Deciding Between Full-Time or Contract Paralegal: How to Determine Your Law Firm's Needs

Choosing between hiring a full-time paralegal employee or engaging a contract paralegal is a significant decision that can impact the efficiency and financial health of your law firm. To make an informed choice, it's essential to assess your firm's unique requirements and consider various factors. In this blog post, we will outline the steps you can take to identify if your law firm needs a full-time paralegal employee or a contract paralegal.

1. Evaluate Workload and Project Demands

Begin by assessing your law firm's workload and project demands. Consider the volume of cases, types of legal matters, and anticipated growth. A full-time paralegal may be suitable if your firm consistently handles a high caseload requiring ongoing support. On the other hand, if your workload fluctuates, you’re in between growth stages of not having enough work yet to justify a full-time hire, or involves specific projects with a defined timeline, engaging a contract paralegal might be a more cost-effective solution.

2. Analyze Cost and Budget Constraints

Examine your firm's financial situation and budget constraints. Hiring a full-time paralegal entails fixed costs, including salary, benefits, and overhead expenses. Evaluate whether your firm can afford these long-term financial commitments. Contract paralegals offer flexibility with payment structures, allowing you to align costs with specific projects or billable hours. Analyzing your budget constraints will help determine the most financially viable option.

3. Consider Expertise and Specialization

Identify the areas of legal expertise and specialization required within your law firm. A full-time paralegal can provide continuous support and develop an in-depth understanding of your firm's practice areas. This can be beneficial if your firm requires ongoing assistance in specific legal fields. Conversely, contract paralegals often bring specialized expertise in niche areas, making them valuable for short-term or project-specific needs.

Further, analyze whether your local budget and market has the talent pool for that level of expertise and specialization.

4. Assess Long-Term vs. Short-Term Goals

Evaluate your law firm's long-term and short-term goals. A full-time paralegal aligns with long-term growth plans, as they become an integral part of your firm's operations. They can contribute to building institutional knowledge and fostering client relationships. However, if your firm has short-term objectives, such as handling a surge in caseload or managing complex litigation, a contract paralegal can provide targeted support without long-term commitments.

On the flip side, if your long-term goal requires senior level paralegal support to get there (and you’d like to avoid working 90 hour weeks), don’t hesitate to look into a contract paralegal and how we can apply a stepping stone staffing strategy to get you ready for that full-time employee.

5. Evaluate Workflow and Time Sensitivity

Analyze your firm's workflow patterns and time sensitivity of projects. If your firm operates in a fast-paced environment with consistently tight deadlines and little “heads up", a full-time paralegal's consistent presence may be crucial to meet urgent demands. However, for time-sensitive projects that require specialized skills and have clear workflows and deadlines involved, engaging a contract paralegal can ensure quick turnaround and efficient utilization of resources.

Consider how a contract paralegal could help support your current teams’ heavy demands and overload of work. Where can you bring them in strategically to help reduce bottlenecks and prep your team for more efficient days ahead?

6. Assess Management and Supervision Capacity

Consider your firm's management and supervision capacity. Hiring a full-time paralegal requires ongoing supervision, training, and performance management. If your firm has the resources and bandwidth to provide guidance and mentorship to a paralegal, a full-time employee can be a valuable asset. Conversely, if your firm lacks the capacity for direct oversight or prefers a more independent working arrangement, a contract paralegal can be a self-managed solution.

7. Seek Input from Existing Staff

Gather input from your existing staff to gain insights into their needs and preferences. Consult your attorneys and other support staff to determine the level of assistance required and the potential benefits of a full-time or contract paralegal.

Sit down with your legal team and really analyze where bottlenecks are happening (and where the bottlenecks OF the bottlenecks are happening).

Identify the root frustrations of each team member. You might be surprised that it isn’t as simple as: “I’m just overloaded.”