Most new attorney clients at American Executive Centers are sole practitioners who have previously worked for a firm where secretarial and paralegal support was provided, without the concern of paying anyone's salary. When an attorney makes the decision to open their own practice, they are faced with all of the salary and overhead expenses, such as health insurance, unemployment insurance, and workers compensation insurance. Additionally, when an attorney first begins practicing on their own, they are unsure of their future caseload and are leery to hire any staff initially without knowing whether they will have enough work to keep them busy and pay their salary.
The Legal Facilities at AEC is extremely beneficial, in this case, to a sole practitioner in that attorneys are able to utilize the services of the paralegals here at American Executive Centers minus the overhead concerns of having to pay our salary, along with all of the other expenses that come with having employees. Another advantage of using The Legal Facilities at AEC is that the attorney can utilize our services on an as-needed basis and are only billed at a rate of $35.00 per hour. If the attorney chooses to bill their client at a reduced rate of $75.00 an hour for paralegal services, they are still making a $40.00 profit. Utilizing the Legal Facilities at AEC on an as-needed basis helps to ease the mind of the attorney who has occasional tight deadlines, but does not feel they have enough consistent work that would warrant employing a paralegal.
As a paralegal, over the past few years at American Executive Centers, I have seen firsthand just how heavily attorneys rely on paralegals to manage the day-to-day operations of their practice. The value paralegals offer attorneys in helping them to run their practices in a more efficient and cost-effective manner cannot be understated.
The paralegal support clients receive through The Legal Facilities at AEC helps create more time in the attorney's schedule so they can focus on their core competency. Some examples of assistance provided include:
- Servicing incoming calls regarding cases
- Legal research
- Drafting complaints and other documents pertaining to litigation
- Filing documents with the courts, facilitating
- Off -site travel - this is especially convenient when an attorney's paralegal is out sick or on vacation. We are able to fill in and make the work flow seamless until the paralegal returns.
- Maintaining communication with the clients and opposing counsel, or any other task associated with maintaining a client's file, the Legal Services at AEC is here to help.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Stephanie Sykes at 610-940-1600 ssykes@americanexecutivecenters.com or Gail Redman at 215-854-6300 gredman@americanexecutivecenters.com.
Learn more about our Personal Assistant Services in the Philadelphia area by watching this video.