HOME
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The
2-Second Commute
Based on the
highly-successful Virtual Assistant training programs Chris Durst and
Michael Haaren developed
for the US Armed Forces and the US Department of State, The 2-Second Commute:
Join the Exploding Ranks of Freelance Virtual Assistants brings
you the knowledge without
the classroom!
Training program
participants have billed over $30
MILLION since our training programs started in 2002. Now YOU can learn from Chris & Mike,
too, and start your own successful VA business!
2-SECOND
COMMUTE
CHAPTERS
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1
Why
Become a Virtual
Assistant?
- personal & professional reasons to
explore this
industry
Chapter 2
Exploring
Virtual
Assistance
- virtual assistance defined
- industry demographics
- services, fees, and trends
- why businesses work with VAs
- international outlook
Chapter 3
Reality
Checks &
Self-Assessments
- exploring important considerations -
motives,
lifestyle,
family, children, etc.
- entrepreneurial self-assessment
- VA readiness self-assessment
- Spouse With a Mouse™ - from our
Department of State
and US
Armed Forces training programs, a special section to help your
"significant other" understand what it will be like to have a business
in the house.
Developing
a "Service
Menu" That You Can Live and Grow With
- inventory your values, interests, and
skills to
determine
your most marketable skills
Chapter 5
Estimating
Costs and
Setting Fees
- projecting your costs, picking your
"salary", setting
your hour, and our special formula for calculating a reasonable
baseline fee
- comprehensive fee survey (see what other
VAs are
charging)
- getting paid -contracts, credit cards,
invoices,
retainers, etc.
Chapter 6
Setting
Up Your
Business and Your Office
- naming and registering your business
- forms of business ownership
- permits and licenses
- insurance
- home office setup
Chapter 7
Building
a Healthy
Foundation for Your Business
- defining your ideal client, interviewing
clients,
partnering with clients
- the art of virtual communications
- SWOT analysis - discovering your
Strengths,
Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats
- the benefits of "niche marketing" -
identifying your
target
market
Chapter 8
Let
the Marketing
Begin!
- image is everything
- talking about what you "do"
- marketing and email
- your Web site - your "global billboard"
- press releases
- harvesting the local "business crop"
- leveraging the media
- guest lecturing
- our 5 favorite marketing techniques
- the Strategic Marketing Plan - your
blueprint for
building
a successful business through effective marketing
Chapter 9
Pulling
It All
Together and
Keeping It There
- a collection of tips, tool, techniques,
and pointers
for
making your business a success
Chapter 10
The
VA Toolbox:
Resources and Information
- VA trade groups, email lists,
certifications and
training
programs
- specialized resources for homeschoolers,
"trailing
spouses", work at home parents, and people with disabilities
- resources and other information for the
"frugal VA"
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Work from home as a
Virtual Legal Assistant
 The niche in a nutshell:
A Legal Assistant
provides support to attorneys. Most often, smaller firms and sole
practitioners are more receptive to the virtual concept than a large
firm. Virtual Legal Assistants (VLAs) provide the same support
services they would provide in-house, including document drafting,
research, deposition summaries, organization of discovery, and
transcription. Specialized VLAs are emerging in practice areas
such as bankruptcy, foreclosure and estate planning.
Top 5 Services Provided in this Niche
- Document Drafting (pleadings,
discovery responses, etc.)
- Litigation Support
- Digital Transcription
- Creation of Forms
- Office Management
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Top 5 Hiring Markets
- Solo Attorneys
- Attorneys in Small Firms
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Pay Range for this Niche
VLAs charge $35/hour and up. Some services, such as bankruptcy
petition preparation, are billed out between $250 and $400 per petition.
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Recommended Skillsets
- Ability to work well under
pressure and an understanding of the importance of deadlines.
- Excellent “people” skills (Some
attorneys can be high-maintenance and are under a tremendous amount of
pressure. If you can create a business relationship where you can
give them peace of mind, you will be ahead of the game.)
- Many jurisdictions are moving to
electronic filing of court documents. A working knowledge of
e-filing procedures is important.
- Knowledge of where to look for
information concerning court deadlines, local rules, documents and form
of citations.
- Solid working knowledge of the
internet and MS Office applications. Knowledge of WordPerfect may
also prove to be useful.
- Ability to anticipate what the
attorney will need next (development of forms and checklists is
helpful.)
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Niche
Overview
What are the
benefits?
The
benefits of working from home as a Virtual Legal
Assistant are many. You can choose the
clients with whom you’ll work and, to a great extent, be in control of
your
schedule. You can choose to specialize
or to support general practitioners. You
have the opportunity to give yourself a “raise” when necessary (and
even when
it’s not!)
What are the biggest
challenges?
A
major challenge is making sure that attorneys are educated
as to how VLAs can be valuable assets to their practices. Many
attorneys are used to having an
assistant waiting for them and ready to jump at a moment’s
notice.
Working with a VLA requires the attorney to
plan ahead and be willing to delegate.
Another
challenge, as in any business, is juggling the
marketing, administrative and substantive work.
You should have a written plan (it doesn’t need to be perfect!) so you
can track where you are going and where you’ve been. You cannot
put up your website and expect
your practice to fill immediately—it takes hard work and dedication.
What
is the best way
to get started?
The
best way to start is to jump in! Start researching the virtual
assistant field
in general by looking at online forums such as Virtual Assistant
Networking (www.VANetworking.com), joining an
association of legal support staff in your area, and running searches
through
Google or Yahoo!
A
review of the “Work from
Home as
a Virtual Assistant” section of this
website would be valuable, as the same
issues and ideas apply to a Virtual Legal Assistant business.
Completion of the “Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment”
and the “VA Readiness Self-Assessment” mentioned in VA section of the
website
will help you analyze whether a VLA business would be a good fit for
you.
If
you have been out of the legal field for some time, you
can network through your local association of legal support staff to do
some
temp work to brush up on your skills and get a taste of current
technology. Both the National
Association of Legal Assistants (www.NALA.org)
and NALS…the Association for Legal Professionals (www.NALS.org)
offer classes and study groups online.
You may wish to take one of the certification exams offered by these
associations.
Certifications:
Some
of the certifications offered to legal support
professionals are:
ALS: This exam is given
through NALS. “The ALS Examination:
- demonstrates
ability to perform business communication tasks;
- gauges
ability to maintain office records and calendars, and prioritize
multiple tasks when given real-life scenarios;
- measures
understanding of office equipment and related procedures;
- denotes
aptitude for understanding legal terminology, legal complexities, and
supporting documents;
- assesses
recognition of accounting terms in order to solve accounting problems,
and
- appraises
knowledge of law office protocol as prescribed by ethical codes.”
(Description taken from NALS website)
PLS: This exam is given
through NALS. “The purpose of the examination is to certify
a lawyer's assistant as a person who possesses:
- a mastery of
office skills
- the ability
to interact on a professional level with attorneys, clients, and other
support staff
- the
discipline to assume responsibility and exercise initiative and
judgment, and
- a working
knowledge of procedural law, the law library, and how to prepare legal
documents.” (Description taken from NALS website)
PP: (Professional
Paralegal) This exam is
given through NALS. “Successful completion of the PP examination
demonstrates:
- A mastery of
procedural skills and communication skills.
- An advanced
knowledge of procedural law, the law library, and the preparation of
legal documents.
- A working
knowledge of substantive law and the ability to perform specifically
delegated substantive legal work under an attorney’s supervision.
- The ability
to interact on a professional level with attorneys, clients, and other
staff.
- The
discipline to assume responsibility and exercise initiative and
judgment while adhering to legal ethical standards at all times.”
(Description taken from NALS website)
CLA/CP: (Certified Legal
Assistant/Certified
Paralegal) This exam is given through NALA.
“Established in 1976, the CLA program is the nation's premiere
certification procedure for paralegals. Today, over 12,000 have
earned
the use of this professional designation and the CLA program is
recognized
throughout the United States
as a means of identifying competent paralegals. In 2004, NALA
registered the
mark ‘CP’ for those who prefer to use the term ‘paralegal’ instead of
‘legal
assistant.’” (Description taken from NALA website)
What
kind of
experience do I need?
A
VLA offering services to a general practitioner who needs
across the board support (billing, research, office management,
document
drafting) should have several years of experience as a legal
secretary/legal
assistant and be familiar with legal terminology, law office procedures
and
various software. However, those without
specific legal experience may be able to break into the field through
training
in a specialty field, such as bankruptcy petition preparation.
VLAs
should gain a solid understanding of what constitutes
the unauthorized practice of law (UPL).
The best way to avoid UPL allegations is to only offer your services
directly to attorneys and not to the public.
You should not give legal advice nor should you answer questions that
call for a legal opinion.
Recommended Reading
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Tools of the Trade
- Membership in state and local
legal support staff
associations.
- High speed Internet
- Full versions of software
- If offering digital transcription,
you will want a foot pedal
and software such as ExpressScribe, from http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/ (Although some VAs complete transcription
without a foot pedal, I know I work faster with the pedal and can’t
live
without it.)
- Business/Marketing Plan (See The 2-Second Commute (p. 233 for a Strategic Marketing
Plan outline)
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Organizations & Associations
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Resource Links
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About LynnCarroll
Lynn Carroll started
her business, Carrollegal,
in 2002, offering virtual
legal support and on-site temporary services to attorneys and mobile
notary
signing agent services to title companies and lenders.
She entered the legal field in 1986 as a
legal secretary to a solo attorney in Springfield, Massachusetts. Before starting her business, she worked for
solo attorneys and small firms, as well as the Federal Public
Defender's Office
and the City Attorney’s office in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her real passion, however, is working with SOHO attorneys who have an entrepreneurial
streak
In 1990, she earned the PLS
Certification
from NALS...the
Association for Legal
Professionals. Lynn
received the Certified Notary Signing Agent designation through the
National
Notary Association in 2002 and the IVAA EthicsCheck certification in
2006.
Lynn
currently serves as President of the Pikes Peak Association of Legal
Support
Staff and the Continuing Legal Education Chairman for the Colorado
Association
of Legal Support Staff (www.CALSS.org).
She lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado
with her husband, Steve, a Major in the Army and her two children,
Katelyn (7)
and Robert (10). The family will be
spending the better part of the summer attending Little League baseball
games
and practices, Colorado Springs Sky Sox games and a few Rockies
games instead of running the rat race!
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