The short answer
Start by listing the office tasks you will hand over, then pick a route: freelancer, agency, offshore team or in-house hire. Your attorneys keep legal advice, case decisions and supervision. For cost, an in-house legal secretary earns $55,570 a year (median, May 2025, BLS), about $26.72 an hour.[6] Before the first week, run the call check on your own firm and send a real test inquiry.
This guide is for a managing attorney or office manager at a small firm who is about to hire a legal virtual assistant (VA), personal injury and immigration firms first. A legal VA is a remote worker who handles a firm's repeatable office work. Our offshore staffing page lists what that looks like at each kind of firm. If you only need calls answered, read our guide to legal answering services instead.
Which tasks do I hand over first, and what stays with my attorneys?
Hand over repeatable work that needs no legal judgment. Anything that decides a case, advises a client or goes to a court stays with an attorney. The table splits common tasks by who owns the decision.
| Task | Who does it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Answer a new inquiry and log it with your screening questions | VA does it, and an attorney reviews the answers | Routine work, done under attorney supervision[1] |
| Book consultations and set deadline reminders | VA does it | No legal judgment. The attorney still owns the deadline. |
| Enter CRM data and chase missing forms | VA does it | Records and follow-up, not advice. |
| Prepare billing entries | VA prepares them, and an attorney approves them | The fee is the attorney's call. |
| Judge whether it is a good case, then take or refuse it | Attorney only | The attorney's call. Only attorneys can practice law in California.[4] |
| Give legal advice, set fees, clear conflicts, sign filings | Attorney only | Advice and filings are practicing law, which only attorneys may do, and fees and conflicts are the attorney's decision.[4] |
The supervision rule is the one to know. California's Rule 5.3 covers a lawyer who directly supervises a nonlawyer. That lawyer "shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the person's conduct is compatible with the professional obligations of the lawyer."[1] Its comment says assistants, "whether employees or independent contractors," act for the lawyer, so a freelance VA counts.[1]
Rule 5.5 bars a lawyer from knowingly assisting a person in the unauthorized practice of law.[2] The ABA's model rule has the same supervision duty as Rule 5.3, and each state adopts its own version.[3] Check how your state words these rules with your ethics counsel.
Which hiring route should I use?
Choose by who vets the person, who supervises them day to day and who holds access to your data. Price comes after those three. The questions and cards below cover what to ask each type before you sign. No prices and no ranking.
Ask every route the same seven questions:
- Who vets the person?
- Who supervises day to day?
- Whose logins and devices touch client data?
- What happens if they leave?
- Who covers sick days and holidays?
- Whose hours do they work?
- Who signs the confidentiality terms?
Here is what to expect from each route, in that order.
Freelancer
You, or the platform, vet them; ask which. You supervise. Their logins and devices touch client data, unless you issue yours.
If they leave, you start the search again. Nobody covers sick days and holidays, unless agreed. Agree their hours in writing. The person and you sign the confidentiality terms.
Agency
The agency says it vets them; ask how. You supervise, with an account contact. Get the logins and devices rule, a written replacement and the cover in writing. Ask about their hours and whether the agency or the person signs the confidentiality terms.
Offshore team
The provider vets them; ask for the steps. You or a team lead supervise; ask which. Ask for the logins and devices rule and a written replacement if they leave, both in writing. Ask what cover is included and in which time zone, which US time zone they cover, and whether the provider or the person signs the confidentiality terms.
In-house hire
You vet them. You supervise. The logins and devices that touch client data are your office systems.
If they leave, you hire again. You or the team cover sick days and holidays. They work your office hours. The employee signs the confidentiality terms at hiring.
Whichever route you pick, Rule 5.3 puts the supervision duty on your attorneys.[1] Read the duties in the job ad, not the title, because California law treats "legal assistant" and "paralegal" as the same word.[5] The remote staff we supply do intake and admin work, and we do not provide paralegals.
What to look for in the person
- Has used your CRM or one like it, such as Clio Grow, Lawmatics or HubSpot
- Writes call notes you can act on without a second call
How much does a legal virtual assistant cost?
It depends on the route you hire through. The yardstick is what an in-house legal secretary or administrative assistant earns: $55,570 a year (median, May 2025, BLS).[6] That is the US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, and it is not a VA's price.
BLS gives no hourly figure for that job, so the hourly rate is our arithmetic. A full-time year is 40 hours times 52 weeks, or 2,080 hours. Then 55,570 / 2,080 = 26.72 dollars an hour (median, May 2025, BLS).[6]
Hourly cost reference points, US dollars
Show the numbers
| Reference point | Type | Dollars an hour |
|---|---|---|
| BLS median wage, legal secretaries and administrative assistants, May 2025 | Government wage data, our arithmetic | 26.72 |
| Smith.ai, freelance legal VA, low end | Vendor claim | 25 |
| Smith.ai, freelance legal VA, high end | Vendor claim | 60 |
| RemoteLegalStaff, starting rate | Vendor claim | 12 |
Treat the vendor figures as a range to question. Smith.ai, a vendor, said in June 2026 that a freelance human legal VA typically runs $25 to $60 an hour, depending on experience and specialization.[7] RemoteLegalStaff, a staffing agency, lists a rate from $12 an hour on an undated page.[8] The wage figure leaves out benefits, payroll tax, software and your own supervision time; ask whether a quoted rate includes them.
We don't publish a Naelar price. Our cost depends on the channels and the hours of call cover a firm wants. We never charge per signed case or take a share of your fees. Whoever you hire, the price should be per hour or per month, never per case.
What do I check before the VA's first week?
Six things, each tied to a rule or to how we start work with a firm. The list is short enough to print.
First-week hand-over checklist
- Accounts and logins set up in the firm's name, so the firm owns them
- A named attorney who supervises the VA, so the Rule 5.3 duty has an owner[1]
- The call check on your own firm: call after hours, fill in your own web form, write down what happened. It is the first thing we do with every new client.
- A real test inquiry that reaches the VA's queue and then your CRM, not just a connection test
- Scripts and message templates signed off by an attorney before the VA uses them
- No calls, texts or messages to people who have not contacted the firm first
Test the real path, too. In September 2026, on our own lead routing, an ad platform's test button reached our server while real leads from the ads never arrived. The test only proved the connection. Before the VA starts, send a real inquiry and watch it land in their queue and then in your law firm CRM.
Speed is the reason to hand over the first reply. Hennessey Digital, a law firm marketing agency, contacted 1,333 US law firms through their web forms in 2025.[9] It reported that "Twenty-six percent of law firms don't respond to online leads."[9] Our guide to speed to lead for personal injury shows what a slow reply costs.
When should I not hire a legal virtual assistant?
When one person already answers every call quickly, nights and weekends included, there is little for a VA to add. It is also the wrong choice if you want legal research and drafting done. That is paralegal work, and the right hire is a paralegal. If your own intake is slow only on busy days, a part-time VA on those hours may still help.
Questions people ask
How much does a legal virtual assistant cost per hour?
Smith.ai, a vendor, said in June 2026 that a freelance human legal VA typically runs $25 to $60 an hour.[7] RemoteLegalStaff, another vendor, advertises a rate from $12 an hour.[8] For comparison, the BLS median wage for legal secretaries and administrative assistants in May 2025 works out to about $26.72 an hour.[6] Ask what any quoted rate includes.
Where do I find a legal virtual assistant?
Through a freelance platform, a staffing agency, an offshore provider, or by hiring one in-house. The seven questions under "Which hiring route should I use?" list what to ask each one.
How do I vet a legal virtual assistant?
Use the seven questions under "Which hiring route should I use?". Check that they have used your CRM or one like it, such as Clio Grow, Lawmatics or HubSpot.
Can a legal virtual assistant talk to clients?
Yes, for routine contact: answering, taking details, booking and reminders, from a script your attorneys approve. They cannot give legal advice or say whether someone has a case. Only attorneys can practice law in California,[4] and Rule 5.5 bars a lawyer from knowingly helping anyone else do it.[2]
Try this tonight: run the call check, then pick your first three tasks
It needs no tool. The notes tell you which three tasks to hand over first.
- Call your main number after hours. Write down who answered, how long it took and what they asked.
- Fill in your own web form as a new client would. Note how long until a reply arrives and who sent it.
- Mark every step that was slow, missed or dropped.
- Match each problem to a "VA does it" row in the task table. Those are your first three tasks.
If every step worked, and fast, you may not need a VA yet.
Sources
- State Bar of California, Rule 5.3 (Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistants), executive summary and redline, rule effective November 1, 2018. calbar.ca.gov. Checked October 29, 2026.
- State Bar of California, Rule 5.5 (Unauthorized Practice of Law), executive summary and redline, rule effective November 1, 2018. calbar.ca.gov. Checked October 29, 2026.
- American Bar Association, "Rule 5.3: Responsibilities Regarding Nonlawyer Assistance", Model Rules of Professional Conduct. americanbar.org. Read October 8, 2026; the site blocked a re-read on October 29. Model rule only: each state adopts its own version.
- State Bar of California, "Unauthorized Practice of Law". calbar.ca.gov. Page undated. Checked October 29, 2026.
- California Business and Professions Code section 6454. california.public.law. Checked October 29, 2026.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, "Secretaries and Administrative Assistants", median annual wages in May 2025, page modified August 27, 2026. bls.gov. Wage data. The hourly figure is our arithmetic. Checked October 29, 2026.
- Smith.ai (answering and intake vendor), "Virtual Legal Assistant", dated June 1, 2026. smith.ai/blog/virtual-legal-assistant. Vendor figure. Checked October 29, 2026.
- RemoteLegalStaff (staffing agency), "Virtual Legal Assistant Hiring Guide". remotelegalstaff.com. Vendor figure, page undated. Checked October 29, 2026.
- Hennessey Digital (law firm marketing agency), "2025 Lead Form Response Time Study", June 24, 2025. hennessey.com. Vendor study. Checked October 29, 2026.