March 24, 2026 • 22 mins
Managing paralegal teams isn't something most family law firms get right. We didn't either, at least not at first.
Rebecca Bargender joined us four years ago as a paralegal with zero leadership experience. Today she manages 11 paralegals, 5 virtual legal assistants in the Philippines, and 3 e-filing specialists.
This conversation walks through her training process, how she manages offshore teams the same as local staff, and why trusting your people matters more than micromanaging them.
If you're hiring your first paralegal or trying to scale past chaos, this is how you build a team that actually supports growth instead of creating bottlenecks.
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---
📄 CHAPTERS
0:00 - Managing Paralegal Teams: Why Integration Beats Everything Else
0:24 - How Rebecca Went From Paralegal to Leading 19 People
4:31 - The Attorney-Paralegal-VLA Team Structure That Scales
15:10 - Three-Month Onboarding: Daily Huddles and Work Product Review
16:19 - Setting Attorney-Paralegal Expectations From Day One
17:13 - Managing Remote Teams in the Philippines the Same as US Staff
19:08 - Fully Integrating Offshore Talent Into Your Culture
20:29 - Trust Your Team: The One Principle That Changes Everything
----------------------
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
We have many team members in thePhilippines over Rocket Clicks, as well.
And if you're considering leveragingsome offshore talent on your team,
the greatest advantage that we've foundis that fully integrating
these team members into your culture,into your hours, they should be treated
the exact same as everyone else,same one on one, same coaching
(00:20):
cadence.
Well, hello and welcome to the SterlingFamily Law Show.
My name is Jeff Hughes,and I am your co-host, along with Tyler
Dolph my partner and co-host as well.
And we have a special guest with us today,Rebecca bartender.
She is the leader of our PL team,our paralegal
team, virtual legal assistance E-filers.
(00:40):
Total of 19 teammates.
Rebecca and Ijust want to welcome you to the show.
There are a few rolesthat play a critical role in our firm
executing and serving clientsand our paralegals, as you all know,
being family lawyers know thatour paralegals are essential in our firm
because they not only communicate directlyand probably more often than lawyers do
(01:02):
with our clients.
So there's a level of polishand sophistication and empathy
that they have to have, but they're alsotaking care of serving our lawyers.
And so two very,very important stakeholders in our law
firm, our clients and our lawyers,our paralegals touch both.
And they're the only role in our firmthat does that.
Now, Rebecca, I'm excited to like Iwe were talking prior
(01:23):
to you coming on the showtoday was turning you upside down
and dumping those gold nuggetsthat are bouncing around in your head on
how you lead a team of paralegalsto such success that you've done with us.
So, Rebecca'sbeen with us for four years.
Rebecca,my getting that right are coming on here.
Okay?
to four years.
And she came in a newbie to us.
(01:45):
No leadership experience.
In the four yearsshe has blossomed and thrived.
And I'll brag on you a little bit,Rebecca, you're doing an incredible job
leading our team. So enough of the intros.
How's your day going?
So far, so good.
It's Monday andit's not even quite feeling like a Monday,
(02:07):
so I think that's a win.
So when you joined our team,did you have any idea that you would
one day be leading our paralegal team?
Our support team?
No, I had no idea.
I came to Sterling as a paralegaland really my position
(02:31):
has just evolvedsort of naturally to this position.
As legal team administrative manager.
I was perfectly contentwith paralegal forever.
But then, like I said, it just sort ofevolved naturally into this role. Now.
can you give a little color on Rebecca'sjourney as it relates to
(02:53):
how big the firm was when she started,compared to how big it was now?
Just so happened.
How many people did you start report,you know, having report to you versus
how many?
Now, just to give, the audience some ideaon the scale that you've achieved.
Yeah.
So, Rebecca, when you joined our firm, hadyou had any paralegal experience
prior to that?
Yes, I did,but it wasn't in family law specifically.
(03:16):
So I went to, technical collegeand got a paralegal degree
and then kind of moved to differentareas of law for probably eight years
before coming to Sterling.
Okay.
And so during that,once you joined us, were you working
directly with a lawyer or two?
(03:37):
Is that how you started?
Yeah.
I think to start, if I remember correctly,I was assigned to two attorneys
in the Fox region, and thenthat sort
of evolved to taking on attorneysin the Madison region
and the Menomonee Falls area.
So got some experiencein different counties, different court
(04:01):
rules and things like that. Okay.
So if we go back to 221 when you joinedour team, my recollection is that
we were doing about 13 million in revenueat that point today we're doing 17.5.
And so you've been a part major partof that growth over that period of time.
And then our teamitself, at what point did you move from
(04:21):
being a paralegalwithout direct reports to being one
that is now leading our team?
I would sayprobably a little over a year ago,
I stepped intoa role of training paralegals.
So new hires.
(04:42):
And then around the same time, startedsupervising the e-filing specialist team.
So having oversight over those things,but not quite having,
like, direct reports yet.
And then from there, I would saymaybe the timing is a little bit off
(05:05):
for maybe like 4 to 6 monthslater, stepped in to this management
role, overseeing all of the team members.
Yeah.
So from a standpoint of the compositionof your team, you have 11 paralegals
that report to you and they're basedeither in Illinois or Wisconsin.
(05:25):
Is that right?
Okay.
And thenyou have virtual legal assistance.
And what is that role?
We call that the vhlah role.
But what is that? Right.
So the VLA role is new, but it's almostjust another sort of assistant
for the attorneys.
And we look at it like, an attorney,paralegal and Bla team.
(05:48):
So the three of them are working together,to move cases forward.
And yeah.
And all of them are remote offshorein the Philippines.
Is that right?
Okay.
And how many villas do we have currently?
Right now.
We have four in Wisconsinand one in Illinois.
(06:10):
And that is growing.
Okay.
I know it's a role that wewe started with experimenting
with that role found successand now we're starting to
scale it out. Is that right?
Okay.
In addition to the valet roleyou also have the E filers.
Is that right.
(06:30):
And what do they doand how many are there?
So, the e filers will take anyand every document that is electronically
filed with the court.
So every documentand every case that we see,
they are pulling from the e-filing systemand sending the client for either
(06:52):
the client's information or for the clientto take action, notifying them
of hearings or upcoming court events,just things that they should be aware of.
So they're taking care of all ofthe documents that are filed in cases.
The VLA role also takeson that responsibility
(07:13):
and their job responsibilities.
So, we havehow many voice did I say before?
I think we have five. Right. So.
e filers, we would have three more.
So a total of 19 teammatesthat you report into.
(07:36):
You okay.
That's good.
Now let's go back a little bitto when you took on the role.
What has beenthe one of the lessons that have
that has stuck out toyou have been has been the most impactful
that you've learnedin leading a team of this size?
Doing what they're doing?
(07:59):
Yeah.
I mean, just to Rebeccato double down on that.
Let me think a little bit.
The fact that,this is your first management role
and you have so many directreports is a testimony
and a testament to your ability to lead.
So congratulations on that.
But we would love to hear,you know, how you thought about leading
this many individuals and being ableto carry on the the purpose of this role?
(08:24):
I think forme it is just knowing each of them
and what their strengths areand what their weaknesses are.
So however, I need to sort offind that out, whether it is
the one to ones or just kind of observingwhat interests them,
what types of tasks interests them.
(08:45):
That's something that I really lean intoand I don't know,
I think that is what helps mewith managing.
Yeah, it's kind of a tough questionbecause it's kind of just
do what you got to do and keep going,you know?
So let's walkthrough the typical onboarding process.
(09:08):
And how do you go about selectingonboarding training.
And then you know really releasing themto start working directly
with clients and attorneys.
So so starting firstwith our selection process I know that
our, our, our team will do a lotof the initial recruiting
and then they'll bring themthe candidate to you
after we've screened themfor culture in particular.
(09:29):
What what do you look for?
What what are some of the qualitiesthat stick out to you
that as you're going through thatprocess, you're hunting for?
I think that what I look for issomeone who is interested
in the context of what we're doing.
(09:51):
I think it's really easy to train peopleto just do the tasks, but to
have an interestand see the why behind what
we're doing, what we're doing dayto day is really important.
And I think you can tellthat in an initial interview.
(10:12):
Yeah, just an underlying interest in,and curiosity in what we're doing
as opposed to just doing the work.
Yeah.
Curiosity around family law in particular.
Not even family law.
Just.
Well, yeah. Family law.
(10:33):
But again, the why behind.
So the context of, you know,we have this document to draft,
but what does it do?
What does it do for the client?
What does it dofor, to move the case forward?
Things like that.
Family law is unlike other practice areas.
(10:53):
Your callers are not shoppingfor a service.
They're looking for someone who makes themfeel safe enough to share.
The worst thing happening in their life.
The firm that hears themfirst wins every time.
And that'swhat changed everything at Sterling.
We eventually built that system into fouractionable steps on this free training.
Mary Sankey, who leads our salesteam, is going to break down
(11:14):
the entire four step sales system.
She is sterling sales manager.
She's the one who runs itevery single day.
So go ahead and registerbelow for the sales secrets of an $18
million family law firm.
I'll see you there.
So what I'mif I were to unpack that a bit, you're
looking for folks who have curiosity onwhy they're doing what they're doing,
(11:35):
so they can learn thatyou don't have to explain
later on down the road, the next steps.
They just start to pick that up as theyas they execute.
Okay.
Once a teammate comes on board,a paralegal comes on board.
What is your process like to raise themup, train them,
and still the sterling wayinto what they're doing.
And what are some of the methodologiesuse you that you use there?
(12:01):
I think so.
Across the different positions,paralegals,
VLAs it sort of startsthe same where we are
kind of going through a typical day,starting with time management.
That's a really important thing I think,to have a foundation from the start.
So we're looking at all of the tasksthat need to be done in a day,
(12:26):
how you prioritize those tasks.
And I think it starts there.
Then we'll get intohow to actually deliver on those tasks.
So it's a lot of 1 to 1.
Training and onboarding,just going through examples.
And you know, the I doyou do method, so I think that there's
(12:54):
a good mix of new hire observingand then also doing the work as well
So when you say observing are they workingside by side with another paralegal.
Okay.
Yes, that's a good question.
So I would say the first weekwe're kind of going through
(13:16):
everything that they might see,which is a lot to take in your first week
on a new job.
And then sort of from therewe would have daily huddles, with me.
And then from there,yeah, there would be some sort
(13:37):
of like mentorshipwith another paralegal within the region
that they're.
So if you had your choicebetween choosing someone
with a ton of experience that maybe hassome different ways of doing things or
someone is just completely fresh to familylaw, what your what is your choice?
(14:00):
My preference is fresh to family law.
Okay.
And why is that?
I think that Sterlinghas some very specific
and unique standards.
Just like the use of technology and,spanning different regions
(14:24):
and different counties.
And that foundation is really important.
And I think that it's niceto have somebody, coming in
that doesn'thave their own way of doing things.
So, really just yeah,having that clean foundation.
(14:47):
I think is nice.
And it's Know,prior bad habits, what you're saying.
So when a teammate starts andshe begins day one,
not a whole lot of experience tillshe's at this point
where she's able to take on clientsdirectly, working directly with them.
How long does that process take?
(15:10):
I would say the full kind of trainingwhere we're having huddles
every day, work product is being reviewedis probably three months.
When a paralegal or legal assistantis starting to have that client
contact is probably after a month or so.
Again, just to get that foundation,yeah.
(15:36):
And I back on the huddle thing.
Are you personally huddlingwith all of your new teammates every day
and in the early weeks? Okay. Wow.
So you're giving theminstant feedback on how things went
for the day, that day in the day before?
as I can do the daily huddles,that is really important to me,
just going backto, like, picking up on what
(15:59):
everyone's strengths or weaknesses are,and sort of leaning into those
to sort of directthe training from there, I think
I'm. And are you also consultingwith the attorneys they work with?
They can get their feedbackon how the new teammates done.
(16:19):
Yeah.
So we'll have, an attorneyparalegal kick off
to kind of set the expectationsbetween a newer attorney
paralegal relationship.
So, we want to really designatewhat's an attorney
role or responsibilityand what a paralegal role
(16:40):
and responsibility is, and then also meetin the middle to discuss
kind of what is important to the attorneywhen it comes to working their cases.
Because attorneys preferences changeand our paralegals
are typically working with at least two.
So that's two attorneyswith two different preferences.
(17:03):
So we want to make sure that,the expectations are start
kind of are established from the start.
You were talkingearlier about your VLA teammates
and the E filers.
And the all eight of themare based in the Philippines.
Am I getting that rightthat, that that requires
(17:24):
a whole different set of managementskills and practices.
Can you walk us throughwhat you do to manage teammates
that are 12 hours away in terms of time,even on the on the clock, they're 12 hours
different than I was most of the year.
How do you do that?
(17:45):
I guesskind of the same way I would manage
us or local team members,a lot of communication,
a lot of one to ones.
Yeah, I guess I don't really dotoo much differently.
Because they work us hours Correct.
(18:08):
Yeah. So it's.
I don't 12 a.m. for them right now.
So with theirpractically speaking,
is there any difference betweenhow you manage
and lead a teammate here in the US versussomeone in the Philippines,
other than the fact that they aresitting in a different place,
you're still interfacing with themvia Google Meet right?
(18:31):
Okay.
So is there any practical differenceat all?
Beyond that role being just a new positionfor them in general,
it's all new and it's all different.
The language is different.
The kind ofexpectations can be different,
(18:51):
than what they had been usedto in different positions.
So I try to keep that in mindand give as much contacts behind again.
And the Y, you know,certain tasks or responsibilities
as much as possible.
We have many team members in thePhilippines over Rocket Clicks, as well.
(19:12):
And if you're considering leveragingsome offshore talent on your team,
the greatest advantage that we've foundis that fully integrating
these team members into your culture,into your hours, they should be treated
the exact same as everyone else,same one on one, same coaching cadence.
That has led to some incredible results.
(19:35):
I think on both sides,both the firm and the agency.
I think when we interview them,when we talk to them,
they always talk about thatfeeling of camaraderie and being
not an afterthought,but part of our culture.
And so I would just encourage anyonethinking about this to really embrace,
there's no difference hereother than where they live.
(19:56):
Yeah.
I 100% agree.
And I think that that's somethingthat's really fulfilling with the
or rewarding with the VLA programis that these team members
are getting direct accessto attorneys and paralegals
as opposed to just kind of,you know, working behind the scenes.
(20:19):
You know, they're slacking,you know, all day with their attorney
and paralegal teammates.
So I think that's really great.
This has been really, really informative.
Rebecca,let me just close with this question.
So you, a lot of our audience,they're leading their leading,
growing family law firms,and they're starting to scale
(20:40):
where they're adding paralegalsand leaders of paralegals.
And if you could talk to someonethat's just picking up
her first role, leading a team,what are some of the
what's some of the wisdomthat you would pass on to her?
Trust your team.
If you trust yourself and the peoplethat you are bringing into the team,
(21:04):
you know, there's got to be a reasonwhy you selected these people.
Trust that they'repart of the team for a reason.
And then trust their work.
I really that's like,all I can say is, you know,
everyone's going to make mistakes,but trust that they, like,
(21:24):
want to be doing what they're doing.
And so if they want to,you know, do the best
that they can for the rest of the team.
Yeah. That's great.
And what I've heard about youin particular is that you have a
you've done a great job in not micromanageyour team, but giving them enough
support to do their work.
(21:47):
But you're not standing over their headpointing out all the areas
you letting them make mistakes, helpingthem correct them and moving forward.
So you've done excellent with that.
So I want to just point that out to.
Thank staff.
Yeah.
I think that's really important is togive them a little bit of space to grow.
Yeah.
Well thank you for coming on the showand sharing with us on
(22:08):
how you're leading a team of paralegalsand virtual teammates, as well.
We have many team members in thePhilippines over Rocket Clicks, as well.
And if you're considering leveragingsome offshore talent on your team,
the greatest advantage that we've foundis that fully integrating
these team members into your culture,into your hours, they should be treated
the exact same as everyone else,same one on one, same coaching
(00:20):
cadence.
Well, hello and welcome to the SterlingFamily Law Show.
My name is Jeff Hughes,and I am your co-host, along with Tyler
Dolph my partner and co-host as well.
And we have a special guest with us today,Rebecca bartender.
She is the leader of our PL team,our paralegal
team, virtual legal assistance E-filers.
(00:40):
Total of 19 teammates.
Rebecca and Ijust want to welcome you to the show.
There are a few rolesthat play a critical role in our firm
executing and serving clientsand our paralegals, as you all know,
being family lawyers know thatour paralegals are essential in our firm
because they not only communicate directlyand probably more often than lawyers do
(01:02):
with our clients.
So there's a level of polishand sophistication and empathy
that they have to have, but they're alsotaking care of serving our lawyers.
And so two very,very important stakeholders in our law
firm, our clients and our lawyers,our paralegals touch both.
And they're the only role in our firmthat does that.
Now, Rebecca, I'm excited to like Iwe were talking prior
(01:23):
to you coming on the showtoday was turning you upside down
and dumping those gold nuggetsthat are bouncing around in your head on
how you lead a team of paralegalsto such success that you've done with us.
So, Rebecca'sbeen with us for four years.
Rebecca,my getting that right are coming on here.
Okay?
to four years.
And she came in a newbie to us.
(01:45):
No leadership experience.
In the four yearsshe has blossomed and thrived.
And I'll brag on you a little bit,Rebecca, you're doing an incredible job
leading our team. So enough of the intros.
How's your day going?
So far, so good.
It's Monday andit's not even quite feeling like a Monday,
(02:07):
so I think that's a win.
So when you joined our team,did you have any idea that you would
one day be leading our paralegal team?
Our support team?
No, I had no idea.
I came to Sterling as a paralegaland really my position
(02:31):
has just evolvedsort of naturally to this position.
As legal team administrative manager.
I was perfectly contentwith paralegal forever.
But then, like I said, it just sort ofevolved naturally into this role. Now.
can you give a little color on Rebecca'sjourney as it relates to
(02:53):
how big the firm was when she started,compared to how big it was now?
Just so happened.
How many people did you start report,you know, having report to you versus
how many?
Now, just to give, the audience some ideaon the scale that you've achieved.
Yeah.
So, Rebecca, when you joined our firm, hadyou had any paralegal experience
prior to that?
Yes, I did,but it wasn't in family law specifically.
(03:16):
So I went to, technical collegeand got a paralegal degree
and then kind of moved to differentareas of law for probably eight years
before coming to Sterling.
Okay.
And so during that,once you joined us, were you working
directly with a lawyer or two?
(03:37):
Is that how you started?
Yeah.
I think to start, if I remember correctly,I was assigned to two attorneys
in the Fox region, and thenthat sort
of evolved to taking on attorneysin the Madison region
and the Menomonee Falls area.
So got some experiencein different counties, different court
(04:01):
rules and things like that. Okay.
So if we go back to 221 when you joinedour team, my recollection is that
we were doing about 13 million in revenueat that point today we're doing 17.5.
And so you've been a part major partof that growth over that period of time.
And then our teamitself, at what point did you move from
(04:21):
being a paralegalwithout direct reports to being one
that is now leading our team?
I would sayprobably a little over a year ago,
I stepped intoa role of training paralegals.
So new hires.
(04:42):
And then around the same time, startedsupervising the e-filing specialist team.
So having oversight over those things,but not quite having,
like, direct reports yet.
And then from there, I would saymaybe the timing is a little bit off
(05:05):
for maybe like 4 to 6 monthslater, stepped in to this management
role, overseeing all of the team members.
Yeah.
So from a standpoint of the compositionof your team, you have 11 paralegals
that report to you and they're basedeither in Illinois or Wisconsin.
(05:25):
Is that right?
Okay.
And thenyou have virtual legal assistance.
And what is that role?
We call that the vhlah role.
But what is that? Right.
So the VLA role is new, but it's almostjust another sort of assistant
for the attorneys.
And we look at it like, an attorney,paralegal and Bla team.
(05:48):
So the three of them are working together,to move cases forward.
And yeah.
And all of them are remote offshorein the Philippines.
Is that right?
Okay.
And how many villas do we have currently?
Right now.
We have four in Wisconsinand one in Illinois.
(06:10):
And that is growing.
Okay.
I know it's a role that wewe started with experimenting
with that role found successand now we're starting to
scale it out. Is that right?
Okay.
In addition to the valet roleyou also have the E filers.
Is that right.
(06:30):
And what do they doand how many are there?
So, the e filers will take anyand every document that is electronically
filed with the court.
So every documentand every case that we see,
they are pulling from the e-filing systemand sending the client for either
(06:52):
the client's information or for the clientto take action, notifying them
of hearings or upcoming court events,just things that they should be aware of.
So they're taking care of all ofthe documents that are filed in cases.
The VLA role also takeson that responsibility
(07:13):
and their job responsibilities.
So, we havehow many voice did I say before?
I think we have five. Right. So.
e filers, we would have three more.
So a total of 19 teammatesthat you report into.
(07:36):
You okay.
That's good.
Now let's go back a little bitto when you took on the role.
What has beenthe one of the lessons that have
that has stuck out toyou have been has been the most impactful
that you've learnedin leading a team of this size?
Doing what they're doing?
(07:59):
Yeah.
I mean, just to Rebeccato double down on that.
Let me think a little bit.
The fact that,this is your first management role
and you have so many directreports is a testimony
and a testament to your ability to lead.
So congratulations on that.
But we would love to hear,you know, how you thought about leading
this many individuals and being ableto carry on the the purpose of this role?
(08:24):
I think forme it is just knowing each of them
and what their strengths areand what their weaknesses are.
So however, I need to sort offind that out, whether it is
the one to ones or just kind of observingwhat interests them,
what types of tasks interests them.
(08:45):
That's something that I really lean intoand I don't know,
I think that is what helps mewith managing.
Yeah, it's kind of a tough questionbecause it's kind of just
do what you got to do and keep going,you know?
So let's walkthrough the typical onboarding process.
(09:08):
And how do you go about selectingonboarding training.
And then you know really releasing themto start working directly
with clients and attorneys.
So so starting firstwith our selection process I know that
our, our, our team will do a lotof the initial recruiting
and then they'll bring themthe candidate to you
after we've screened themfor culture in particular.
(09:29):
What what do you look for?
What what are some of the qualitiesthat stick out to you
that as you're going through thatprocess, you're hunting for?
I think that what I look for issomeone who is interested
in the context of what we're doing.
(09:51):
I think it's really easy to train peopleto just do the tasks, but to
have an interestand see the why behind what
we're doing, what we're doing dayto day is really important.
And I think you can tellthat in an initial interview.
(10:12):
Yeah, just an underlying interest in,and curiosity in what we're doing
as opposed to just doing the work.
Yeah.
Curiosity around family law in particular.
Not even family law.
Just.
Well, yeah. Family law.
(10:33):
But again, the why behind.
So the context of, you know,we have this document to draft,
but what does it do?
What does it do for the client?
What does it dofor, to move the case forward?
Things like that.
Family law is unlike other practice areas.
(10:53):
Your callers are not shoppingfor a service.
They're looking for someone who makes themfeel safe enough to share.
The worst thing happening in their life.
The firm that hears themfirst wins every time.
And that'swhat changed everything at Sterling.
We eventually built that system into fouractionable steps on this free training.
Mary Sankey, who leads our salesteam, is going to break down
(11:14):
the entire four step sales system.
She is sterling sales manager.
She's the one who runs itevery single day.
So go ahead and registerbelow for the sales secrets of an $18
million family law firm.
I'll see you there.
So what I'mif I were to unpack that a bit, you're
looking for folks who have curiosity onwhy they're doing what they're doing,
(11:35):
so they can learn thatyou don't have to explain
later on down the road, the next steps.
They just start to pick that up as theyas they execute.
Okay.
Once a teammate comes on board,a paralegal comes on board.
What is your process like to raise themup, train them,
and still the sterling wayinto what they're doing.
And what are some of the methodologiesuse you that you use there?
(12:01):
I think so.
Across the different positions,paralegals,
VLAs it sort of startsthe same where we are
kind of going through a typical day,starting with time management.
That's a really important thing I think,to have a foundation from the start.
So we're looking at all of the tasksthat need to be done in a day,
(12:26):
how you prioritize those tasks.
And I think it starts there.
Then we'll get intohow to actually deliver on those tasks.
So it's a lot of 1 to 1.
Training and onboarding,just going through examples.
And you know, the I doyou do method, so I think that there's
(12:54):
a good mix of new hire observingand then also doing the work as well
So when you say observing are they workingside by side with another paralegal.
Okay.
Yes, that's a good question.
So I would say the first weekwe're kind of going through
(13:16):
everything that they might see,which is a lot to take in your first week
on a new job.
And then sort of from therewe would have daily huddles, with me.
And then from there,yeah, there would be some sort
(13:37):
of like mentorshipwith another paralegal within the region
that they're.
So if you had your choicebetween choosing someone
with a ton of experience that maybe hassome different ways of doing things or
someone is just completely fresh to familylaw, what your what is your choice?
(14:00):
My preference is fresh to family law.
Okay.
And why is that?
I think that Sterlinghas some very specific
and unique standards.
Just like the use of technology and,spanning different regions
(14:24):
and different counties.
And that foundation is really important.
And I think that it's niceto have somebody, coming in
that doesn'thave their own way of doing things.
So, really just yeah,having that clean foundation.
(14:47):
I think is nice.
And it's Know,prior bad habits, what you're saying.
So when a teammate starts andshe begins day one,
not a whole lot of experience tillshe's at this point
where she's able to take on clientsdirectly, working directly with them.
How long does that process take?
(15:10):
I would say the full kind of trainingwhere we're having huddles
every day, work product is being reviewedis probably three months.
When a paralegal or legal assistantis starting to have that client
contact is probably after a month or so.
Again, just to get that foundation,yeah.
(15:36):
And I back on the huddle thing.
Are you personally huddlingwith all of your new teammates every day
and in the early weeks? Okay. Wow.
So you're giving theminstant feedback on how things went
for the day, that day in the day before?
as I can do the daily huddles,that is really important to me,
just going backto, like, picking up on what
(15:59):
everyone's strengths or weaknesses are,and sort of leaning into those
to sort of directthe training from there, I think
I'm. And are you also consultingwith the attorneys they work with?
They can get their feedbackon how the new teammates done.
(16:19):
Yeah.
So we'll have, an attorneyparalegal kick off
to kind of set the expectationsbetween a newer attorney
paralegal relationship.
So, we want to really designatewhat's an attorney
role or responsibilityand what a paralegal role
(16:40):
and responsibility is, and then also meetin the middle to discuss
kind of what is important to the attorneywhen it comes to working their cases.
Because attorneys preferences changeand our paralegals
are typically working with at least two.
So that's two attorneyswith two different preferences.
(17:03):
So we want to make sure that,the expectations are start
kind of are established from the start.
You were talkingearlier about your VLA teammates
and the E filers.
And the all eight of themare based in the Philippines.
Am I getting that rightthat, that that requires
(17:24):
a whole different set of managementskills and practices.
Can you walk us throughwhat you do to manage teammates
that are 12 hours away in terms of time,even on the on the clock, they're 12 hours
different than I was most of the year.
How do you do that?
(17:45):
I guesskind of the same way I would manage
us or local team members,a lot of communication,
a lot of one to ones.
Yeah, I guess I don't really dotoo much differently.
Because they work us hours Correct.
(18:08):
Yeah. So it's.
I don't 12 a.m. for them right now.
So with theirpractically speaking,
is there any difference betweenhow you manage
and lead a teammate here in the US versussomeone in the Philippines,
other than the fact that they aresitting in a different place,
you're still interfacing with themvia Google Meet right?
(18:31):
Okay.
So is there any practical differenceat all?
Beyond that role being just a new positionfor them in general,
it's all new and it's all different.
The language is different.
The kind ofexpectations can be different,
(18:51):
than what they had been usedto in different positions.
So I try to keep that in mindand give as much contacts behind again.
And the Y, you know,certain tasks or responsibilities
as much as possible.
We have many team members in thePhilippines over Rocket Clicks, as well.
(19:12):
And if you're considering leveragingsome offshore talent on your team,
the greatest advantage that we've foundis that fully integrating
these team members into your culture,into your hours, they should be treated
the exact same as everyone else,same one on one, same coaching cadence.
That has led to some incredible results.
(19:35):
I think on both sides,both the firm and the agency.
I think when we interview them,when we talk to them,
they always talk about thatfeeling of camaraderie and being
not an afterthought,but part of our culture.
And so I would just encourage anyonethinking about this to really embrace,
there's no difference hereother than where they live.
(19:56):
Yeah.
I 100% agree.
And I think that that's somethingthat's really fulfilling with the
or rewarding with the VLA programis that these team members
are getting direct accessto attorneys and paralegals
as opposed to just kind of,you know, working behind the scenes.
(20:19):
You know, they're slacking,you know, all day with their attorney
and paralegal teammates.
So I think that's really great.
This has been really, really informative.
Rebecca,let me just close with this question.
So you, a lot of our audience,they're leading their leading,
growing family law firms,and they're starting to scale
(20:40):
where they're adding paralegalsand leaders of paralegals.
And if you could talk to someonethat's just picking up
her first role, leading a team,what are some of the
what's some of the wisdomthat you would pass on to her?
Trust your team.
If you trust yourself and the peoplethat you are bringing into the team,
(21:04):
you know, there's got to be a reasonwhy you selected these people.
Trust that they'repart of the team for a reason.
And then trust their work.
I really that's like,all I can say is, you know,
everyone's going to make mistakes,but trust that they, like,
(21:24):
want to be doing what they're doing.
And so if they want to,you know, do the best
that they can for the rest of the team.
Yeah. That's great.
And what I've heard about youin particular is that you have a
you've done a great job in not micromanageyour team, but giving them enough
support to do their work.
(21:47):
But you're not standing over their headpointing out all the areas
you letting them make mistakes, helpingthem correct them and moving forward.
So you've done excellent with that.
So I want to just point that out to.
Thank staff.
Yeah.
I think that's really important is togive them a little bit of space to grow.
Yeah.
Well thank you for coming on the showand sharing with us on
(22:08):
how you're leading a team of paralegalsand virtual teammates, as well.
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