Most personal injury firms are fairly busy. Injuries, accidents, and distracted driving seem almost certain from week to week, and so many PI attorneys wind up doing much of the work themselves.
This is especially true for smaller, solo firms. After a while, it can seem as though handling everything alone is the only way to move work forward. But what if there was a better way? That’s where International Licensed Attorneys (ILAs), highly skilled virtual assistants for your law firm, come into play, solving multiple problems with one hire.
An ILA isn’t a paralegal. Instead, they’re accredited, licensed lawyers who work in common-law countries and who partner with US-based attorneys to handle administrative tasks, reduce your workload, and help you dedicate more time to client representation, strategy, and family life.
Our ILAs are strictly and carefully vetted. Rounds of interviews are conducted to ensure the prospective ILA is fluent in English, capable, professional, and ethically sound. Next, training is conducted to help the ILA understand US-based PI law, HIPAA standards, and ABA standards.
All of this is geared towards helping you and your ILA work well together from day one. Support is always there if you need it, but we ensure our ILAs are trained to be effective, careful, and collaborative on week one.
So what can an ILA handle? All of the smaller, satellite tasks that eat into your day almost imperceptibly. Let me ask you something. How many hours per week do you spend on work that someone else who was properly trained could handle? 10 hours? 20 hours? More? That’s the work an ILA can tackle.
This includes….
All of these are tasks your ILA can take off of your desk and off your schedule. This leaves you free to focus on the core tasks you went to law school for, the ones that truly need your hands-on attention and effort.
This leaves you with a handful of core tasks to occupy your day. And these core tasks are…
It’s quite straightforward. Not to say these tasks are easy. In fact, they’re the most complex and important tasks your PI firm handles. This is the work that actually wins the damages your clients need. Which is why they truly deserve your maximum attention, focus, and mental energy.
And the damages you win for clients? Turn into better reviews, more public trust, and more cases in the long term. It’s a win-win. Your ILA takes hours of smaller tasks off your plate, leaving you mentally and temporally free to invest maximum energy into the work that really moves your firm forward.
The good news is that all of the work, ultimately, is still within your control. Your ILA hands back tasks, you review them, and that work is then filed, sent, or marked as “complete”. Your supervision keeps you in control of your firm’s reputation, output, and consistently high quality.
Only now, instead of spending two hours on the task, you spend 10 minutes reviewing and signing off. All work is submitted through secure portals, and your ILA already understands, as a fellow attorney, the importance of client privacy and data security.
Next, DocketWorks support is always ready to help answer any questions and address them before they become issues. We’re available anytime you need us to help you and your ILA work well together and help both of you adjust to delegating confidently and productively.
At first, you’ll hand off a few simple tasks, such as file organization and updating trackers. Start with work that is frequent, recognizable, and easy to review. You stay in control of what tasks are delegated and who checks them. Daily reports come in from your ILA, so you know exactly what was handled and what still needs to be done.
Communications will be handled in real-time, as your ILA will work when you work. Should you or your ILA need clarity, communicate through the secure channel of your choice, or invite our responsive, on-call support team to provide answers.
Over the next two weeks, you’ll add another simple task, allow your ILA to master it, and determine what went well and what needed extra work or information. After one month, you’ll have a better sense of what else can be delegated.
Over the upcoming months, as your ILA takes on a greater number of tasks, your work weeks will begin to click into place. Working simpler (and with quality support) begins to feel truly natural, intuitive, and relieving.
So how can you tell if an ILA would be a good choice for your firm? Well, if you’re handling almost everything on your own, that’s a pretty good sign that an ILA might be helpful. If you’re staying at the office past 6 pm most nights, missing weekends with family, or finding it hard to relax at home, that’s another sign.
If you find yourself having to turn away new clients because you’re simply too busy for any more work, that’s one of the strongest indicators that you could use the support. Remember, these aren’t paralegals. They’re accredited, trained fellow lawyers who have clients, cases, and reputations of their own.
They know how important your work is; they understand the struggles your clients are facing, and they’re here to help. And to ensure you can devote the most time possible to the tasks and representation that keep your firm moving, profitable, and truly changing lives.
Does this sound helpful? Like the kind of administrative support that could really improve profitability and enable you to represent even more men and women in need? That’s exactly why we exist.
For no-pressure answers, clarity, and a sense of what this would look like in your firm, feel free to book a Discovery Call today.
Grace Singh is a writer and editor for DocketWorks. She enjoys bridging services and client needs in ways that are meaningful, memorable, and human-focused, even as technology continues to change. When she’s not at her home office, she enjoys nature walks, reading, and brewing coffee.