When you hire an attorney, who works at a firm you get not only the attorney, but you also receive the benefit of others working on your cases such as paralegals, legal assistants, and others who do administrative work. These administrative employees are known as administrators.
If a client calls for a case update this means you are far more able to get an update on your case as attorneys are generally very busy and therefore hard to reach. Some clients do not wish to speak to anyone but the attorney, like a lawyer Arlington TX clients trust, on the case. When having a relationship with Paralegals or other administrative staff their fees are usually a lot less expensive than that of an Attorney.
Paralegals draft much of the work on cases such as drafting the legal documents that the attorney then reviews, they speak to the courts, and even speak to opposing councils on your behalf at a fraction of the cost. As such they have up-to-date knowledge of cases and are able to keep you updated accurately. Another benefit of speaking to a paralegal or legal assistant is that they have a much lower hourly rate and as such, it costs less than speaking to an attorney. Legal assistant rates are even lower than the paralegals themselves. Legal assistant duties include speaking with clients, opposing counsels, filing documents, drafting letters to clients, and answering phones. Legal assistants also have up-to-date knowledge of cases, however, if they do not it is not hard for them to look in the client file to figure out what is going on. Legal Assistants help the paralegals who go on to assist the attorney.
If you think about it as a body the attorney is the bones; paralegals are the muscles, and legal assistants the cartilage. Each position has an important part to play all and they all work together to facilitate your case smoothly.
An attorney on their own means just that; they are own their own. Some solo Attorneys may be cheaper in fees, but this comes at its own price and complications. They are often (almost always) overworked and as such clients cases suffer the consequences.
Thanks to our friends and contributors from Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for their insight into legal practice.
