In short
We place remote intake and admin staff with solicitors firms and set them up in your CRM, phone and email. Your solicitors supervise the work, and any script staff use should carry a solicitor's sign-off.
If staff outside the UK can see client data, settle the UK GDPR transfer question before anyone gets a login. The sections below show how.
What is a legal virtual assistant?
A legal virtual assistant is a remote worker who takes the routine office load off a solicitors firm. That means new enquiries, CRM updates, chasing ID and documents, and fee earners' diaries. They don't give legal advice, and reserved legal work stays with the firm's solicitors.
What do remote staff do, and what stays with your solicitors?
Staff do the admin around a matter: the first call, the CRM entry, the chasing and the diary. Advice, reserved legal work and the decision to take a matter on stay with your solicitors.
Staff do
- Take new enquiries by phone, web form and email, and log each one in your CRM
- Call back enquiries your team missed, using questions a solicitor wrote
- Chase ID, signed client care letters and missing documents until the file is complete
- Book appointments into fee earners' diaries and send the reminders
- Sort the shared inbox and pass anything about a matter to the right fee earner
Stays with your solicitors
- Legal advice, or any view on whether someone has a good claim
- Reserved legal activities, such as the conduct of litigation
- Deciding whether to take a matter on, and quoting fees
- Drafting documents and legal research
- Calls or messages to people who haven't contacted your firm
Reserved legal activities are set out in section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007.[1] The list includes the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities and probate activities.[1]
Some providers offer drafting and research as tasks to hand off. We don't place staff for that work. The staff we place also make no outbound contact with people who haven't contacted your firm.
Staff work inside the system set up under intake and CRM. The enquiries they answer often come from Google Ads and Meta ads, run under PPC management for solicitors.
What legal outsourcing services can a solicitors firm use, and what should it keep?
A firm can outsource the admin around a matter and should keep advice, reserved work and the decision to take a matter on. Either way, your firm stays accountable under the SRA Code.[2]
Reserved work stays with your solicitors by law, as the list above shows.[1] Remote staff log and chase quote requests in your CRM, and our conveyancing CRM guide covers what the quote stage needs from it.
How is this different from legal process outsourcing?
Legal process outsourcing hands legal tasks, such as document review, research or drafting, to an outside provider. We don't place staff for that work. Ours handle the admin around a matter, supervised by your solicitors.
If you are weighing a provider for legal tasks, your firm still answers for that work under the same SRA paragraph.[2] Take that decision to your COLP, separately from this one.
How we place staff and set up the tools
Your firm signs off the set-up, and your solicitors approve every script, before staff take a single call.
Call about the work
We start with a call about the work, your matter types, the hours and the supervising solicitor.
Shortlist and choose
We shortlist people, and your firm interviews and chooses.
Their own logins
Each person gets their own logins to your firm's CRM, phone and email.
Scripts and a do-not-say list
We draft scripts, email templates and a do-not-say list with your firm, and a solicitor approves them.
Start small
Staff start on call-backs and document chasing, and take on more once the supervisor is happy.
Staff logins sit inside your firm's own CRM, phone and email accounts, and those accounts belong to your firm. Staff work in the CRM you already use. Most of Rishabh's CRM builds have been in Clio, HubSpot and GoHighLevel.
There's no published price. It turns on the hours you need each week and which tasks move across, so we work it out with you on the intro call.
Who answers for remote staff and client data?
Your firm does. We're not a law firm and we don't give legal advice. So the regulatory duty stays with you and your COLP (compliance officer for legal practice).
A remote assistant may be contracted through a provider rather than on your payroll. Two paragraphs of the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms cover that case, in the version in effect from 11 April 2025.[2]
Paragraph 2.3: you stay accountable for people you contract with
"You remain accountable for compliance with the SRA's regulatory arrangements where your work is carried out through others, including your managers and those you employ or contract with."[2] The words to notice are "contract with".
Paragraph 6.3: confidentiality does not depend on where the reader sits
Then there's the login used from another country. The code says: "You keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents."[2] Nothing in that sentence turns on where the reader sits. A file opened abroad is still your firm's confidential file.
What to settle before anyone logs in
- What staff can see
- What they may and may not say, written down
- That a solicitor checks their notes
Ask any provider, us included, for a script your supervising solicitor approves and a do-not-say list. We set up the logins and draft the scripts for your solicitors to approve. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is overseas access a UK GDPR restricted transfer?
It can be, even if no client file ever leaves your systems. The ICO counts giving access to personal data the same way it counts sending it.
- Check 1: who has access?A separate organisation outside the UK?
- Check 2: adequacy regulationsDo UK regulations cover that country?
- YesThe transfer can rely on those regulationsNo: Check 3IDTA or the Addendum, plus a transfer risk assessment (TRA)
Based on the ICO's brief guide to international transfers.
General information. Check with your compliance officer.
What the ICO says
The ICO's brief guide to international transfers was last updated on 15 January 2026. It covers organisations that "send (or make accessible) personal information" outside the UK.[3] It also says "The rules apply to all restricted transfers, even small, infrequent ones."[3]
The guide's own example is close to this service. A UK business uses an organisation in India for customer service and sends it nothing. "Instead, you allow them access to the personal information you hold on your systems."[3] In that example, the ICO treats the UK business as the one starting the transfer.
That's the ICO's example, not a statement about where our staff are.
The checks, in order
The checks in the diagram follow its guide. First, find out whether the people with access work for a separate organisation outside the UK.
Then check whether UK adequacy regulations cover their country. If not, choose a safeguard, such as the IDTA (international data transfer agreement) or the Addendum, and complete a transfer risk assessment, which the ICO calls a TRA.
Who employs the staff
The guide asks whether the organisation "receiving the information is a separate legal entity to you".[3] So the employer question matters. Ask any provider, us included, who employs the staff and where that employer is registered.
We don't say here whether any country has UK adequacy regulations. That list can change, so check the current position. Ask your adviser, too, what written contract should sit between your firm and the provider. Check the transfer set-up with your compliance officer before anyone outside the UK gets a login.
Immigration firms: intake staff don't give immigration advice
Remote staff can book, collect and chase for an immigration team. They don't tell anyone what their options are, or whether an application will work.
Section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 opens with the ban that matters to an intake desk.[4] "No person may provide immigration advice or immigration services unless he is a qualified person."[4]
For a remote team, read subsection (2)(e) next, which counts someone "acting on behalf of, and under the supervision of," a qualified person.[4] Whether that could stretch to staff working abroad for a provider is a question for your regulatory adviser.
The safer line is simpler: intake staff give no immigration advice at all. The staff we place work from a solicitor-approved script and a do-not-say list. Any question about a person's own position goes straight to a qualified person at the firm.
That's our plain reading, not legal advice. Our immigration firms page covers the wider rules on advice and intake. For conveyancing firms, the heavy part is usually the chasing: ID, forms and replies, all before a fee earner can move.
Where the line sits
Handing intake to someone you can't see
The tasks are easy to list. The line between admin and advice is where remote intake goes right or wrong.
Staff handle the details, the screening questions a solicitor wrote, the appointment and the documents. Anything about the matter itself goes to a solicitor.
- Name and contact details
- Type of matter
- Screening questions a solicitor wrote
- The appointment
- ID and documents
- The person's options
- Whether to take it on
- Fees and terms
- Immigration advice
Anything about the matter itself crosses the line to a solicitor.
What should a COLP ask before using offshore staff?
Ask where staff sit, who employs them, what they can see and how access ends. Get each answer in writing before anyone gets a login.
- Which country will each person work from, and who is their employer?
- Is there a written contract between your firm and the provider that covers client data?
- Which transfer safeguard is in place, and has a transfer risk assessment been done?
- Has each person signed an NDA, and what background checks were run?
- Does each person have their own login, with two-step login switched on?
- Can anyone save client files to a personal device?
- How fast is access removed when someone leaves or is replaced?
- Where are call recordings and notes stored, and who can open them?
- Which solicitor supervises, and how often are calls or notes sampled?
- What happens if the person isn't the right fit?
Your COLP makes the call on all of this, not us. If you aren't the COLP yourself, check with your compliance officer before anyone starts.
Remote staff or a UK answering service?
If you only need calls picked up and a message taken, a UK answering service is usually the better fit than us. Remote staff make sense when you want one person who learns your process and works in your CRM.
| Remote intake staff | UK answering service | In-house hire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client data seen from outside the UK | Yes, if staff sit abroad. See the transfer checks | Ask where calls and messages are handled | No |
| Works in your CRM | Yes, each with their own login | Ask whether they log in or pass on a message | Yes |
| Who supervises | Your solicitors | Your team reviews the messages | Your solicitors |
| What your firm handles | Supervision, sign-off and the transfer checks | Ringing enquirers back and opening the file | Recruitment, PAYE and supervision |
An answering service suits you when
- You need calls covered out of hours or at busy times, and your team does everything after that.
- You want people based in the UK.
- Your clients or your insurer won't accept overseas access.
Remote staff suit you when
- You want the same person on your intake every day.
- You want enquiries logged, chased and booked in your CRM.
- A solicitor has time each week to supervise.
We're not the right fit if you want drafting, legal research or reserved work done for you. We're also not the right fit if nobody at the firm can supervise. If you would rather software took the out-of-hours calls, see our AI and automation service.
Questions firms ask
Questions firms ask before hiring remote staff
What is a legal virtual assistant?
Someone working remotely who takes the routine office load off a solicitors firm. That means new enquiries, CRM updates, chasing ID and documents, and fee earners' diaries. Legal advice and reserved legal work stay with your solicitors.
Can a virtual assistant give legal advice?
Not in the set-up we describe here. The staff we place take details, book appointments and pass anything about the matter to a solicitor.
Can a solicitors firm use offshore staff?
The SRA Code for Firms keeps your firm accountable for work done through people it contracts with, and the confidentiality duty still applies. Overseas access also brings in the UK GDPR transfer rules. Check your plans with your compliance officer.
Do we need an IDTA or a transfer risk assessment?
The question is whether a separate organisation outside the UK can see your client data. If it can, and no UK adequacy regulations cover that country, the ICO's guide points to a safeguard. That means the IDTA or the Addendum, plus a transfer risk assessment. Your COLP or compliance officer should sign off the position before anyone gets a login.
Can intake staff speak to immigration clients?
Yes, to take details, book appointments and chase documents. Section 84 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 limits immigration advice to qualified people.[4] So the staff we place pass every question about a person's position to a qualified person at the firm.
Is this better than a UK answering service?
Not for every firm. If all you need is the phone picked up and a message passed on, a UK answering service usually suits you better. Remote staff earn their place when one person needs to learn how your firm runs intake and work inside your CRM.
How much does it cost?
We don't list a price. The cost depends on the hours each week and the tasks you hand over, and we go through it on the intro call.
Read next
See all our services, the practice areas we work with, or who runs Naelar. Hiring for a US firm? Read the US version of this page.
Sources
- Legal Services Act 2007, section 12, "Meaning of reserved legal activity and legal activity", legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/29/section/12. Checked 9 October 2026. Primary legislation.
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, "SRA Code of Conduct for Firms", paragraphs 2.3 and 6.3, version in effect from 11 April 2025, sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/code-conduct-firms. Checked 9 October 2026. Regulator.
- Information Commissioner's Office, "A brief guide to international transfers", last updated 15 January 2026, ico.org.uk. Checked 9 October 2026. Regulator.
- Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, section 84, "Provision of immigration services", legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1999/33/section/84. Checked 9 October 2026. Primary legislation, text as amended.
Tell us which work you'd hand to remote staff.
The first conversation is free and takes 15 minutes. Bring your COLP's questions, and we'll say plainly where we can and can't help. We reply within one working day.
Book an intro callPrefer to write first? Use the contact page.