Following My Dream

by Lee Davis

I started as a legal secretary so long ago I hate to admit it. The first attorney for whom I worked specialized in workers’ compensation law. As secretary (we didn’t have paralegals back then), it was part of my job not only to perform the typical typing and shorthand duties, but also to assist the attorney in the everyday client hand holding to help the client get through the frustrating process of the legal system.

I never did get up to the requisite speed at which I should have been taking shorthand, and thus I did not fare very well as a secretary. But I learned one very important thing that would shape my future as a paralegal: I had a knack for dealing with people. Years later, I was finally able to attend the paralegal program at the community college and see my dream of becoming a paralegal become a reality.

My Dream

I worked for my first firm as a paralegal for almost five years. Over those years, I entertained the thought of starting a contract paralegal firm. I discussed this idea with the attorneys and management and was quite pleasantly surprised to receive their encouragement. But it wasn’t to become a reality for another five years. Eventually, I left this firm and went on to several other firms, until I finally reached a point when the time was right.

I received a call from my old firm asking for assistance in finding a paralegal to fill a contract position for a short-term assignment. I contracted with another paralegal to fill this position. I billed the firm, and my profit from the paralegal was $1.50 per hour. I was thrilled! This was my first attempt at financial freedom. When I would receive that check at the end of the month for $100, I thought I had died and gone to entrepreneurial paralegal heaven.

First Steps

But that was just the first baby step. I was still working full time in a firm, and my desire to perform contract work was getting the better of me. I was able to pick up work for weekends and evenings, but I wanted to be able to work full time as a contractor. I finally decided to answer the classified ads and try to convince the firms to hire me as a contractor. An ad in a local newspaper for a paralegal with knowledge in a particular area and with particular computer skills caught my eye. It was exactly my expertise. I answered the ad with great excitement at the prospect of finally fulfilling my dream to become a contract paralegal. When I proposed to the office administrator the idea of the firm’s hiring me as a contractor, she quickly dashed my ideas and my dream. The firm was not interested in a contractor.

I tucked my dream away, but only temporarily, and I never lost my vision. I would picture myself walking from my kitchen to my home office with a cup of coffee in my hand. In my vision, I could hear the telephone ringing, and of course, it would be that dream contract just waiting for me. About six months later, the office administrator from the classified ad called, the firm agreed to hire me as a contractor, and the rest is history.

Even though the assignment was initially for six to twelve months, I stayed at the firm through the entire litigation of the case for four and a half years.

Networking

The stability of having this contract gave me the opportunity to start networking and building my contract firm. I contacted every attorney for whom I had worked in the past and was able to secure additional contracts. Once I reached the point where the workload was too much for me, I started hiring other paralegals to help out. This gave me the opportunity to take on types of cases in which I had no experience. I was amazed at the way things progressed. If I needed a paralegal with expertise in a certain specialty area such as bankruptcy, that paralegal would seem to appear from nowhere.

At this point, I was working exclusively in the civil litigation area. I received a telephone call from a criminal attorney asking me to join a joint criminal defense team representing various people and entities in a large criminal case. Because this would be a paralegal court appointment, the court would set my fee, which would be less than my normal hourly rate. At first, I responded that I could not afford to lower my fee, but the attorney was very convincing. He explained to me that I would have the opportunity to work with the top criminal defense lawyers in the Phoenix area. He also told me that the attorneys could not afford to lower their fees either, but the opportunity was well worth the reduced rate.

I was convinced. I joined the team and have derived nothing but benefits from that team. I have since worked for most of the attorneys on that team on other cases at my full rate. More important, I expanded my business contacts and experience.

Developing Systems

As the word spread, I could almost always find a paralegal to fit a particular contract. I used networking and being active in the paralegal community to build my reputation as well as my business. As the firm grew, it seemed that many cases on which I was asked to work were large-document, complex litigation cases. With the help of the other paralegals who worked with me, I developed systems to handle a case from the moment a document production was imminent, to the sweep of large corporate clients’ offices looking for documents in response to subpoenas or disclosure statements. We would then develop computerized systems to manage the large population of documents we were in charge of collecting and managing.

Because of our involvement in large document cases, we have developed and established relationships with other legal vendors, allowing us to provide a full range of litigation services to our clients, including technical advice, building databases, and acting as liaison with other legal vendors. Finally, if needed, we were available to attend trial with the trial team whether the trial was local or out of state.

I enjoy getting in there and working right along with the litigation team. In many cases, I will meet with the litigation team and assist in setting up the control systems and computer systems. Then, when everything is set up and running smoothly, I leave the case in the very capable hands of one of my supervising colleagues to continue on with the management of the case. I like this approach because I have the opportunity to learn about the case and work with the in-house litigation team. This enables me to provide a hands-on service to the client, take an active role in the case, assure myself that the contract paralegals are a correct fit for the job, and feel confident that the team I have put in place will be an asset to the in-house litigation team.

Software Development

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with different legal-specific software programs. I took that knowledge and turned it into an extension of my contract paralegal firm. I started using Summation, a legal-specific software developed by attorneys to build databases and to manage full-text documents such as deposition transcripts for my clients. As an added benefit, I became a certified Summation trainer and reseller so I could provide training and software to my clients. This has opened an entire series of new doors for me and the paralegals who work with me. The Summation training attracts contract paralegal projects, and, on the other hand, the contract paralegal projects attract Summation training. To repeat a well-worn cliché, it is a win-win situation for all.

Operating the Business

Along with all the fun and rewards of building a successful contract firm came the day-to-day tasks of running a business. In the beginning, I did everything myself, without the benefit of a computer system. All of the billing was done manually, and my books were handwritten on ledger paper. Initially, this worked, but as the business grew, so did my need for a better system.

I started using an off-the-shelf program for invoicing and management of my bank account. This made my life so much easier. Eventually, even with the computer program, my time became so precious that I had to hire people to help with these administrative duties. I presently employ a part-time secretary and a part-time bookkeeper.

In addition to clerical help, I found I needed the advice of a good financial adviser and tax lawyer. Understanding taxes is not one of my strong points, especially with employees. I attempted to take care of payroll myself using the account management program, but I quickly learned there was more to it than meets the eye. I now utilize the services of a payroll company, in addition to the financial advisers.

My office is in my home, and I devote a portion of my house to running my business. While working out of the house seems to be the dream of many people, it can also be a double-edged sword. It is really great to be able to work at all hours of the day or night, but the downside is that you never get away from your work. It is always there! There is always something that needs to be done. There came a point at which I had to set office hours for myself so that I could have some structure. I had to give myself permission not to work.

So You Want to Start a Company

Just a few days ago, I spoke with a paralegal on the East Coast who is contemplating starting her own contract paralegal firm. I shared with her some of the tips I have learned over the years, and I now pass them along to any readers who might want to become a contractor.

First, always have a signed document that spells out the conditions of your agreement with the law firm, corporation, and government agency. I have entered into verbal contracts on a handshake. For the most part, they worked out. But one or two bad experiences is all it takes to make one realize the importance of the written contract.

I also enter into a written contract with each paralegal. This document sets out the payroll policy and includes a clause that protects my company’s contractual relationship with the law firm, corporation, or government agency where the paralegal will be assigned. I strongly suggest you seek the advice of a business attorney to develop the written contracts that meet the needs of your company.

For most of my clients, I invoice weekly. This is especially true for larger contracts where I furnish several paralegals. By this method, the law firm, corporation, or agency is able to keep on top of the costs of utilizing a contract paralegal, and there are no financial surprises. If there are any problems with the time entries or questions regarding the billing, the problems can be resolved quickly before the issue gets out of hand. Weekly invoicing helps with cash flow because, in many cases, the invoices are processed as they are received.

Watch for Conflicts

It is very important to track the cases on which your company has worked to determine if there is a potential conflict of interest issue. I handle this in two ways.

First, when paralegals work on cases in which I am not involved, I have them provide detailed timesheets to the law firm and only date-and-time timesheets to me, for invoicing purposes. To avoid a conflict situation in the future, I do not want to know what they are working on. It is the responsibility of the paralegal and the law firm to check their potential conflicts prior to working on a case.

On the cases in which I am personally involved, I have developed a database in Summation that tracks all the pertinent case information to help warn me of a potential conflict.

In all the years I have been contracting, I have had only two conflicts arise. In one case, the conflict was waived by the parties, and I was allowed to work on the case. In the other, I was prevented from working on the case.

If you use a computer database to keep your conflict information, be sure to back it up on a regular basis. When a computer crashed that contained my conflict information, I had to recreate the database, a very time-consuming task.

Why It Has Worked

To sum up why I believe this has been a successful career path for me, I would have to attribute that success to these factors: