VIRTUAL LEGAL STAFFING
Virtual Legal Assistant
Add a dedicated remote legal assistant to help your firm manage documents, clients, case administration, scheduling, and the recurring work that keeps attorneys and senior staff stretched thin.
LegalBasis helps law firms recruit international legal support professionals who work directly within the firm’s existing team. Your firm interviews the candidates, chooses whom to hire, provides training, and directly manages the professional’s day-to-day work.
You Interview. You Choose. You Train. You Manage.
THE ROLE
What Is a Virtual Legal Assistant?
A virtual legal assistant is a legal support professional who performs appropriate legal and administrative responsibilities remotely instead of working from inside the law firm’s physical office.
For a law firm, the role can function much like an in-office legal assistant. The professional can work within the firm’s existing systems and workflows, communicate with attorneys and clients, maintain case information, organize documents, and handle recurring support responsibilities from a remote location.
The specific scope of the role depends on the professional’s background, the firm’s practice area, and the firm’s own procedures and supervision.
TYPICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
What Can a Virtual Legal Assistant Do for Your Law Firm?
The right responsibilities vary by firm, but many recurring legal-support functions can be performed effectively from anywhere.
Legal Document Support
Assist with preparing, formatting, proofreading, organizing, and maintaining documents for attorney or paralegal review.
Client Communication
Handle appropriate routine correspondence, reminders, document requests, follow-up, and communication coordination.
Case & File Organization
Keep digital files, matter records, case-management systems, and internal documentation organized and current.
Calendaring & Scheduling
Coordinate appointments, consultations, meetings, internal reminders, and calendars.
Document Collection
Follow up with clients and appropriate parties for documents and information needed by the legal team.
Case-Management Updates
Enter, organize, and maintain matter information in the firm’s case-management or practice-management software.
Attorney & Paralegal Support
Take ownership of recurring support work so higher-level legal staff can concentrate on substantive matters.
General Legal Administration
Assist with the ongoing administrative processes required to keep matters and the firm organized.
The appropriate scope of work depends on the employee’s qualifications and the firm’s supervision, policies, and applicable professional-responsibility requirements.
MORE CAPACITY
Why Hire a Virtual Legal Assistant?
Often, the staffing problem inside a growing law firm is not that attorneys lack work. It is that too much attorney and senior-staff time is being consumed by work that could be handled effectively by another capable team member.
Give Attorneys Time Back
Shift appropriate recurring administrative and support responsibilities away from attorneys so they can focus on legal analysis, strategy, and client counseling.
Give Paralegals More Room for Casework
A legal assistant can take on administrative responsibilities that might otherwise consume the time of more experienced paralegals.
Expand Your Hiring Market
A remote position allows your firm to recruit beyond the pool of candidates located within commuting distance of your office.
Add Capacity More Efficiently
International hiring can offer materially different staffing economics while allowing the firm to continue choosing and directly managing its own team.
THE LEGALBASIS MODEL
More Than a Generic Virtual Assistant
LegalBasis was created because traditional virtual staffing was not the model we wanted for our own law firm. We wanted long-term team members who could learn our systems, understand how our firm operates, take ownership of recurring responsibilities, and grow with the organization.
Traditional Virtual Staffing
Often structured around outsourced assistance. The provider may remain involved in the working relationship, the work can be primarily task-oriented, and the worker may be viewed as outside support.
LegalBasis
Recruit for a defined position. Your firm interviews candidates, makes the hiring decision, trains the professional, and directly manages the work within your firm’s systems. International employment infrastructure stays in the background.
The LegalBasis Hybrid Model
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ROLE
Virtual Legal Assistant vs. Remote Paralegal: What’s the Difference?
The titles can overlap from firm to firm, but the distinction usually comes down to the type of work you need performed.
Virtual Legal Assistant
Common emphasis: client communication, file organization, scheduling and calendaring, document collection, case-management updates, document formatting, administrative case support, and attorney and paralegal support.
Remote Paralegal
Common emphasis: legal drafting assistance, legal research support, discovery support, document review, evidence organization, case preparation, and more substantive legal-support responsibilities under attorney supervision.
You do not need to decide based on the job title alone. Define the work your firm needs done first, then determine what level of experience and background the position requires.
WHEN TO HIRE
Does Your Law Firm Need Another Legal Assistant?
Attorneys regularly perform routine administrative work themselves • Client document requests and follow-up are consuming significant staff time • Case-management records are difficult to keep current • Existing paralegals spend too much time on administrative responsibilities • Scheduling and routine client communications are becoming inconsistent • Important but non-urgent tasks are repeatedly postponed.
You do not need to know the perfect title before speaking with us. If you know where your firm is losing time or capacity, we can help you think through what type of position may be appropriate.
HOW IT WORKS
Hire a Person for Your Team — Not Just a Service
WORK WITH YOUR EXISTING SYSTEMS
A Remote Legal Assistant Can Work Within Your Firm’s Existing Workflow
Modern law firms already perform much of their work through cloud-based systems. Depending on the firm’s technology and security policies, a remote legal assistant can generally work within practice and case-management software, document-management systems, email and calendars, video conferencing, CRM and intake systems, cloud office applications, secure document-sharing tools, and internal communication platforms. Candidate experience with specific software should be evaluated during the hiring process rather than assumed.
GLOBAL TALENT
Expand Your Talent Pool Beyond Your Local Market
Compensation levels differ significantly across labor markets. For suitable remote roles, a U.S. law firm can offer attractive compensation in the professional’s local market while still reducing staffing costs compared with some U.S.-based hiring alternatives. Actual costs depend on the candidate, experience, location, hours, compensation, benefits, and international employment requirements. The objective is not simply to find the lowest-cost person available. It is to find someone your firm would actually want on its team.
Pricing & Potential Savings
COMMON QUESTIONS
Virtual Legal Assistant FAQs
A virtual legal assistant is a legal support professional who performs appropriate administrative and legal-support responsibilities remotely rather than from inside the firm’s physical office.
The right role depends on the firm’s workload, systems, supervision structure, and the work that can be performed effectively from a remote setting.
Responsibilities can include document support, client communication, file organization, scheduling, document collection, case-management updates, and other recurring legal administration.
The right role depends on the firm’s workload, systems, supervision structure, and the work that can be performed effectively from a remote setting.
Not necessarily. Legal assistants often have a greater administrative and coordination focus, while paralegals may perform more substantive legal-support responsibilities under attorney supervision.
The right role depends on the firm’s workload, systems, supervision structure, and the work that can be performed effectively from a remote setting.
Your firm does. LegalBasis helps recruit, while your firm evaluates candidates, provides training, assigns work, and directly manages day-to-day expectations.
The right role depends on the firm’s workload, systems, supervision structure, and the work that can be performed effectively from a remote setting.
Potentially. Software experience varies by candidate, so firms should evaluate familiarity with particular systems during the interview and hiring process.
The right role depends on the firm’s workload, systems, supervision structure, and the work that can be performed effectively from a remote setting.
Do not assume so. Candidate education, credentials, and qualifications vary. The law firm determines the appropriate scope of work and supervision.
The right role depends on the firm’s workload, systems, supervision structure, and the work that can be performed effectively from a remote setting.
Explore Other Legal Staffing Roles
Remote Paralegal
For firms that need additional substantive case and legal-support capacity.
Remote Case Manager
For firms that need stronger coordination across clients, matters, documents, deadlines, and workflows.
Client Intake & Admin Support
For firms looking to strengthen intake, reception, scheduling, administrative assistance, and executive support.
BUILD YOUR TEAM
Could Another Legal Assistant Give Your Firm More Capacity?
Tell us what work your firm needs help with. We’ll learn about the position and work on identifying potentially suitable professionals for your consideration.
No obligation to hire.