What to Expect When Hiring Jaclyn Foster Paralegal Services, LLC
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. 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.
At Jaclyn Foster Paralegal Services, LLC, I deeply recognize these concerns. That is why I have created my company around a principal of not only enhancing your return on investment, competitive edge, and overall efficiency within your office, but also around protecting your law firm from the aforementioned concerns.
First Contact
Upon inquiring about the services my freelance paralegal company offers, our first point of contact centers around uncovering your needs, unique to your practice and comfort levels.
Perhaps your law firm is experiencing staffing issues and you are ready to commit to contracting a paralegal part time or full time, or possibly you need someone to fill in while your star employee is on temporary leave. Maybe your office was recently contacted by a potential client that has a legal issue out of your direct experience that you don’t want to turn down, but need affordable, experienced assistance on navigating through the procedures. You may be contacting us because one of your biggest cases is about to go to trial or appeal and you need professional assistance in, amongst other things, preparing deposition summaries, exhibits, performing juror research, or writing pre-trial motions and briefs.
Determine Rates in Comparison to Needs
The needs of each law firm are unique and specific. It would be impractical to assess the same fee and payment structure across the board. I have designed my fee structure in a way that always leaves you with your best profit returns on each client that retains your firm. I offer three different arrangements to fit your needs:
Hourly arrangements with no long-term commitments
This structure is designed to meet immediate but not long-term, consistent needs. The purpose and intent for this approach is guaranteeing you to never have to turn away clients when you’re far too busy or feel the legal issue is out of your comfort level. You can hire our company and continue your contract for as long or as short as you need. My company bills to the minute, and does not round up in increments.
Hourly arrangements with weekly minimums
This structure is designed to solve a staffing inefficiency within your firm. Many law firms need a paralegal for five to fifteen additional hours per week but understand how incredibly challenging it is to find a paralegal with senior level experience that is willing to work so casually, without benefits. Other law firms have a full time paralegal, but that individual is being overburdened with legal administrative tasks when the firm is unable to hire a part or full-time secretary. This arrangement is designed to fill those gaps, with a small weekly commitment of five hours. With this relationship, you will benefit from hourly discounts.
Flat fee long-term arrangements
This structure is designed to solve a long-term, ongoing struggle for your firm hiring, firing and rehiring employees. This is the solution for small law firms and solo practitioners that need full-time help but can’t afford the 25-40% above salary costs a W-2 employee is costing you. This arrangement fills an entire employee position at your firm, offering a freelance paralegal at full or part time hours. This arrangement offers a senior level paralegal to handle your offices’ fluctuating needs, whether secretarial or associate attorney level work. This contract offers you your best savings with extensive discounts.
Determine the technological means and methods to providing your law firm with freelance paralegal services.
There is no one right answer to how technology is going to support each individual freelance engagement. This is because each law firm has its own unique set up of client files, emails, docketing and case management. In my two years of freelancing, I have not had two clients utilize the exact same methods.
Some law firms utilize DropBox while others use Box.com. Some law firms have preferred me to have remote access to their client files through means of VPN or Citrix while others prefer to share one file at a time on an as needed basis. I have worked with law firms that utilize MyCase, Clio, Slack, Monday, Practice Panther, Rocket Matter and more. Some law firms have assigned me an email address unique to their firm, while others do not mind if I communicate with my company email.
Technology will not be an issue when it comes to our engagement. Myself, along with my freelance senior paralegal team, are well versed and adaptable to multiple platforms. We fit into your unique way of how you manage your day to day operations within your firms, and do not require you to change anything about it. In short, we adapt to your firm, not the other way around
Professional Liability, Conflict checks, confidentiality and other protections
· 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 check.
· 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.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As you can see, the process to hiring a freelance paralegal is seamless and stress free if you can trust the company in which you are engaging with. My passion for serving small law firms and solo practitioners runs deep. Because of this, I have created a professional, secure and efficient way for you to utilize the benefits of my company in its full capacity. You will always maintain quality control and economic efficiency, while being guaranteed the confidentiality and professional standards.
I look forward to the opportunity to discuss with you further.