Today’s competitive legal market places constant pressure on law firms to complete work faster, without sacrificing quality or overspending on overhead. One of the biggest decisions is typically whether to hire in-house paralegals or use virtual paralegal services. Each option has its own benefits and disadvantages, and the better choice often depends on the size of your firm, the daily workflow of your firm, your budget, and the exact nature of your particular legal challenges.
At GSB LPO Services, we provide expertly trained, dedicated virtual paralegal support to firms in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. In this blog article, we’ll offer a complete comparison to help you make an informed choice for your firm.
The Cost Factor: An in-house paralegal is a true commitment, with a monthly salary, benefits, workspace setup, training, overhead and more. The cost of hiring someone full-time could cost a law firm a lot of money each year, even for just one person!
With the use of virtual paralegals, there is a much cheaper alternative. GSB LPO Services, allows you to just pay for the work you need done and the hours. There is no need to provide benefits, you provide the necessary equipment, and you are not committed long-term. For law firms that need to control operational costs without sacrificing quality; virtual support is a smart financial decision.
Flexibility and Workload Management: In-house paralegals work fixed hours and typically from a fixed location which can restrict the ability to scale up during the peak period or if a case backlog occurs. If your firm encounters variability in workloads, such as seasonal spikes in litigation or unanticipated motion filing deadlines, you will encounter bottlenecks and delays where you are dependent solely on in-house staff to handle those peaks.
Just-in-time flexibility with on-demand virtual paralegals. Whether you need extra help for a week, just completed a significant case and require ongoing input – we can easily adapt to your needs based on your changes. Providing services across various time zones keeps work running even when traditional business hours pass. Your firm can utilize its resources 24/7 through virtual. This means you are utilizing available resources without increases in fixed staff.
Access to Specialized Skills: Due to cost constraints, many companies utilize generalist in-house paralegals. This translates to paralegals working in diverse areas of law, including areas in which they may not be particularly well versed or experienced.
Virtual paralegal services provide you with access to a wider range of talent and skillset. At GSB, our team is trained in bankruptcy, workers’ compensation, personal injury, contract drafting, and more. You can plug in precisely the skill set you want or need—on demand—and without a long hiring and training process.
Efficiency and Turnaround Time: No one wants to wait on documentation preparation, filing or research. Delayed conclusions on these tasks can affect client happiness and the outcome of their case. In-house teams, especially in smaller law firms can become sidelined with multiple busy caseloads.
The use of GSB’s virtual team can provide rapid turnaround time with assigned paralegals to each client. We will actually start your tasks and process work right away, and during the overnight when your in-house staff is resting, you can be assured your documents are prepared for the next day for your client. This creates a seamless workflow where your firm is more responsive and productive.
Security and Confidentiality: Some lawyers are concerned that outsourcing legal work may create data security issues. This is not an issue, when using a professional legal process outsourcing provider such as GSB.
We have strict data protection measures in place, we utilize encrypted file sharing services, and we sign confidentiality agreements with each client and worker. We have trained our legal workers in some of the international compliance standards (such as GDPR and HIPAA) to ensure that your client data is protected.
Communication and Control: A common thing firms express concern about is the lack of control with virtual paralegals. But, with virtual processes in place, that isn’t an issue. You have your own point of contact at GSB, who understands your workflow and works with the virtual team. We check in with you at least daily, supply you with email, tasking tools on the web in order to ensure thorough, transparent and accountable projects, as you would expect from your own in-house staff.
When Is an In-House Paralegal Better?
There are cases where in-house paralegals may fit the role better—especially if the task requires being in-person, such as filing documents with local courts or meeting with clients in-person. If your practice is highly location-centric and based solely on face-to-face interaction, then creating a physical footprint with at least one paralegal who comes to the office makes sense.
Nonetheless, many law firms today are taking a hybrid approach in which they will have one or two people in-house and outsource tasks that are routine and document-heavy, to a virtual paralegal. This gives the firm the best of both worlds—a local presence with scalable support externally.
A Real-World Example
Let’s say you’re a solo attorney in California who practices in workers’ compensation, personal injury, and bankruptcy law. Between client meetings and hearings and managing filings, you do not have any time to draft petitions, prepare medical summaries, or follow-up discoveries. Hiring a full-time paralegal may not be possible all year—but with **GSB LPO Services** you have access to hire your own virtual paralegal working 15 or 20 hours a week. We assist you with bankruptcy petition prep, PI demand letters, treatment time lines and workers’ compensation filings– allowing you to be productive, save costs/overhead and concentrate on your clients.
Why Choose GSB LPO Services?
At GSB, we don’t just offer additional manpower—our additional manpower is strategic legal support. Our virtual paralegals are trained, experienced and poised to jump into your workflow with minimal onboarding. Whether you are assisting your client in a high-volume bankruptcy case, or a complicated PI matter, we have an paralegal who understands your situation and delivers results on time.
We pride ourselves on:
- Quick onboarding
- Transparent pricing
- Support hours 24/6
- Confidentiality and data security
- Flexibility in our service packages
Conclusion: The Smarter Choice for Modern Law Firms
In the end, the choice between virtual paralegals and in-house paralegals comes down to what your firm needs most at any given time: physical presence, or scalable productivity. If you need to strategically optimize your firm’s productivity, without needing to hire additional staff, GSB LPO Services’ virtual paralegals may be the right fit for your firm.
As your trusted legal outsourcing partner, we help you to manage the back office, so that you can concentrate on the advocacy and strategy behind your clients’ cases.
Let’s Get Started
Curious how GSB’s virtual paralegals can work for your firm? We offer a free trial project to help you explore the possibilities. Reach out to us today.