Executive Summary
Law firms face rising costs. A paralegal costs $4,583-7,083/month. A legal assistant costs $3,750-5,417/month. A document review specialist costs $4,583-6,500/month. These fixed costs strain profitability for small and mid-sized firms.
Global staffing cuts these costs by 59-73%. Hire pre-vetted professionals from cost-effective regions. Get strong research, writing, and analytical skills. A paralegal costing $7,083/month in the US costs $2,000-2,500/month globally. Same quality, 65% less cost.
The Legal Staffing Challenge
Law firms operate in an environment where expertise and client relationships drive value, yet delivery requires significant time investment in research, document review, and case preparation. An associate billing at $300-500/hour might spend 60% of their time on tasks that don't require their expertise. A partner might spend hours on document review that could be delegated.
Core Staffing Challenges:
Difficult to Leverage Attorney Time
Partners billing at $400-600/hour spend significant time on research and document review that could be handled by paralegals
Expensive Specialized Support
Paralegals at $6,000-8,000/month strain budgets for firms with under $2M revenue
Case Load Fluctuations
Litigation cycles and case demands create feast-or-famine staffing challenges
Cost Analysis: US vs Global Talent
Paralegal
US Salary Range
$4,583-7,083/month
Global Talent Rate
$2,000-2,500/month
Handles legal research, document drafting, case preparation, client communication, and court filing. For firms managing 20-30 active cases, dedicated paralegals ensure consistent execution while freeing attorneys for strategy and client relationships.
Legal Assistant / Legal Secretary
US Salary Range
$3,750-5,417/month
Global Talent Rate
$1,500-1,900/month
Manages calendaring, client intake, document organization, correspondence, and administrative coordination. For firms where attorneys spend hours on scheduling and document management, dedicated assistants dramatically improve efficiency.
Document Review Specialist
US Salary Range
$4,583-6,500/month
Global Talent Rate
$1,850-2,300/month
Reviews discovery documents, identifies relevant materials, codes documents for privilege, and prepares summaries. For litigation firms handling large document productions, global specialists enable cost-effective review at scale.
💡 use Model Transformation
Hiring 2 global paralegals ($60K/year) instead of 1 US paralegal ($85K/year) creates 2:1 use while saving $25K annually. This enables 40% more case capacity and 50% increase in partner compensation.
Role-Specific Applications
Legal Research & Writing
Legal research requires analytical skills, attention to detail, and understanding of legal principles. Global paralegals bring strong research capabilities, familiarity with legal databases (Westlaw, LexisNexis), and ability to produce well-organized research memos.
What to Expect:
Global paralegals typically have 3-5 years of legal research experience, law degrees from their home countries, and understanding of US legal system fundamentals. They can conduct case law research, statutory analysis, and regulatory research across federal and state jurisdictions.
Expect research memos that follow your firm's format, include proper citations (Bluebook or ALWD), and identify relevant authorities. Most paralegals adapt to your quality standards within 5-7 projects.
Document Review & Discovery
Document review is time-intensive work that doesn't require attorney expertise but must be done accurately. Global document reviewers handle large-scale review projects at a fraction of US costs while maintaining quality and confidentiality.
Implementation Strategy:
Start by having your reviewer complete a small test set (100-200 documents) while you continue handling others. Provide detailed review protocols including relevance criteria, privilege guidelines, and coding instructions.
Most reviewers achieve 95%+ accuracy within 2-3 weeks. For large productions (10,000+ documents), global teams can review 50-75 documents per hour per reviewer while maintaining quality.
Case Preparation & Client Support
Case preparation involves organizing evidence, preparing exhibits, drafting routine correspondence, and coordinating with clients and opposing counsel. Global legal assistants handle these tasks efficiently while attorneys focus on strategy.
Ideal Use Cases:
- •Organizing case files and maintaining document management systems
- •Preparing trial binders, exhibit lists, and witness files
- •Drafting routine correspondence and status updates to clients
- •Coordinating discovery responses and document productions
Common Concerns Addressed
"Can they maintain client confidentiality?"
Confidentiality is paramount in legal work. Global team members are bound by the same confidentiality agreements as US-based staff, with additional safeguards including secure technology infrastructure, regular training, and clear protocols for handling privileged information. Many firms require background checks and professional liability insurance.
"What about bar admission requirements?"
Global legal professionals work under attorney supervision and do not provide legal advice directly to clients (the same model as US-based paralegals. All work product is reviewed by licensed attorneys before client delivery. This structure complies with unauthorized practice of law rules while enabling significant cost savings.
"How do we ensure quality and accuracy?"
Implement standardized review workflows, quality checklists, citation verification, and regular feedback. Most firms find that accuracy rates for properly vetted global professionals match or exceed US-based staff within 60 days. When errors occur, they're usually process-related rather than capability-related and can be addressed through clearer guidelines.
Browse Legal Roles
Explore all pre-vetted legal roles available for your firm:
Virtual Paralegal
Handles legal research, document drafting, case preparation, and discovery support.
Legal Researcher
Conducts comprehensive legal research and produces well-organized research memos.
Document Review Specialist
Reviews discovery documents, codes for privilege, and prepares summaries.