Introduction

 Whether you’re a small firm or a large firm, lawyers are busy people and they are always on the move meeting with clients and handling cases. That being said, using a virtual office space can make running your practice both more convenient and cost effective. The convenience of using a virtual office space allows a lawyer to meet up with their clients to discuss the case at hand and also prepare for trial. Trial preparation can be quite extensive and can take weeks. Therefore, utilizing as-needed office space is beneficial to meeting with clients and having instant administrative support.

What are the Benefits to Having a Virtual Office?

The benefits of using office space include, but are not limited to, administrative support, receptionist services, and conference room availability. Even better, you have the freedom to either pay for office space on a day-to-day basis or month-to-month basis. There are major cost savings when using a virtual office space. Most attorneys don’t need to be in an office every day, so it’s both more cost efficient and smarter to only pay for only what you use.

You can come in to use the office space when you need to prepare for a deposition and the entire team can be in one professional setting. There are audio and video conferencing opportunities that allow for participation from everyone in the firm. Through our administrative staff, we can assist with setting up the equipment needed for these services. We can also assist by making copies of any important documents or simply providing catering and beverage service. When your clients come to meet with you, they will be welcomed by our smiling staff at the front desk.

The Takeaway of Using a Virtual Office

Essentially there are three takeaways from using a virtual office space:

1.  You will save time and money only meeting in an office when you need it, and paying for only the time that you use it.
2.  Your clients will be greeted and assisted creating a better client experience.
3.  An onsite staff means you will have instant support available, without the cost of a full-time assistant.

Contractor’s Conundrum

As a contractor, it can be difficult and distracting to answer calls while trying to get work done. You are always on the move travelling to multiple work sites, which can make it difficult to have time to answer the phone. Still, missing calls can mean lost leads and in today’s culture of instant access, customers often move on to another company if they are sent to voicemail. Unfortunately, for many contractors hiring a full-time staff to answer the phone is just not practical.

A Better Way

Officense Executive Assistants can help alleviate some of the stress of booking appointments and handling scheduling for your customers. For over 10 years, our company has been reliable when it comes to providing affordable call answering service for roofers, painters, HVAC pro’s, home improvement companies, and general contractors. Using Officense will allow you to focus on your business without worrying about missing out on potential customers due to lack of support.

With Officense, you can have a receptionist who filters your calls, and will only forward the calls that are important. Our skilled team will screen every call and you will no longer be frustrated answering calls that turn out to be a solicitor. Officense receptionists will not only answer calls from your customers, but we will also schedule estimates and appointments. Our phone answering runs 24/7, 365 days a year, so your customers will never get a busy signal or voice mail. For many of our contractor clients, we simply send text messages with caller information so you can follow up at your convenience.

Why Wait?

The Officense staff is ready to be of assistance and make your job easier! We don’t want your business to get in the way of business; and we also don’t want you to miss great opportunities to improve your company. Let us help to keep track of your leads and provide effective follow-ups! If you’re ready to have a live receptionist greet your customers and provide excellent service, call us at 410-814-7500, or click here for more information.

Starting a solo practice is hard.  It takes persistence, attention to detail, and a realistic, implementable business plan in order to succeed as a solo lawyer. As a sole practitioner, your time is valuable and wasted time adds up to wasted dollars. Through our partnership with LawPay’s payment processing you can have all the conveniences of a traditional office space without the overhead.

Legal administration

Besides the work you are doing in the courtroom, there is always more work to be done in the office when you run your own solo practice. Between answering emails, scheduling consultations, processing billing, and document preparation, a solo attorney may find themselves overwhelmed by paperwork.

The Thomson Reuter’s Solo and Small Law Firms Group recently completed a study asking attorneys about the most challenging aspects of their profession, and not surprisingly, time spent on non-billable, administrative tasks was at the top of the list. These types of tasks can include invoicing, phone answering, client intake paperwork, and payment processing.

Survey results concluded that 45 percent of all solo and small law firm time is spent handling administrative tasks. These results should be a wake-up call to solo practice attorneys. The 45 percent is even more shocking when you break down its impact on a firm’s profitability and bottom line. Take the breakdown below, for example:
– 40-hour work week x 45 percent of admin. time = 18 hours of unbilled work
– 18 non-billable hrs. x $150 hourly rate = $2,700 in potential billing lost weekly
– $2,700 non-billable hrs./week x 48 weeks per year = $129,600 in potential revenue lost yearly

According to the study, when the firm’s own perception of success was accounted for, there was a large gap in reported time spent on administrative work. Of those describing themselves as “unsuccessful” up to the rating of “neither successful nor unsuccessful”, 31 percent reported that time spent on administrative tasks was a major challenge. Conversely, only 10 percent and 14 percent of the firms that view themselves as “successful” to “very successful” reported challenges with administrative time management. The natural conclusion is that less successful attorneys lack time to collect billable hours and practice law due to operational and practice management tasks.

*2016, State of U.S. Small Law Firms Study, Thomson Reuters

A better way

Obviously, no firm can carry the high costs of inefficient administrative methods without seriously diminishing potential revenue. However, hiring a skilled assistant or paralegal is often out of the question due to the cost. As a solo attorney, finding a better way will be essential to your success. Luckily, there are solutions to make life easier for solo practice law firms and attorneys.

Online payment solutions can streamline your cash flow and make it easier for your clients to pay your bills, letting them pay you instantly—which means no more waiting for checks to arrive in the mail. In fact, studies have shown that law firms get paid 39 percent faster when they accept online credit card payments. To make it even easier, you can also set up recurring payments that will automatically charge your client’s card whenever your bill is due, letting you and your client focus on the case.

While hiring a paralegal may be outside of your budget, The Digital Age has also paved the way for affordable virtual assistance services. You could have a team of experienced assistants handling your calls and scheduling, performing data entry, preparing your documents and more—all without stepping foot in your office. With virtual assistance, you can keep your sights on the bigger picture items while the tedious tasks that eat up your day get taken care of by experienced, trained professionals.

The resources and amenities provided by LawPay and Officense are what every solo practice and small firm needs to beat the competition and reach their potential.

To learn more about how legal tech can help you save time and boost your bottom line, check out LawPay’s e-book, “Getting Paid in 2018: What Lawyers Need to Know.”

About the author

Noah Shumway is the Director of Sales and Marketing at OFFICENSE, in downtown Baltimore, MD.