It’s the little things, right? The things that make our days flow more smoothly and efficiently, and that allow us to do our jobs without worrying about every little detail that happens in the background. That’s what Admin Support does for the lawyers and paralegals in a wellfunctioning law firm. Having a great support staff allows the legal minds to work with and for their clients without having to spare time for putting paper in the copier or wondering if there is cream for their coffee in the morning.
The list is pretty long, but generally you can consider anything not in the actual lawyer “swim lane” to be in the Support swim lane. Just like in many other businesses, our support staff wear many different hats each day. That line at the bottom of a Job Description that says “All other duties as required” sums up the range of daily tasks for our crew.
Depending on the size of your firm, the Finance Department could be one person handling all accounts receivable/accounts payable, billing, and time accounting for the lawyers and paralegals, or it could be multiple people, each with their own set of tasks to manage the finances of the firm. In some instances, like at Murphy Legal, our CFO is part of other decision-making teams, including the Marketing Team. On occasion he likes to take a walk in the afternoon and check the mailbox!
On any given day, our Assistant Office Manager (aka Client Coordinator) and Administrative Assistant can be found ordering supplies or drafting a document to help out a paralegal. Sometimes you will find them wearing their IT “hats” and trying to figure out why the internet is slow, or the Smartboard is not acting very smart! Other days they may be ordering supplies and stocking the fridge. Depending on the task, they work as a team to handle whatever gets handed to them, knowing that all the different tasks add up to one thing – making life easier for the Legal Team to do their jobs!
No matter the structure or size of the law firm, having a Support Staff to handle the minutia of the non-law part of your business is integral to your success. Hiring a group of wellrounded self-starters who aren’t afraid to multi-task or handle “all other duties” is integral to a firm that is dedicated to resolving your clients’ problems to the best of your ability.
– Written by Ashley Wesp and Emily Beamsley
