Building trust in a remote working environment is essential for law firms and attorneys seeking assistance from freelance paralegals. This article explores practical strategies and approaches for freelance paralegals to build trust with their attorneys, fostering strong professional relationships based on reliability, communication, and competence.

Clear and Transparent Communication

1. Establish Clear Expectations: Before starting on a project for an attorney, you need to clarify what role you’ll play in the project and what you’re responsible for. Also before starting a project, ask for a deadline even if the attorney says this is not a deadline. This will help you figure out what needs to be prioritized. 

2. Regular Updates: Over communication is better than under communication. With every task handled in a case, send a quick update to your attorney outlining what has been done and what actionable steps you’re taking next to ease their mind. Over time your attorney may ask you to communicate less frequently, however in the beginning it’s important to keep them informed on every task handled. 

3. Responding When Available: Working as a freelance remote paralegal means you get to set your own hours or you can align your schedule with whatever works for your attorneys. Personally, my hours of availability are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. This means if my attorney emails, calls or texts me within my business hours, I am responding as fast as I can so that their questions can be answered in a timely manner.

Demonstrating Professionalism and Competence

1. Executing Deadlines: Paralegals know deadlines are everything in a case. It’s your job to consistently meet or exceed deadlines for assigned tasks and cases so that your attorney and clients are happy. Your attorney will see how reliable you are in delivering work on time and ultimately will lead to showcasing your professionalism.

2. Quality Assurance: Attention to detail is crucial when it comes to your work product. With every new matter, you’ll want to strive for accuracy. Double check your work to make sure everything is correct to ensure what you’ve produced is to your highest quality.

3. Legal Knowledge and Skills: Stay hungry for more legal knowledge and skills relevant to your legal field. By keeping updated on industry trends, regulations, and best practices, you’re helping your attorney stay ahead of the game. 

Building Rapport and Collaboration

1. Understanding Attorney Preferences: No two attorneys are truly alike. Each one is different in how they like their work handled. Tip: When onboarding new attorneys, ask what methods they prefer and then tweak your approach as you get to work more closely with them to fit their needs. Also ask for feedback every so often to see how else you could improve for their liking.

2. Team Orientation: If your attorney expresses they have something else in their law practice they are seeking assistance with, jump in and ask how you can be of service to them. Even if you cannot do the task yourself, you may have insider knowledge of the task they are aiming to execute, which will prove to your attorney you have a willingness to support their overall goals and objectives.

3. Professional Integrity: At the end of the day, your attorney’s bar license is on the line. Make sure you’re upholding ethical standards and confidentiality in handling sensitive information. Also, respect attorney-client privilege and maintain trustworthiness in all interactions.

Utilizing Technology Effectively

1. Secure Communication Tools: I highly recommend using your attorney’s preferred secure platforms and encrypted channels for sharing confidential documents and information. You will want to keep any sensitive information off of your computer as much as possible to avoid data breach. Your attorney’s client’s information should be the top priority in privacy protection.

2. Project Management Tools: Services such as ClickUp and Monday are great tools in helping you stay organized and on top of deadlines. You can customize your tasks within these client relationship management systems to help streamline your matters. 

3. Video Conferencing: Emails and phone calls work great, but having face-to-face interactions with your attorney fosters a sense of connection and enhances your communication overall. Schedule at least one video conference a month with your attorney to go over cases and see what other issues they may have within their law practice. 

Conclusion

Building trust as a remote freelance paralegal requires proactive communication, professionalism, and a commitment to high-quality work. By demonstrating reliability, competence, and collaboration, freelance paralegals can establish strong relationships with attorneys and contribute to client satisfaction. 

If you’re an attorney seeking assistance in your estate planning and probate law practice, please feel free to contact me at raquel@personalparalegal.com to book a free discovery call and discuss how I can best assist you and your law firm. 

Sincerely, 

Raquel Alonso

Personal Paralegal