Paralegals as a Driving Force Behind Innovation in the Legal Industry 

This interview is part of Loio series of interviews with legal enthusiasts about the ins and outs of the legal industry.

The following is the interview with Adam R. Karasch, a serial entrepreneur and the CEO at Karasch & Associates, a family-owned business that has been providing award-winning Accessibility Services and Litigation Support Services for 40 years.

Let’s dive in!

In the high-intensity realm of legal services, paralegals routinely juggle a plethora of tasks and responsibilities. However, they often find themselves swamped with routine tasks that drain precious time and energy that could be utilized elsewhere. This article delves into the common challenges paralegals face, exploring the overload of mundane tasks they face and the ensuing sacrifices made — personal and professional. 

In this article, we examine how delegation and paralegal technology can be leveraged to maximize efficiency, prevent potential burnout, and ultimately result in a more satisfied, effective workforce. You’ll also find insights from Adam R. Karasch, a serial entrepreneur and the CEO at Karasch & Associates, a family-owned business that has been providing accessibility and litigation support services for 40 years.

Main Challenges of Being a Paralegal 

Paralegals are almost always conscientious, hard-working, and focused. But the other thing they have in common is that almost all of them are overworked. They most value efficiency and efficacy and being able to control their schedules. 

A common challenge among paralegals, due to these character traits, is that they’re overloaded with mundane tasks that absorb a lot of their valuable time. All of this leads to personal sacrifices that are not always justified. 

“Paralegals really are irreplaceable in a sense. They are often this cog in the office that they work in that can’t be replaced. Their time, in my opinion, should be spent doing what matters most.” 

Adam R. Karasch, a serial entrepreneur and the CEO at Karasch & Associates

Paralegals should be doing legal analysis and research and preparing for the trial. They should be supporting their bosses in any way they can. Instead, they often spend hours every week on extraneous tasks that should be designated or delegated to professionals they can count on. 

The key problems paralegals report as negatively impacting their work efficiency are that they are overloaded with tasks and don’t have full control over their actual schedules. The solution to this is allowing the paralegals to choose their priority tasks themselves. Things like Bates stamping, scheduling a depo, tech support issues, glitches, setting things up, passwords, and remote depo links, etc. — all of that should be delegated. 

One of the key strategies to prevent professional burnout among paralegals is delegation. For instance, an employer can do a short survey of questions in which paralegals are expected to reflect upon the tasks they consider the most time-consuming and stressful, methods of improving the workflow and increasing their engagement. Based on the results of the survey, the employer makes a series of free recommendations that generate time efficiencies and efficacy in the work these paralegals do. 

“In the end, our goal is to generate more billable hours for their bosses, for their attorneys, so we look at that as a win-win proposal. And we hope the ultimate goal for this all is to lead to less personal sacrifice on behalf of paralegals and more personal and professional satisfaction.” 

Adam R. Karasch, a serial entrepreneur and the CEO at Karasch & Associates

How Can Technologies Help Paralegals To Prevent Frustration?

Many routine tasks performed by paralegals daily can be delegated to technology. Some of them can’t be done by technology, or, for some of them, technology has to be assisted by a human. 

For example, you’re a proponent of trial directors, which is technology. It’s a form of presenting your exhibits during the trial and organizing the information you need to present during the trial. In this case, special software for paralegals can organize the information, but you’re expected to administer and present it. In such a way, the software allows the paralegal to save time and focus on some more important tasks. A paralegal should be focused on the content of the exhibits and the trial itself and not on the technicalities around the presentation and uploading of exhibits. 

Another thing is legal writing. Special free paralegal software, such as Loio, can be very helpful here. A paralegal can use technology to write better legal letters and prepare a better contract and not spend hours on scheduling a remote deposition or sending out encryption passwords for a remote depo to make sure it’s secure. A paralegal shouldn’t make sure that there are no technical glitches during the deposition. They shouldn’t have to think about it. They should be busy writing the legal letters. 

The most popular software for paralegals

• Loio: Known for its contract review and drafting features, Loio is a powerful toolset that allows paralegals to improve the quality of the contracts they draft. 
• Clio: Clio is a comprehensive cloud-based solution catering to document management, billing, client intake, and more. Its wide range of features makes it a popular choice for paralegal professionals.
• Relativity: Predominantly used for document discovery and management, Relativity is highly rated for its ability to handle large sets of data, making it highly useful for paralegals involved in complex cases. 
• MyCase: This legal practice management software offers features like time and billing tracking, calendaring, and document management, thus providing a full-fledged software environment for a paralegal’s day-to-day needs.
• AbacusLaw: AbacusLaw offers case automation and workflow features that help paralegals manage cases and clients more efficiently. Its calendar and task-scheduling tools are also well-liked among users.

Tips for Paralegals on How To Adopt Technology

Sometimes, adopting a new technology can be a challenging task, especially for those overloaded with work. Here are three tips on how a paralegal can optimize their working processes with the help of special paralegal software. 

1. Delegate your tasks so that you, as a paralegal, can focus your time and your energy on what is more valuable about you. What you love to do, and what you’re trained to do, and not on scheduling and uploading exhibits and Bates stamping and a bunch of other menial things that waste your time. 
2. Consolidate time-consuming tasks to one vendor. Oftentimes, paralegals are delegating to multiple vendors: court reporting to one vendor, scheduling to another or not at all, language interpreting to yet another vendor, accessibility requirements to another, etc. Selecting multiple vendors for separate tasks, negotiating terms, and building trust with each of them takes time. So the idea is to consolidate as many of those tasks to one vendor or one provider, all the solutions under one roof as possible. 
3. Confront your vendors about pricing. Your vendors should be transparent about their pricing, and they should be transparent about solving all of your problems, not just one of them. You should let them know what your needs are. You should understand how they are charging for their solutions and be sure they have the credentials to solve your problems consistently. 

Changes in the Legal Industry

In recent decades, much has changed in the legal industry, and modern legal professionals, if they want to provide high-quality solutions to their clients, should accept these changes and be able to adapt to them. 

1. Remote revolution has affected the courtroom, many courts, and court procedures around the country and internationally. It has affected the way corporations work, how they sue each other, and how they reach settlements. 
2. Efficiencies for attorneys, paralegals, and their clients. The fact that they don’t have to drive an hour to get to deposition and that they just have to log on and then end it without parking anywhere, without paying for parking, without having to worry about the travel time, is a huge convenience. 
3. New apps, solutions, and automation. The amount of innovation that’s happening right now, both due to AI and people constantly creating new solutions, is mind-boggling. Task delegation, task automation, and assistance with tasks have changed the legal industry greatly.
4. Consolidation of law firms by large investment funds and creation of big-box agencies or big-box corporations that provide any solution for attorneys and paralegals. 

“What you’re going to have to focus on as a paralegal or attorney in the upcoming years as this industry consolidates is what matters to you.” 

Adam R. Karasch, a serial entrepreneur and the CEO at Karasch & Associates

Conclusion

Paralegals face a constant torrent of tasks that eat into their valuable time, often leading to professional burnout and a decrease in work efficiency. However, using specialized technology and effective delegation techniques presents an opportunity to regain control over their schedules and focus on their areas of expertise. As the legal industry transforms, impacted heavily by the remote revolution and an exponential increase in technological innovation, paralegals must adapt and embrace these changes to stay relevant and efficient. 

Careful vendor selection, increased task consolidation, and the adoption of helpful software can greatly enhance a paralegal’s ability to perform their duties more effectively. The future of paralegal work hinges on making these strategic, perspective-driven decisions and aligning them with their professional aspirations.