In this dire context, could the hiring of more paralegals be a good strategy to counteract the profit squeeze that law firms are facing?

What hiring managers should remember regarding paralegals

We all know that the rationale for using paralegals to fight the profit squeeze is straightforward: with an effective use of paralegals, a law firm can produce an higher volume of legal services at lower cost.

It would be great if all hiring managers could remember the following principles:

1. Well trained and experienced paralegals can perform, under the supervision of a lawyer of course, tasks that were previously performed by lawyers themselves. In turn, lawyers are free to concentrate on more sophisticated tasks, which can be billed at higher rates.
2. Paralegals can further contribute to law firm cost control. We absorb less overhead than lawyers since we use less office space and secretarial services.
3. By employing paralegals, law firms can increase their production capabilities without increasing their partnership promotion decisions.
4. The use of more paralegals can improve client relations by giving both lawyers and paralegals more opportunities for quality contacts with existing and potential clients.

Hiring paralegals and effective management

Hiring paralegals will not of course automatically ensure greater profitability. In fact, if the hiring, allocation, and utilization of new paralegals are not actively planned, productivity and profitability will probably not be improved. If tasks previously handled by associates are haphazardly transferred to paralegals, there is a big risk that no increase in overall productivity will ensue.

Thus, hiring paralegals during this economic downturn raises law firm management needs in both administrative management and practice management.

Because lawyers seldom receive management training and may not be interested in becoming skilled managers, for paralegals ready to take up new challenges, with the right skills and experience, this economic situation could in fact open new opportunities in the realms of project management and team coordination.

In conclusion,

in these times of change for the legal industry, we should all advocate for an increased use of paralegals in law firms to mitigate the effect of the crisis, and if a legal scholar has written that it could be the “End of Lawyers”, for paralegals, it could be the beginning of a new era.

For more information

R. Susskind, The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services (Oxford University Press 2009).
Barbara Glesner Finesi, Effectively Using Paralegals in a Family Law Practice, 25 Am. J. Fam. L. 1 (2011).
Ward B. Coe III, Profound “Non Changes” in Small and Midsize Firms, 70 Md. L. Rev 364 (2011).
Alan R. Olson, Law Firms, Paralegals and Profitability: an Overview, 4 J. Paralegal Educ. & Prac. 31 (1987).