An executive assistant for principals and partners, so fee-earners bill more hours.
In a small or mid-size firm, the partner is the practice. They are also, by default, the one fielding the intake call, formatting the deed, building the court book and chasing their own time entries the night before billing. None of that is billable, and most of it could sit with someone else. A virtual EA takes the administrative load so the people admitted to practise spend the day on the work only they can do.
Book a free discovery callThe admin a principal should not be doing
These are the tasks that fall to a partner by default and quietly eat the chargeable day. A specialist EA owns them, working to your rules and your software, with the legal judgement always staying with the practitioner.
Matter and court-date diary
Opening and updating matters in LEAP, Smokeball or Actionstep, entering hearing dates, directions and key milestones, holding them against the practitioner calendar and prompting ahead of each one. Limitation and critical dates are entered and flagged for the practitioner to verify, never left to chance in someone's head.
Client intake and onboarding
Taking the first details from a new enquiry, sending the cost agreement and client questionnaire, collecting identity and supporting documents, and opening the file cleanly so the fee-earner walks into a matter that is already set up. Conflict checks stay with the firm; the EA runs the intake process you define around them.
Document formatting and bundling
Formatting deeds, letters and submissions to your house style, applying precedents from your library, paginating and indexing court books and discovery bundles, and preparing briefs to counsel. The drafting and the legal content are the practitioner's; the layout, assembly and version control are the EA's.
Time-entry follow-up and billing prep
Chasing fee-earners for missing time entries through the month rather than at the death, tidying narrations, assembling draft bills and disbursement schedules for the principal to review, and sending invoices and statements once approved. This is where firms recover the write-offs that used to vanish to late or forgotten time.
CRM and referral tracking
Keeping the contact and referral records current, logging where work comes from, nudging follow-ups with referrers and past clients, and keeping the pipeline of enquiries from going cold. The relationships that feed a firm get tracked properly instead of living in the partner's inbox.
Inbox and meeting support
Triaging the principal's inbox, drafting routine replies for review, scheduling client and counsel conferences, circulating agendas and capturing action items. The EA holds the calendar and surfaces only what needs the partner, so the working day is spent on matters, not on coordination.
Administrative support only, the practitioner keeps the law
What the EA does
- Runs the matter and court-date diary and prompts ahead of dates
- Handles client intake admin: cost agreements, questionnaires, document collection
- Formats, paginates and bundles documents, books and briefs
- Chases time entries and prepares draft bills for review
- Keeps CRM, referral and contact records clean
- Manages the inbox, calendar and conference scheduling
What stays with the practitioner
- Any legal advice or opinion
- Drafting and settling pleadings, advices and reserved documents
- Conflict checks and the privilege calls
- Verifying and meeting limitation and court dates
- Trust accounting decisions and authorisations
- Anything that amounts to engaging in legal practice
The EA never crosses into regulated legal work. We agree the exact scope, the diarising rules and the software access in week one, so the line between administrative support and legal practice is clear from the first day and stays that way.
What law firms ask before they hire
Does a legal executive assistant give legal advice or do any regulated legal work?
No, and this is the line we hold firmly. A DotVA virtual EA provides administrative support only. They format documents, run the matter diary, chase time entries and keep the client and referral records tidy. They do not draft advice, settle pleadings, give an opinion, or do anything that amounts to legal practice. Every judgement call about the law, and every step that is reserved legal work, stays with the admitted practitioner. The EA frees the fee-earner to do that billable work, not to share it.
Can the EA work inside LEAP, Smokeball or Actionstep?
Yes. Most Australian small-to-mid firms run one of LEAP, Smokeball or Actionstep, and our EAs are placed having used a practice-management system before. The EA works to the access you grant: opening and updating matters, entering and following up time, building precedents and document bundles, and keeping the matter timeline current. Logins are shared through 1Password Teams rather than email, and access is scoped to what the role needs, so a junior EA is not sitting on the trust ledger.
How does an EA help a fee-earner bill more hours?
The hours a principal loses are rarely legal work. They are the diary, the new-client intake call, formatting a deed, assembling a court book, and the end-of-month scramble to get time entries in before billing. A virtual EA absorbs that administrative load, so the practitioner spends the working day on chargeable matters rather than on the admin around them. Firms that delegate intake and billing prep tend to recover write-offs that used to vanish because time was logged late or not at all.
Is client and matter confidentiality protected?
Yes. A legal EA sees client names, matter details and sometimes sensitive personal circumstances by the nature of the role. Every DotVA EA signs a confidentiality agreement before they start, credentials move through 1Password Teams, and access is scoped tightly with view-only wherever that does the job. We screen for prior executive or administrative support experience and demonstrated discretion before anyone is presented to you. Conflict checks and any privilege calls remain with the firm; the EA runs the process you set, not the judgement behind it.
Can the EA handle court-date and limitation-date diarising?
The EA keeps the matter and court-date diary current: entering hearing dates, directions, and key milestones, holding them against the practitioner calendar, and prompting ahead of each one. Critical dates such as limitation periods are entered and flagged by the EA, but the practitioner remains responsible for verifying and meeting them. The point is a second set of eyes and a tidy diary, not a transfer of the duty. We agree the exact diarising and reminder rules with you in week one.
How much does an EA for lawyers cost compared with a local legal secretary?
A DotVA virtual EA sits in our specialist tier at $18-25/hr AUD, billed for the hours you use, with no super, leave, payroll tax or desk on top. A local legal secretary or paralegal is a salaried hire carrying all of that, which lands the loaded cost well above the headline wage. At a typical 20 hours a week the EA runs roughly $1,500-$2,200 a month, about a third of the all-in cost of an onshore equivalent. See the [pricing page](/pricing/) for the full breakdown.
Book a free discovery call
Thirty minutes with Jenn, DotVA's founder. Tell her how your firm runs, which practice system you are on, and where the admin piles up, be it intake, the diary or end-of-month billing, and she will give you a straight read on which tasks to delegate first and where the cost lands. No obligation.
More on the role: our virtual executive assistants · virtual executive assistant overview · pricing
Thanks – now pick your time
We've got your details. Lock in your call right now using the calendar link below, or if you'd rather wait, Jenn will email you within one business day.
Pick a time with Jenn now →