The Top 7 Benefits of Outsourcing Your Legal Back Office
Taking your firm to new heights requires that you focus on your core values and core functions. You might not have enough office support for the amount of work that has fallen into your lap. Your attention is diverted from your core functions to tasks that are below your paygrade so that you can pinch some pennies. But with all due respect to the paralegal profession, are you as an attorney meant to shuffle through paperwork, drafting contracts, and grinding through the other duties of a paralegal or office administrator?
To remain focused on core functions, many firms outsource their legal back office to maximize effectiveness. By forming a contract with a third party, the hassle and burden of managing the back office is removed from the backs of partners and associates. Instead, the dreaded tasks are shouldered by a group of trained professionals so that you can focus on your clients.
Law firms lose money when back-office staff is focused on things that are not billable. This is not to say that your staff is plain shooting the breeze. It could be cleaning the bathroom, making that second pot of coffee, or chasing a paper trail relevant to an important project. But none of these activities make money for your firm. Outsourcing eliminates the time spent on non-billable labor.
It bears repeating that when you outsource your legal back office, you are saving on time, which means you are saving money. The internal staff organization and structure provided by a company that specializes in taking over legal back-office functions is already in place, with no required oversight on your part. In addition, you will be able to downsize to a smaller office space.
When you outsource one or more of your back-office functions, you free up time to do other things. Outsourcing these functions is not a cry for help. It’s called being strategic. For attorneys who formerly were preoccupied with logistics but then choose to outsource, clients become the main focus of attention, not appointments to be kept. Not only are you able to focus on existing clients, but form relationships with new ones.
When certain tasks are outsourced to a third party’s office, the stress of that task leaves your office as well. Company culture problems and HR headaches are a thing of the past when you hand off these functions. But even if you are still planning on keeping most of your functions in-house, maybe there’s something that is a nuisance or difficult for your staff to handle. Maybe, for whatever reason, computers just absolutely mystify your entire back office. Outsource IT, not only for efficiency but also to keep your people’s blood pressure down.
When attorneys begin to outsource there is sometimes a mild (or great) hesitation to loosen the grip on what is comfortable. Letting go of projects and entrusting them to someone else can be difficult. But the good news about outsourcing is that you can do it gradually. Hand over small projects to start and see how they progress. You’re ready to have someone handle your books, but you’d still like to keep legal research in-house where you can closely supervise it. If at any time down the road you feel comfortable letting someone handle it, then legal process outsourcing services are at your disposal.
By utilizing a team of professionals from a third party, your staffing needs can expand and contract depending on your workload. In addition, to the flexibility of staff number, you will not have to worry about typical onboarding procedures, benefits, and other things that are par for the course when it comes to having employees. By outsourcing, the needs of the employees are left to the third-party company. If you hire one person for a particular service, they can be treated as an independent contractor.
If you’re the little guy in a world of larger firms, having an entire team of people at your disposal will allow you to compete with bigger-name firms for more clients. Reliable customer service, complete client intake, and virtual receptionists who have a pulse, all are things that can set you over and above your competitors who don’t outsource. Depending on the team you have access to, you also can draw from a wealth of niche knowledge and experience that will make it easier for you to enter new markets.
If you need help, we’re here for you. Whether you need client intake services, billing, collections, or arranging paralegal services, Back Office Legal is your solution. You just want to practice law, not get lost in all of the other stuff. Call us at (206) 455-9309 to schedule your free consultation.
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