Frequently Asked Questions

What is a paralegal?

According to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA), a professional paralegal is a person, qualified through education, training or work experience, to perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts and is customarily, but not exclusively, performed by a lawyer. This person may be retained or employed by a lawyer, law office or governmental agency.

What is a litigation paralegal?

A litigation paralegal provides ongoing legal support for litigation and trial attorneys in criminal and civil actions. He/she prepares legal pleadings and other court documents, interviews witnesses, gathers and organizes pertinent case exhibits and helps litigators manage claims from inception through discovery, mediation, settlement or trial.

What type of legal work can a litigation paralegal handle?

Litigation paralegals handle a variety of tasks – prior, during and post litigation – to help move cases forward efficiently. A short list of these litigation support responsibilities include:

• Case management and general support
• Researching statutory and case law in support of motions and briefs
• Preparing memorandums and correspondence
• Preparing court documents and other legal pleadings
• Summarizing depositions
• Preparing chronologies and time lines
• Creating trial exhibits, notebooks and other visual presentations

You can review a full list of legal support services here.

What is a virtual paralegal?

A virtual paralegal, also called a freelance paralegal, is a professional legal assistant who provides remote support services to attorneys. Virtual paralegals use telephones, email, snail mail, fax machines and the Internet to support any task related to a legal case.

As an independent contractor, a virtual paralegal is not an employee of your law firm, but rather a separate business owner responsible for his/her own training, equipment, taxes and health benefits. Virtual paralegals can handle entire matters or any piece of a lawsuit – it all depends on the needs of your firm.

Why should I outsource my legal work to a paralegal?

There may be periods when your workload increases dramatically, but not enough to warrant taking on the expense and responsibility of hiring a full-time paralegal. A virtual paralegal can support you directly by providing seamless backup support for your in-house staff.

Where are you located?

My office is located south of Atlanta, Georgia and I work remotely for a number of attorneys and law firms in my immediate community. However, since I do most of my legal work remotely, I also assist litigation attorneys all over the country from my home office. Because my professional experience is with American laws and procedures, I only work with practicing United States attorneys.

What types of lawyers do you work with?

I work with litigation lawyers who handle a variety of cases to include personal injury, medical malpractice, wrongful death, civil and business litigation. My clients are located both in and outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Most of my clients are small firm lawyers with limited in-house staff and sole practitioners who work from their own home-based offices.

Do you provide legal services to the public?

No. In an effort to stay on the right side of Georgia’s unauthorized practice of law statutes, I do not provide legal services to the general public, suspended or disbarred attorneys or other non-lawyers.

I do, however, provide non-legal support services to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

What is your rate for paralegal services?

My retainer packages range from 10 to 40 hours per month. I offer two payment options to lawyers who retain my services. You can pay once a month (on the 1st) or split the monthly retainer into two payments (on the 1st and 15th).

How can I work with you?

I run a small, personal legal support firm, and I am unable to service every attorney that contacts me. If you’re interested in adding my services to your law practice, please take these steps:

1. Review my website to confirm that the legal support I provide is what you need.
2. Contact me to request a complimentary consultation by using this form.

During our consultation, we will discuss specifics about your law practice and how I can best be of service to you and your in-house staff. If we are a good fit, awesome! We can then move forward towards working together. If not, I will be happy to help you locate a paralegal that’s a better fit for your litigation practice.

Photo credit: crystaljingsr