According to several studies, lawyers spend up to six hours every day doing non-billable work. That alone should make you consider outsourcing some of your tasks. When you outsource, you leverage your time. Furthermore, outsourcing allows you to leverage other people's time and expertise so that you can scale your business more quickly. After all, some tasks, such as marketing, can take a lot of time to master the necessary skills. So, it makes sense to outsource tasks to experts who have the relevant knowledge and experience. Here are five tasks your law firm could, and should, outsource.
1. Admin Tasks
Completing tasks like scheduling, taking phone calls, and creating invoices, takes up a lot of valuable time. In fact, many lawyers end up working overtime because there is not enough time in the day to address both administrative tasks and the actual legal work. While you could hire a full-time secretary or admin assistant, it often makes sense to outsource the tasks to a freelancer. By doing that, you do not need to deal with employee contracts, payroll, and taxes. Also, you can simply get admin assistants on board as and when you need them, such as during busy periods. When you outsource admin tasks, you can save money in the long run.
2. Writing Appellate Briefs
While some tasks, like document reviews and research projects, are commonly outsourced, many law firms do not even consider that they can outsource the writing of appellate briefs. But seeing as appellate briefs are so often used, it makes sense to outsource them to appellate brief writers. By hiring a freelance lawyer to write the briefs, you can focus on other important areas of your law practice. Regardless of where your company is based and what size it is, it is simple to access a nationwide network of freelance lawyers to write appellate briefs. Furthermore, you need only hire the lawyers when you need them on a project-by-project basis, which means you do not have to cover the expense of hiring a full-time lawyer for writing appellate briefs.
3. Document Reviews
This is one of the most commonly outsourced tasks within legal practices and for a good reason. Reviewing documents is an essential part of your daily operations, but it takes time to do things like code documents and prepare deposition summaries. Furthermore, such tasks can soon become tedious. When you outsource document reviews with professional companies or individual contractors, you can save time and money, and scale your business.
4. Legal Research
You will know just how long it takes to research cases and litigation. Usually, you will be working to demanding deadlines as well. If your firm's lawyers are spending more time doing research than they are drafting motions or client documents, then it is probably time to outsource legal research projects to experienced professionals.
5. Marketing Strategies
Any type of business needs to utilize marketing strategies if it wants to attract clients and become successful, and a law firm is no different. But the marketing world has changed a lot in recent years. No longer can law firms simply post an ad in the local paper and put up a billboard to drum up business. Today, you need to use a forward-thinking marketing strategy, such as utilizing social media platforms, search engine optimization, and email marketing. Lawyers are experts in many areas, but they are not professional marketers, so it can make good business sense to outsource your marketing activities to a professional agency or freelancer. When you outsource your marketing activities, you can focus more on your daily legal work while leaving the growth of your business in the capable hands of a professional.
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