4 Myths About Hiring a Freelance Paralegal
It is no secret that small law firms and solo practitioners experience doubt and uncertainty in hiring a freelance paralegal company to outsource most or all of their administrative and paralegal work. However, much of the doubt centers around perceptions that are simply not true. Here, I will discuss the 4 common myths about hiring a freelance paralegal.
MYTH NUMBER 1: FREELANCERS ARE THE BOSS
While to some extent it is true that we as freelancers are our own boss under a 1099 relationship, we answer to you as our client. You are paying us to do a job and, therefore, we have to be available and easily accessible to you for communications, deadlines, and task delegation.
It is important for purposes of establishing our 1099 relationship that you as our client do not give us set work hours, but I personally remain accessible to you via phone or email during normal business hours and accessible for emergency situations via email outside of those business hours.
I make it my absolute priority to answer your emails and calls promptly, allowing you to maintain the feeling of control and accessibility as you would have if you hired a full time, W-2 employee. You have specific ideas and preferences about how and when you want your projects done and carried out and I maintain full appreciation and respect for that fact.
MYTH NUMBER 2: FREELANCE PARALEGALS COST MORE THAN W-2 EMPLOYEES
Freelancers have an hourly rate that tend to turn off clients when comparing to the hourly rate they could hire a full time W-2 employee at. The reality is, while a W-2 employee may have a lower hourly rate, they will actually cost you 25% to 40% above their wages/salary amount. Because of this, choosing to hire a freelance paralegal can save your small or solo law firm up to $23,805.00 per year.
When you hire a freelance paralegal, your firm is saving on the additional costs of fringe benefits, state and federal taxes, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, office space and equipment, and retention.
Another huge and overlooked area of savings when hiring a freelance paralegal is in unproductive hours. “Research suggests that in an eight-hour day, the average worker is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes.” (source)
When hiring a freelance paralegal, you are only paying for those two hours and 53 minutes, not the additional time spent filling a coffee cup, going to the bathroom, chatting with coworkers, browsing the internet, checking our phone, etc. When we are clocked in to you, we are focused 110% on the task at hand. When we are finished, we clock out.
All work completed is directly billable to your client. Therefore, we are not an expense but rather a returnable investment .
MYTH NUMBER 3: WE WORK WHENEVER WE WANT
When you have a W-2 employee, yes, you can set their schedules from 8 AM to 5 PM Monday – Friday. However, this in many ways is extremely limiting when considering the reality of how your cases progress. Many W-2 employees revolt the idea of overtime or coming in on weekends and establish clear boundaries with you.
During my time working as a W-2 employee, I was the employee that would stay late, come in early and work through the weekends when we had huge deadlines approaching or upcoming trials and appeals. It is true that freelance paralegals set their own schedules. After all, it is a requirement to be considered a 1099 employee. That being said, because of my background and passion in serving small law firms, I vow to be here to support you for those unique cases that keep you up all night.
I have stayed up until midnight for my clients to make sure we meet a filing deadline. I have worked on Saturdays to help an attorney client catch up on discovery requests their client finally submitted documents to fulfill.
Yes, freelance paralegals work whenever we want, but I want to always work in a way that supports you the best.
MYTH NUMBER 4: IT IS TOO RISKY TO HIRE SOMEONE REMOTELY IN THE LEGAL INDUSTRY
Attorneys new to practice may feel overwhelmed by their new founded and incredible responsibility in diligently representing the best interests of their clients, while established firms hold a very grandfathered, unique way of running their practice they are hesitant to interrupting.
There are many risks law firms carry, from client confidentiality to potential malpractice. For a small law firm or solo practitioner, a professional mistake can cause irreparable damage to their reputation in small towns.
I deeply recognize these concerns. That is why I have created my company around protecting your law firm from the aforementioned concerns.
Jaclyn Foster Paralegal Services, LLC maintains Professional Liability Insurance providing coverage for my company’s performance of work included in each individual agreement with a limit of liability of not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 annual aggregate. You will be provided with a Certificate of the same.
Freelance paralegals have a due diligence to routinely and thoroughly check their database for conflicts. Prior to working on any case, we run our conflict checks.
Because we have access to proprietary, private and otherwise confidential information, we agree to protect such information and treat any information coming from your law firm as strictly confidential.
Jaclyn Foster Paralegal Services, LLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal services to the general public. All services provided are done under the direct supervision of an attorney licensed in their state.
I am eager to help your small law firm or solo practice grow. I have crafted a team that allows you to afford senior level freelance paralegals with 15 to 30 years of experience in multiple practice areas.
Jaclyn Foster, Owner