Litigation is not just about writing arguments and showing up in court. It also involves answering clients’ calls and emails, conducting legal research, filing court documents, and so much more. For lawyers, this is not a one-man job. Which is why they hire people like paralegals and assistants to aid them in their firms.
Realities of the Legal Workspace
On average, law firms employ 81 support staff for 1 lawyer in 2023. This may sound a lot, but it is comparatively lower than the previous years. From 2017-2022, the support staff-lawyer ratio has lowered. Specifically, secretarial and word processing roles declined by 4.7% annually; operation roles by 4.4%; and library and research roles by 2.3%.
This decline is due to the transformation of office support roles. From being a role that required technical legal skills, it has now become more “generalist”. Meaning, personal assistants would take on administrative roles as well. This led to firms only hiring a few staff who can take on multiple roles. This achieves the goal of getting the job done without the additional cost.
Generalist vs. Specialist
According to some articles, generalists are better than specialists because of their flexibility and range. However, that is not the case in the legal field. In a field where a person’s life, liberty, and property are at stake, having a focus on one thing is important. Clients often look for a lawyer who specializes in one thing, whether it’s intellectual property or criminal defense. This applies to the firm’s team as well. Having a team that specializes individually in legal research, office administration, and client management ensures proper execution of duties.
The legal field is generally rigid. For example, missing the deadline for filing or failure to process an exhibit could result in a miscarriage of justice. That is why being well-versed in the legal procedure is better than having surface-level knowledge in a lot of things.
Multiple Heads are Better than One
For a law firm to function properly, there are multiple shoes to fill. From office management, client relations, to legal research, these roles require full commitment. While it can be good to have well-rounded individuals, a team of specialists can bring out the best in law firms. Lawyers can focus on legal strategies while their team of specialists works on other matters with precision and less room for error.
However, this can be costly for firms. Hiring specialized individuals locally is expensive, which is why some prefer getting a single VA who is a generalist instead. As they juggle multiple roles, their work output could be compromised and the workload could take a toll on them. Overloading one VA could result in work errors, delays, and burnout. Eventually, the overall productivity of the firm will be adversely affected by trying to cut hiring costs.
Fortunately, organizations that provide a team of legal professionals exist to help law firms address this problem. Ideal Ignite provides professionals who are trained by lawyers for lawyers, giving firms the support they need.