Posted by Liz Miller d/b/a Paralegal Professionals on 3/11/05

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Hi - I am new to this chat board. I work as an independent
paralegal and recently wrote this article for a magazine. I
thought some people might find it helpful or interesting and
it tells you something about me, who i am and what i do.

How Can Contract Services Benefit Your
Practice?____________________________________________________________
A freelance or contract paralegal is one that is
self-employed and available to take on short term, long
term, per diem or per case projects with no committments
beyond any commissioned assignment. These services can
range from assisting with litigation preparation, covering
employee absences, or coming to an attorneys’ office to pick
up files or overflow work and are generally much less
expensive, and more reliable than other sources of
temporary help.
I read an article recently in which a freelance paralegal
was quoted describing the independent contract paralegal
perfectly. She said, “those of us who freelance have
usually had years of experience within the legal profession
and understand there is far more to being a legal secretary
than answering phones and that paralegals are much more
capable (and much more valuable) than reviewing files and
documents. We did not become freelancers on a wing and a
prayer. We have to do what a service business does - we
present ourselves with credibility and experience and all we
have to offer is our time and our knowledge. We also know
the limits of our skills and we know what the job really
entails.” (author unknown)
I have been a paralegal for almost 26 years, and have spent
the better part of the last 16 years working as an
independent paralegal trying to make attorneys understand
how an independent contractor, be it a paralegal, legal
secretary or some other support staff person, can benefit
their practice. One day I had the opportunity to talk to a
defense attorney who shared with me how he convinced his
partners of the financial benefits of employing a contract
paralegal. I realized from talking to him that most
attorneys do not see the big picture. I’d like to share it
with you.
We all know that the joke about defense work is that they
get paid by the pound, but, of course, someone has to
generate the work. So now you have a full-time salaried
paralegal, and there is a lull in the work. Non- party
subpoenas are out, discovery hasn’t come in, you cannot get
anything scheduled and there is little to no work to bill.
The paralegal is filing or doing clerical work because there
is nothing else to do at the moment. This is where the
cost-effectiveness of an independent contractor paralegal or
any support staff member becomes invaluable. If you retain
the services of a contract paralegal to work defense (or
any) files, and that paralegal is only getting paid when
billable work is generated, the firm is in a win/win
situation. Let’s suppose the firm is billing their client
$75 an hour for paralegal time, and paying the paralegal
$25/hour. If the paralegal bills 40 hours a week, she
earns $1,000 and the law firm earns $3000. Add into the
equation the flexibility of not having to pay the contract
paralegal unless she is billing time, no overhead, no
health benefits, vacation time, sick time, or taxes to pay -
this turns into a profitable way for the law firm to
outsource their work and increase the firm’s revenues
without interrupting the continuity of the work or the
paralegal’s familiarity with your files.
The equation works a little differently in other areas of
law, but it can still be a financial benefit for the firm.
If you establish an ongoing rapport with a contractor who
knows and agrees up front that they will be employed only
when there is work, and you do not have to provide a desk,
computer, telephone or copier for her to work, you can still
have office continuity and not expend any revenues for time
when no revenues are being generated for the firm by that
paralegal’s work. In the case of the plaintiff’s practice,
files that are sitting in a cabinet that need settlement
demands or medical malpractice notices of intent or
complaints prepared are not generating revenues for the firm
either. If the staff is too busy which can happen since
plaintiff’s offices can be extremely busy due to extensive
and sometimes daily client contact, contracting a paralegal
to prepare these documents keeps the cases moving and
enables you to generate fees through settlements.
Contracting that work to a paralegal who can pick up a file
and write a settlement demand for a nominal fee exclusive of
costs (copying charges), is both cost and time efficient for
the firm. Although in plaintiff’s cases the fees for a
contract paralegal cannot be billed to the client as an
expense, it is worth the investment of sometimes as little
as $125 plus costs to get a case into demand and get it
settled. Again, all you are paying for is work that is
being done - with no added overhead expenses. Running a law
firm is expensive with salaries, and the cost of benefits,
overhead, etc. Utilizing contractors can help you to
maximize your productivity and still keep your operating
expenses under control.

Liz Miller
Independent Paralegal
813-340-9569
lizmiller35@juno.com
26 years experience as a paralegal specializing in personal
injury, med mal, nursing home, tort litigation, bankruptcy,
family law, sinkhole and toxic tort litigation, trial work,
legal research and brief writing

Re: Independent Paralegal, 6/01/08, by --.

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