Virtual Assistant for Law Firms
Small firms lose billable hours to the front office: intake calls during consultations, scheduling across attorneys, documents scattered across inboxes, invoices that go out late. A law firm virtual assistant takes the administrative load so the attorneys practice law.
What a law firm VA takes on
- Client intake and scheduling — answering new inquiries promptly, running your intake questionnaire, booking consultations, sending confirmations and reminders that cut no-shows.
- Calendar and deadline support — managing attorney calendars, tracking filing and court dates on a shared docket, sending advance reminders so nothing sneaks up.
- Document organization — naming, filing and versioning pleadings, correspondence and discovery materials; preparing closing and hearing binders from your templates.
- Billing and time entries — drafting time entries from attorney notes, preparing invoices, chasing outstanding balances with professional persistence.
- Client communication — status updates, document requests, scheduling follow-ups — the steady contact that keeps clients from calling to ask what's happening.
The bright line
A VA is not a lawyer and never acts like one. No legal advice, no independent judgment on client matters, no representation. They prepare, organize and follow up; attorneys decide and sign. Confidentiality rules for client information are agreed with you up front, before any work begins.
Why firms choose a dedicated VA
Intake scripts, your practice areas, your courts, your preferences — this is knowledge that builds over months and pays off for years. A dedicated virtual assistant learns your firm's specific operation instead of starting cold every week.
A typical day for a legal virtual assistant
- Morning: triage the firm inbox and voicemail transcripts, respond to new enquiries with your intake questionnaire, confirm the day's consultations.
- Midday: update matter records, file incoming documents to the right matter, send document requests to clients.
- Afternoon: draft time entries from attorney notes for review, chase outstanding invoices, prepare tomorrow's calendar and reminders.
- End of day: a short status note: new leads, booked consultations, open client requests and anything that needs an attorney.
Tools a law firm VA works in
- Practice management: Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther, Smokeball, Filevine
- Intake and scheduling: Lawmatics, Calendly, Acuity, your website forms
- Documents and signatures: NetDocuments, Google Drive, Dropbox, DocuSign
- Billing: the billing module in your practice management tool, LawPay, QuickBooks
Intake: the highest-value handover
For most small firms the biggest leak is slow intake. A prospective client who waits a day for a reply often books with another firm. A legal VA answers every new enquiry fast, runs your screening questions, checks conflicts against the list you provide for attorney review, and books qualified prospects straight into the attorney's calendar. Attorneys see a clean list of booked consultations instead of a pile of messages.
Paralegal, legal assistant or VA?
A paralegal does substantive legal work under attorney supervision. A legal VA handles administration: intake, scheduling, documents, billing and client contact. Many firms use a VA so paralegals and attorneys can spend more time on billable work. If you need substantive paralegal work, say so in your request and we will tell you honestly whether it fits.
Legal virtual assistant work by practice area
A virtual assistant for law firms takes the administrative work around a matter. The best first handover depends on how your firm earns its fees.
| Practice area | Good first tasks |
|---|---|
| Personal injury | Intake forms, medical record requests, client status updates |
| Family law | Client document collection, court date tracking, disclosure lists |
| Immigration | Form data entry, document checklists, deadline reminders |
| Conveyancing and real estate | File opening, searches ordered, settlement diary |
| Corporate | Entity records, signature packs, data room filing |
Law firm admin by market
| Market | Software that comes up | What stays with you |
|---|---|---|
| US | Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther | Legal advice, and supervision of non-lawyers under your state's rules |
| Canada | Clio, PCLaw | Trust accounting sign-off and advice |
| Australia | LEAP, Smokeball, Actionstep | Trust account sign-off and advice |
| New Zealand | Actionstep, Clio | Trust account sign-off and advice |
| Europe | Clio, local case systems | Advice, and client-data decisions under GDPR |
| UK | LEAP, Clio, Actionstep | Reserved legal activities, advice and client account sign-off |
A VA isn't a lawyer or a paralegal doing legal work on their own. A lawyer in your firm supervises the work, and your own professional rules decide what can be delegated and how client data is handled.
Not sure it pays? Use our free virtual assistant cost calculator to compare a local hire with a flat monthly plan.
Legal virtual assistant pricing guide
| Firm | Hours | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Solo attorney | 20 hours a week: intake, scheduling, client documents | Essentials, $899/mo |
| Small firm | Full time: intake for every lawyer, billing follow-up, file admin | Executive, $1,599/mo |
| Firm automating intake | Full time with AI intake workflows built and checked | AI Manager, $2,599/mo |
No recruitment fee, month-to-month, and a free shortlist in 72 hours. Hourly legal VA services often add minimum hours; compare the monthly total for the hours you need.
Virtual assistant for attorneys working alone
A solo attorney loses the most time to intake calls, scheduling and chasing client documents. Hand over those three first. Your VA works in Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther or your system under your supervision, and anything that counts as legal advice stays with you.
Pricing
Essentials $899/mo part-time for a solo or two-attorney practice; Executive $1,599/mo full-time when intake and billing volume justify it. One flat fee, month-to-month, no recruitment charges — see pricing. The process from brief to shortlist is on how it works.
FAQ
Can a VA work in our practice management software? Yes — Clio, MyCase, PracticePanther and similar tools are standard; we match VAs to your stack.
How do you handle confidential client information? Handling rules are agreed with you before work starts, and your VA works only inside your systems — no outside copies, no shortcuts.
What if the fit isn't right? The 30-day replacement promise applies: tell us within 30 days and we replace your VA at zero cost, carrying context over.
Can a virtual assistant answer calls for a law firm? A VA can handle call-backs, voicemail follow-up and scheduling during your agreed hours using your scripts. Live answering coverage depends on your plan hours and time zone, so tell us what you need.
Can a VA run conflict checks? A VA can search your records and prepare the results for an attorney to review. The decision on a conflict always stays with the attorney.
How much does a legal virtual assistant cost? $899 a month for 20 hours a week, or $1,599 a month for full time, with no recruitment fee.
Get a free VA shortlist in 72 hours.
Tell us what you need. We send 2–3 hand-picked, vetted VAs to interview. $0 recruitment fee, and you pay nothing until your VA starts. Essentials $899/mo, Executive $1,599/mo, AI Manager $2,599/mo, month-to-month.