing efficiency.

3. Client Communication And Intake

A virtual legal assistant makes client communication and intake more efficient and cost-effective by handling many of the same tasks as an in-house administrative assistant, without the overhead. 

From responding to emails, scheduling consultations, gathering intake information, and following up with leads, a VA ensures that no client inquiry goes unanswered. One of the most significant advantages is around-the-clock availability. 

Your virtual legal assistant can manage client communications beyond traditional business hours, allowing prospective and current clients to connect with your firm when it’s most convenient for them. This kind of responsiveness builds trust and can improve client retention.

4. Legal Research And Case Law Summaries

A virtual legal assistant can handle various research-related tasks that once took attorneys hours to complete, even with the best lawyer tools like Westlaw or LexisNexis. Today’s VAs can efficiently conduct legal research, locate relevant statutes and case law, and compile the findings into easy-to-reference documents. 

They can also draft concise case law summaries that save attorneys valuable time when preparing for hearings, motions, or client meetings. In some cases, experienced virtual legal assistants may even prepare the foundational structure of a motion or legal memorandum. 

Additionally, they can transcribe deposition audio recordings and organize key points for faster review and case preparation.

5. Billing And Time Tracking Assistance

And finally, the hassle of tracking billable hours and managing timesheets can be significantly reduced with the help of a virtual legal assistant.

VAs can accurately track time spent on client matters, input data into your billing system, and generate detailed invoices, freeing you up to focus on billable legal work instead of administrative tasks. 

Many are also trained in legal billing software, making them a seamless extension of your team. Additionally, virtual legal assistants can assist with payroll processing and coordinate with financial professionals or other VAs to ensure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes, from billing to bookkeeping to reconciliation.

Benefits of Hiring a Virtual Legal Assistant

The first thing to consider with a virtual legal assistant is the cost savings that come from no longer needing full-time employees on site. 

In the same way that many firms are now choosing to have virtual offices to save tens of thousands of dollars monthly on leases, several companies are finding that leaving the mundane functions of the traditional office increases efficiency and productivity while also creating greater availability from the standard 9 to 5 Monday through Friday to 24/7, 365 days a year.

It’s also important for attorneys and their paralegals to be free to focus their attention on billable hours instead of needing to respond to every call or email that comes in. 

And even in a situation where an in-house receptionist or administrative assistant is still valuable, it will decrease their workload, leaving them with extra time for clear and regular communication and to take care of what really needs to be accomplished.

How to Choose the Right Virtual Legal Assistant

Not every virtual legal assistant is going to be right for you. 

Maybe you have a high turnover and need to have greater flexibility with hiring practices. Perhaps your core demographic is family law or criminal appeals. 

Regardless of your field, it’s mandatory that your software works for you.

When exploring a virtual legal assistant, it’s important to look for the abilities of the program. Is it professional? 

Does it have exemplary management skills as well as the ability to communicate effectively? What are the confidentiality and security protocols that it either lacks or excels in?

Set Expectations With Your Legal VA

Once you’ve selected a virtual legal assistant, the next step is setting expectations to build a productive, long-term working relationship. Start with a clear agreement that outlines the scope of work, working hours, and deliverables. 

Defining these parameters from the start prevents confusion and ensures accountability. Be transparent about your preferred methods of communication—whether it’s email, Slack, or scheduled video calls—and how frequently you expect updates. 

Consistency here will keep tasks on track and reduce back-and-forth.

You should also take time to document and share your law firm’s workflows. What systems do you use for client intake? How do you handle calendaring or billing? 

A thorough onboarding process allows your virtual assistant to understand how your firm operates and align their work accordingly.

Additionally, be clear about your leadership and management style. Do you prefer to assign tasks daily, weekly, or through a project management tool? How often will you provide feedback or request progress reports? Setting expectations around autonomy and accountability helps build trust and minimizes micromanagement.

The more clearly you define your expectations upfront, the smoother your relationship with your virtual assistant will be—and the more value they’ll deliver to your firm.

Common Use Cases by Practice Area

There are just as many virtual legal assistants as there are areas of law, and that means that you should focus your energy on choosing the right one that works for you. 

If you are a small firm with a handful of employees, there is no sense in getting something designed for a massive firm with dozens of partners. An immigration attorney does not need an estate planning virtual legal assistant.

Let’s say that your expertise lies in estate planning. You would want a virtual legal assistant that can draft testaments and be able to answer the questions of often contentious filings with ease and simplicity. 

Challenges and Considerations

As with every kind of emerging strategy, virtual legal assistants are not without their quirks and learning curves on the way to practice efficiency. 

Employees need to be trained on how to work with and communicate with them. If you operate a nationwide company, you will need to consider time zones for coordination. In the event that you have a firm that does business globally, languages need to be considered as well as local laws and customs.

Since each state and municipality has ethical and legal skills compliances that need to be adhered to, the virtual legal assistant needs to bridge those gaps.

Different areas of law require different levels of confidentiality. While that is a staple of the legal field, a government contract is significantly more rigorous than trying to overturn a moving violation. And remember: several agencies will require you to meet their standards and best practices, so the virtual legal assistant needs to comply with these effortlessly.

Where To Find Virtual Legal Assistants

Now that you know how to select and collaborate with a virtual legal assistant, the next question is: should you hire an individual or work with a company? 

While hiring an independent virtual assistant can be a flexible and cost-effective option, partnering with a reputable virtual assistant company often provides added peace of mind. These companies typically pre-screen their assistants for legal experience, professionalism, and reliability—saving you time and reducing the risk of a bad fit. 

Plus, if you ever need backup support, encounter challenges, or want to scale your support team, a quality company can step in to provide solutions quickly.

Back Office Betties

Back Office Betties connects law firms with skilled, U.S.-based Virtual Legal Assistants. Tell us what you need, and we’ll custom-match you with the perfect assistant to handle your admin tasks—so you can focus on practicing law, not paperwork. It’s simple, efficient, and built for busy legal professionals.

Legal Soft

​Legal Soft offers top-tier virtual legal assistants, meticulously trained by U.S.-based attorneys, to support your firm's administrative and legal needs. Our assistants are proficient in the latest legal software and fluent in multiple languages, ensuring seamless integration into your practice.

Aristo Law

​Aristo Law connects law firms with skilled virtual legal assistants and paralegals. A transparent recruitment process and a 93% hiring success rate help firms reduce costs by up to 70% while enhancing productivity. Services include legal research, document preparation, client communication, and case management.

Final Thoughts

As a busy law firm, it’s easy to feel like there’s never enough time to get everything done. The administrative workload can quickly pile up from client intake and document management to billing, accounting, and responding promptly to inquiries. 

That’s where virtual legal assistants come in. These remote legal assistants provide reliable, cost-effective support that allows your team to focus on what matters most—billable work and client service.

When hiring a virtual legal assistant, take time to vet both independent professionals and service providers thoroughly. Look for candidates with legal experience who understand your firm’s needs. 

Just as important, be clear about expectations regarding the legal research skills from day one. Set up consistent workflows, provide detailed instructions, and use the right legal tech to streamline collaboration. With proper onboarding and clear communication, virtual legal assistants can become a seamless extension of your firm.

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