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Are you interested in finding out how you can become a successful business owner as a virtual paralegal?  You have come to the right place.  This informational Ebook “How to Become a Successful Virtual Paralegal” is 39 pages of tips, tricks and techniques to guide you in the right direction.  In this Ebook you will be provided with information on how to design your business plan, marketing your business, setting up a web site, how to find clients and avoiding scams, lots of free software programs for your virtual office, and much much more.

•  Michigan Supreme Court – Matters filed in this court after the Court of Appeals heard the matter
•  Michigan Court of Appeals – Matters filed in this court after Circuit Court heard the matter
•  Circuit Court – Where most civil matters, matters involving cases over a certain monetary amount, marriages without children, and felony criminal cases are heard
•  District Court – Where misdemeanor criminal matters, matters involving cases that are under a certain monetary amount and small claims are generally heard
•  Probate Court – Family matters involving children, guardianships, estate matters and Juvenile matters are heard

When I first ventured to the East Coast in the State of Washington, that was when I came to learn that not all courts in the United States were named such as those noted above for the State of Michigan, nor did that court hear the same types of matters in the same jurisdictions as the branches stated above. In the State of Washington, as well as a few other states I have now worked with, generally utilize the following branches:

•  Supreme Court – Matters filed in this court after the Court of Appeals heard the matter
•  Court of Appeals – Matters filed in this court after Circuit Court heard the matter
•  Superior Court – Matters involving felony matters, domestic relations, estate, juvenile and civil cases over a certain monetary amount (There is no probate court per say)
•  District Court – Matters involving misdemeanor violations and civil cases under a certain monetary amount.

To take the differences even further, the court system branches involved in commonwealth jurisdictions (which we will get into more in depth later) are different yet than those mentioned above.

•  Supreme Judicial Court – Matters filed in this court after the Court of Appeals heard the matter
•  Appeals Court – Matters filed in the Court after Circuit Court has heard the matter
•  Superior Court – Matters involving civil actions over a certain monetary amount, labor disputes, medical malpractice, and felony matters
•  Chancery Court – is another name for Superior Court in some of the commonwealth states and generally involves matters much as those heard in Superior or Circuit Courts.
•  District Court – Matters involving criminal, civil matters under a certain monetary amount, felony matters then bound over to Chancery or Superior Court and juvenile matters.
•  Juvenile Court – Matters involving juvenile delinquency, children in need, protection petitions, adoption, guardianship and termination of parental rights
•  Probate and Family Court – Matters involving wills, trusts, estates, divorce

These are general branches and jurisdictional matters. States may differ slightly as to what matters their branch of court’s jurisdiction hears.

There are also different names used to address a judge depending on the type of law of that state and jurisdiction.

• • Judge
  • Justice
  • Your Honor
  • Judges of the Peace
  • Chancellor

As you can see, court jurisdictions, names and even what you would honorably call the Judge in a courtroom vary from state to state.  Thanks goodness with the age of internet and information, you can find most state and local statutes and rules, and even the appropriate court forms online for free.

• Correspondence
• Pleadings
• Minutes
• Conferences
• Memorandums
• And any other materials sent in digital format

For your free Quote visit: www.thevirtualparalegal.com/legaldictation.htm

If you are interested in seeking alternative staffing solutions, you may want to consider collaboration tools that make it easier to connect with your staff and colleagues.  Please visit my Collaboration PowerPoint presentation by clicking the link below.

Connecting Businesses and Staff

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MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS

Any successful business owner must spend time and expense to market their business, services, and products. There are several ways to successfully market your business, with little or no cost. Before marketing your business, you need to ask yourself what market you are targeting, whether this market is local, national or international, and make a marketing plan of attack.

Website

As previously stated in this EBook, a web site is vital to a successful virtual business. Your web site provides clients with your contact information, information about your business 24/7, and it promotes your business by allowing your customers to view your services.

Newsletters

This is a great way to keep in contact with current clients and promote your business to potential clients in your target market. When considering utilizing newsletters emailed to potential clients, you must comply with the Can-Spam Act.

To comply with the Can-Spam Act, the following criteria must be met within your newsletter:

· You must state on your newsletter that it is an “advertisement”

· Your email address “To” and “From” must include the originating domain, and your email address and subject line can’t be deceptive

· You must provide your name, address, telephone number and email address

· You can’t send a newsletter to any business or individual whose web site publishes notice prohibiting the use of its email address for sending advertisements

· You must provide an opt out not to receive any further emails

Here is an example of a newsletter that is compliant with the rules and regulations of the Can-Spam Act.

Postcards/Mailers

If your target market is local, a cost-effective marketing approach is to design a postcard or mailer, which describes your business, services you provide, and contact information, and mail them. This can be a costly approach if your target market is national or international.

Online Networking

Online networking is a great way to build business relationships, share business ideas and get the word out about your business. There are several great online networking groups. You should set aside at least 10 minutes a day for online networking. It will pay off.

Check out the following online networking groups:

LinkedIn

Biznik

Twitter

Local Networking

If you are concentrating marketing locally, going to local networking functions is a must. You will build professional relationships within your community that will be priceless to the growth of your business. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce, and other local business groups on how to join their networking community.

Public Relations

There is no better free advertising opportunity than utilizing public relations in local and online newspapers and magazines. Any time you reach a milestone in your business, you should write a public relations article and request that it be published. Milestones can include the opening of your business, changes in your business, and any continuing education or certificates you receive that relate to your profession.

Articles

A great way to get noticed is to write articles and publish them online, add them to your web site, and request magazine publishers to publish them in their magazines. Writing articles on the subject of your business shows the public that you are knowledgeable in the services your business provides.

Blog

You have a web site, so why should you have a blog? A blog is a great way to express yourself, show off your professionalism and provide potential clients or the general public, information about your business, how it works, statistics, and articles. In order for a blog to be successful, you will have to put in time every day to maintain your blog, by adding new content. A stale blog does not attract new visitors. Do not replace your web site with a blog. Your web site will attract more visitors, most of the time, than a blog will. You can view The Virtual Paralegal’s blog as an example. Here are a few great web sites that offer free blogs:

WordPress

Blogger

LiveJournal

Author: Dawn M. Draper, owner of The Virtual Paralegal

I am also seeing a trend of attorneys working from home as well.

I would very much appreciate your input. If you don’t know much about what a virtual paralegal can do, you can visit my web site before commenting at www.thevirtualparalegal.com .

Thank you for any input you can provided.

Dawn M. Draper

By Tammy R. Pettinato

Employees striking out on their own is a growing trend in many industries and the legal profession is no exception. Enter the virtual paralegal, who works independently, typically from a home office, providing many of the same services as a paralegal who is employed by a law firm or company, while, according to Dawn Draper, a virtual paralegal based in Traverse City, Mich., giving attorneys a cost-effective option to get the work done.

“I am seeing a growing trend in both the use of virtual paralegals in law firms and the desire for paralegals to work in a virtual setting,” said Draper, adding that using a virtual paralegal can save law firms money in terms of office equipment, supplies and paid benefits. Draper spent 12 years working as a paralegal, handling criminal law, family law and civil litigation at various law firms and a corporation before opening her business, The Virtual Paralegal, earlier this year. In addition to Michigan, she has clients in Virginia, Illinois and Texas.

“I definitely see an increase in people looking at virtual assistance as a career alternative,” said Lauren Hidden, marketing director-elect of the International Virtual Assistants Association and managing editor of IVAACast, the association’s publication. IVAA, which incorporated in 1999, currently has 1,048 members and has seen significant growth over the past two years. “With the increase in corporate and small business layoffs, more people are looking at being in charge of their own destiny,” Hidden said.

Laurie Mapp had been working as a paralegal for more than 10 years when she decided she needed a change. While she had enjoyed her previous work, first specializing in civil litigation with two firms in Alberta, and later working in the tax law section of the Canadian federal government, she had grown tired of office politics, not to mention her commute. She was searching for something with more flexibility and longed to own her own business. “I knew that working for myself would give me control and still provide challenges,” she said.

Thus, in September 2008, Halo Secretarial Services, Mapp’s virtual paralegal business, was born. Similar to a freelance paralegal, most virtual paralegals perform work under the supervision of an attorney, and Mapp said the only difference is geography. “A freelance paralegal might look for customers locally, while the virtual paralegal looks for clients online and locally,” Mapp said. “You can do pretty much any work that you can do in an office from home.”

For Mapp, who works from her home in Alberta, job duties include, “drafting documents, correspondence and memoranda; researching legal issues; managing the lawyer’s calendar; and liaising with clients.” And, although Mapp works from Canada, she deals extensively with U.S. attorneys. “I’ve actually found they are more receptive [to the virtual paralegal idea], so far, than Canadian attorneys,” she said.

Both Mapp and Draper cite increased flexibility and control over their work as benefits to working virtually. “I have the ability to create my work hours, take vacation time or other necessary family time off without having to request that time from an employer,” Draper said. “There is no such thing as a typical day, really,” added Mapp. “One day might see me drafting correspondence for one client and doing research for another, and the next day might see me popping out to help out at my son’s school. Some days I get a lot done early in the morning and the other days I do all of my work in the evening.”

And the pay is good. “I think a virtual paralegal earns a little more per hour than some [staff] paralegals,” said Draper, though she notes geography will affect salary levels. Adds Mapp, “You can make great pay if you work hard to get and keep your clients, provide them [with] exemplary service and show them what a fabulous resource you can be.”

There can be disadvantages. Mapp notes that working from home is less stable. “There is no job security when you are self-employed,” she said. “You have to build in time for marketing and networking or you won’t have business.” Virtual paralegals also can face security or conflict-of-interest concerns for clients. Both Mapp and Draper offer nondisclosure agreements and perform conflict-of-interest checks before accepting assignments.

Though there are some drawbacks, the benefits are likely to draw more paralegals into the virtual world. In fact, Hidden believes that the recent economic turmoil could actually be a boon for the industry. “I see business looking at money-saving alternatives and that often means outsourcing roles once held by employees,” she said. “I’ve also seen small and medium-sized businesses hire virtual assistants in order to focus on their marketing efforts in this economy.” Hidden believes that the role of virtual assistants will continue to grow. “The future is very bright for VAs,” she said.

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