A legal assistant reviewing a case file at a tidy desk beside shelves of bound law books, soft afternoon light through a tall window

/Legal Assistants

Legal assistant outsourcing. Your lawyers keep the decisions.

A named legal assistant who handles intake, calendaring, documents and billing cleanup inside your systems, supervised by the attorney you choose.

More time for
the legal work

Most of the hours around a matter aren't legal judgment. They're intake forms, docket entries, exhibit folders, time entries and chasing clients for signatures. When lawyers do that work themselves, it's billed badly or not at all.

Legal assistant outsourcing hands that preparation to a trained, supervised assistant. Assistants work through partner centers we select and manage, in Mexico and Colombia or in the Philippines, India and Egypt, inside your practice management system and under your rules.

The line doesn't move: the assistant prepares, the lawyer decides. Advice, signing, court appearances, fees and the final review of anything that leaves the firm stay with your attorneys.

What we deliver

Intake & Conflicts Data

New client details, adverse parties and related names entered for your conflicts process.

Calendaring & Docketing

Deadlines and hearings entered from court notices, with an attorney verifying every date.

Document Management

Filing, naming and indexing pleadings, correspondence and exhibits in the matter folder.

Drafts from Your Templates

Engagement letters, notices, routine motions and correspondence, prepared for attorney review.

Billing Support

Time entry cleanup, checks against billing guidelines and draft invoices ready for approval.

Transcription & Discovery Support

Dictation and interview transcripts, plus organized productions under a written attorney protocol.

How it works

Scope & Supervisor

We list the tasks, matter types, systems and weekly volume, and you name the attorney who supervises.

Check the Rules

You confirm with your state bar guidance or ethics counsel what client disclosure or consent you need.

Shortlist & Interview

We introduce candidates with legal support experience. You interview them and choose.

Access & Documentation

Named accounts, least privilege, multi-factor authentication, a signed confidentiality agreement and written instructions.

Parallel Weeks

Your team checks every docketed date and every draft for the first weeks, then hands over more.

What an outsourced legal assistant does

The assistant works remotely inside your practice management, document and billing systems. They take the preparation, organization and follow-up around each matter, and every piece goes through a lawyer's review.

The work most firms hand over first:

Intake and conflict-check data entry, so new matters open with clean records.
Calendaring and docketing from court notices, with an attorney verifying each date.
Document management: naming, filing and indexing pleadings, correspondence and exhibits.
First drafts from your templates, and e-filing packets ready for the attorney who approves and files.
Billing support: time entry cleanup, guideline checks and draft invoices.
Transcription, discovery support under a written protocol, and client follow-ups for missing documents.
Research pulls an attorney asked for, so the attorney can read and decide.

The assistant prepares, the lawyer decides

Legal advice, signing pleadings, court appearances, setting fees and the final review of anything that leaves the firm stay with licensed attorneys. That holds wherever the assistant sits.

The line matters beyond quality. A nonlawyer who gives legal advice risks the unauthorized practice of law, and a firm that lets it happen can be assisting it. Write the boundary down: what the assistant may say to a client, what goes straight to an attorney and what never leaves without sign-off.

Your duties under ABA Model Rule 5.3

ABA Model Rule 5.3 asks lawyers with supervisory authority to make reasonable efforts so a nonlawyer's conduct is compatible with the lawyer's own obligations. The comments make clear this covers help from outside the firm.

Rule 1.6(c) asks for reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access to client information. ABA Formal Opinion 08-451 says a lawyer may outsource support work while staying responsible for it, with appropriate disclosure to the client and consent when the provider receives confidential information.

Each state adopts its own version of these rules. Check with your state bar or ethics counsel before you share client files. This page isn't legal advice.

Confidentiality and access

Most of your confidentiality duty is met by how access is set up. Put these rules in writing before anyone logs in, and keep them the same whichever country the assistant works from.

A named account in your systems, such as Clio, MyCase, iManage or NetDocuments. No shared logins.
Access to the matters the assistant works on, not the whole firm, with screened matters closed off.
Multi-factor authentication on every account, and files kept in firm-owned storage.
A confidentiality agreement signed before day one, and access removed the day someone leaves.

Nearshore or offshore for legal support

Nearshore, in Mexico and Colombia, shares most of your working day. It fits intake, calendaring, client follow-ups and anything that needs a quick question to an attorney. Bilingual assistants can also handle document requests with Spanish-speaking clients while the attorney keeps the advice.

Offshore, in the Philippines, India and Egypt, fits documented work that can run overnight: indexing a production, transcribing a backlog or formatting exhibits for the morning. Deadlines stay verified on your side. Onshore costs most, then nearshore, then offshore, and many firms split the work between the two.

Nearshore legal assistant Mexico and Colombia for calendaring, intake and client work on your hours. Offshore legal assistant The Philippines, India and Egypt for documented overnight work. Onshore vs nearshore vs offshore How the three delivery models compare on cost, hours and handoffs.

Virtual legal assistant or managed team

A freelance virtual legal assistant from a marketplace can be quick to hire. You also take on the screening, the access setup, the training and the gap when that person is sick the week of a filing.

With a managed team, the partner center employs the assistant and we run the selection, the access rules and the reporting. You still get a named person who learns your matters and templates, with cover when they're out. Legal support is one specialty within our wider assistant service.

Virtual assistant outsourcing Scope, process and the full list of roles an assistant covers.

Questions to ask a legal assistant provider

Ask which country and city the assistant works from. Then ask which hours exactly, and who covers the week of a deadline.
Ask how access is handled. Named accounts, least privilege and removal on the day someone leaves are the baseline.
Ask what the assistant will refuse to do. A good answer lists the work that needs a lawyer without being prompted.
Ask how they train on your templates. Your calendaring rules and naming conventions should be written down, and the documentation should be yours.

Choose how
we run it

Nearshore · Mexico & Colombia

A nearshore legal assistant on your hours, under your supervision.

A nearshore legal assistant in Mexico or Colombia works your hours: intake, calendaring, documents and billing, with lawyers keeping advice and sign-off.

Offshore · Philippines, India & Egypt

An offshore legal assistant for the work that can run overnight.

An offshore legal assistant in the Philippines, India or Egypt: which tasks fit, how overnight handoffs work, how to protect data and when to go nearshore.

Choose where
the work happens

Nearshore

Mexico & Colombia

Bilingual teams in US hours. The default for live, judgment-heavy work.

Offshore

Philippines, India & Egypt

Overnight, overflow and high-volume work in partner centers we manage and report on.

Onshore

On request

For roles that must be US-resident, arranged case by case.

Frequently asked questions

What is legal assistant outsourcing?

It's handing a law firm's support work to an external, supervised assistant: intake, calendaring, document management, drafts from your templates, billing cleanup and client follow-ups. The assistant works inside your systems through a partner center we select and manage. Your attorneys keep legal advice, signing, court appearances, fees and the final review of anything that leaves the firm.

Can an outsourced legal assistant give legal advice to my clients?

No. A nonlawyer assistant shouldn't give legal advice, sign filings or set fees, wherever they sit. Doing so risks the unauthorized practice of law, and the supervising lawyer is responsible. The assistant can collect documents, confirm dates and pass questions to an attorney, following a written list of what they may and may not say.

Do I need client consent to use an outside legal assistant?

Often, yes. ABA Formal Opinion 08-451 says lawyers should make appropriate disclosure to clients about outside help, and get consent when that help will receive confidential information. Your state's rules and opinions are what bind you, so check with your state bar or ethics counsel before you share client files.

Which practice management software can the assistant use?

Whatever your firm already uses, such as Clio, MyCase, iManage or NetDocuments, plus your email, calendar and billing tools. Each assistant gets a named account limited to the matters they work on, with multi-factor authentication. That way you can see every action and remove access the day someone leaves.

How much does legal assistant outsourcing cost?

It depends on the tasks, the hours you need covered, the systems involved and how much Spanish work there is, so we quote per scope. As an ordering, onshore costs most, then nearshore, then offshore. When you compare it with a hire, include recruiting, training, cover for absences and turnover, which sit inside a managed team's price.

Should I choose a nearshore or offshore legal assistant?

Choose nearshore, in Mexico or Colombia, for calendaring, intake and anything that needs a quick answer from an attorney during your day. Choose offshore, in the Philippines, India or Egypt, for documented work that can run overnight, such as indexing or transcription. Many firms use both, with deadlines always verified on the firm's side.

Which company employs the legal assistants?

The partner center employs them. OTRO selects and manages that center: we agree the profile with you, set the access and confidentiality rules, and report on the work. You hold one contract with us. In Mexico, specialized outsourced services fall under the 2021 subcontracting reform, so ask how the center complies and have your counsel review the answer.

Tell us what's
eating your lawyers' time.

Send us your practice areas, systems, weekly volume and who would supervise. We'll reply with a written plan: which tasks to move, where they should run and how the first weeks will be checked.

Get a legal support plan