What is a Virtual Secretary?
A virtual secretary is a professional who provides business services from her own environment. A virtual secretary is capable of providing the same level of service as the contemporary secretary, however, she is not in your office building and you only pay for the time and services you actually utilize.
Today’s technology enables more people to successfully work together virtually. Almost every task that can be accomplished in an office setting can be completed virtually.
What advantages is there to hiring a Virtual Secretary?
There are so many benefits for both the lawyer and his or her assistant. Some of the benefits are listed in a separate section “Benefits to Solicitors & Their Assistants”.
How can we get assignments to a Virtual Secretary?
There are many ways for you to provide your virtual secretary with her job assignments. You can telephone and give verbal instructions; fax your instructions; e-mail instructions or arrange for pick-up of files and instructions. Also, my computer can be linked with your office and once my assignments are completed; they are placed into your computer link so you can open, revise if you wish and print out the final product. Linking to the computer systems must be done by a computer technician and I will only do this if I will be working on a full-time basis for you.
How do we get completed assignments from the Virtual Secretary?
Completed assignments can be e-mailed to you-you just print the finished product; they can be faxed to you-you just clip the fax imprint and photocopy or they can be delivered to you. For bulk assignments; I burn a CD of all work performed. These files can then be transferred onto your computer and are always available to the Lawyer and Assistant for any changes which may be required.
What equipment and supplies do I provide to the Virtual Secretary?
If you have tapes for transcribing; you will be required to provide the transcribing equipment. There are too many different types of transcribing equipment for the Virtual Secretary to have your model on hand. Some lawyers wish to provide a supply of their letterhead. Also, the Solicitor may wish to provide a precedent to be followed in the preparation of certain documents. Other than these, the Virtual Secretary has all other equipment and supplies necessary to do your work.
I type all of my correspondence, invoices and documents myself. Why should I pay someone else to do it?
Good question! Because your hourly rate is no doubt a lot higher than the Virtual Secretary's. It stands to reason that your time would be much more profitably spent in serving clients, attending Court and dealing with other matters that only you can handle rather than doing the job of a secretary.
We need help occasionally to cover staff absences. Why should we employ Legal Ease Secretarial Services when we can use a temp service?
You can use Legal Ease Secretarial Services as much or as little as you want. Even when your staff is working at full speed; there may be some work you would rather have someone else do freeing up your assistant’s valuable time for larger or more important projects.
Legal Ease Secretarial Services is for lawyers. Most temp services have highly qualified individuals, however, not many have a legal background. You cannot always be sure that a temp service will provide you with the same person. Also, temp services charge higher rates. When you use Legal Ease Secretarial Services; you only pay for the time and services you actually utilize and you get the same person doing your work all the time. Eventually, you both get to know each other and can effectively work together as a team.
We really would like you to come into the office and work for us there.
Sorry, if I did that, then I’d be a temping agency too. My clients expect to find me in my office and my service would suffer if I worked elsewhere. I assure you that this style of working really does work. There are a great number of virtual secretarial services all over the world that have been established for years. Give me a try and let me prove it to you.
How much do you charge to rent the Solicitor's space?
There is no charge. The Lawyers will be charged for any expenses, such as long distance calls, fax, photo copies or secretarial services.
How do I arrange to use the Solicitor's space?
Simply contact Legal Ease Secretarial Services (by telephone, fax or e-mail) and, if the space is not in use; you can book it.
If you have any questions that are not answered here; please feel free to contact Legal Ease Secretarial Services.
