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When a Law Service like Apex Law Service says “We connect Clients with Attorneys and then do the Paralegal Work” it is a description of the way we do business. We are marketing for Attorneys who want us to connect them with new Clients. We are also simultaneously marketing for Clients who want us to connect them with an Attorney who will use us for their Outsourced Paralegal Hours at a specific rate. This is a lawful way of first marketing and then doing Outsourced Paralegal Work.
Legal Issues Involved in the Process.
Let me describe the legal issues involved in a process like this. There are a number of benefits to a business model like this. The Client receives the benefit of usually Lower Priced Paralegal Hours by contracting with the Law Service for a specific hourly rate they are willing to be charged during the course of their legal matter. I say usually because sometimes the business model that a Law Service follows has to do with providing a Niche Paralegal Focus and the benefit is working with an Attorney to whom the Law Service introduces the Client who uses these very Specialized Paralegals.
Benefits of the Law Service Business Model.
There is also the benefit of being able to work with the same Law Service Office Staff even if the Client asks to be introduced to several Attorneys before deciding to hire a specific Attorney. The Client does not have to go in and go over the specifics of their case multiple times. The Client also benefits because of the Law Service’s knowledge of which of their Attorney Clients to introduce the Client to. The Attorneys benefit because they do not have to spend time and energy marketing for Clients and they also do not need to worry about the administrative part of their office with respect to the cases that come to them from the Law Service.
Quality and Helpfulness of Paralegals Using this Business Model.
Paralegals who do Outsourced Paralegal Work like this are usually paid slightly more than in a Law Office and therefore they are more likely to be more contented with their work and produce excellent work. The main universal and easiest way to market is to not use the word “Paralegal” as a title, but to call yourself a “Law Service” or something to that effect and to then explain that you “connect Clients with Attorneys who then use your Law Service to do their Outsourced Paralegal Work”. This allows you to quickly explain the basic relationship between the parties of a transaction. The principle is that you are first a marketer who markets to find Clients with legal issues whom you can connect to your Attorney Clients who need New Clients and who agree to use you for most of the Paralegal Hours they need done for that specific case.
Regards,
James F. Polk
Outsourced Paralegal Business Consultant
Mr. Polk: Are you certain you can legally be a “contract Paralegal”? I thought as of January 2020, paralegals had to be W2 employees?? Just FYI.
Marilyn, thank you for your message. I am part of a grouping of professionals who takes the stance that Independent Paralegals are sufficiently autonomous so as to be exempted from w-2 status even though supervised by Attorneys by Law. I would like to point you to a decent article from a leader inside our industry Angela Grijalva: http://www.saclegalprep.com/blog/ab5-impact-on-paralegal-services. I myself do not have any one Independent Paralegal who does more than 20 hours a week for Apex at the moment and we are working to put together a benefits package so that we can cross the threshold of becoming a full-time employer who offers benefits. One of the main issues is that Independent Paralegals want to work on their own for different Contractor Paralegal Businesses and Attorneys and so are not themselves of the opinion they are being unfairly treated as Independent Contractors without W-2 Status. That having been said, it is possible that I will have to deal with the legal issue differently in the coming months. I simply am of the opinion that AB5 was enacted to protect workers and my business practice does not violate that principle. Thank you for leaving a very relevant message. – Regards, James F. Polk.