I began my paralegal career working for one attorney, in one specific area of law. Looking back on that time, I remember personal injury work was so demanding.
I felt like I was constantly putting out fires and shuffling paperwork. I thought I was busy then, but nothing prepared me for the circus act of juggling multiple cases for multiple attorneys in different practice areas. I mean really, how hard could it be?
Great paralegals tend to have qualities like attention to detail, organization, and time management. But I believe that a great paralegal also can see beyond self-doubt and fear to be able to tackle anything head-on. So, when I was tasked with assisting different attorneys who all practiced in different areas of the law… I thought – Challenge accepted.
I must admit my experience as a personal injury paralegal probably gave me a slight advantage. I was used to managing client calls, updates to insurance adjusters, answering discovery, and drafting demand letters, complaints, and medical summaries all pretty much at the same time.
And when my time as a PI paralegal ended, I felt much more prepared for whatever came my way. The difference then was I only had one attorney’s expectations to live up to. And if you don’t have that background to help build your tolerance and confidence, then the immense work that comes with working for multiple attorneys in different practice areas can be overwhelming, to say the least.
In this blog post, I’ll share some helpful advice for paralegals who work for multiple attorneys.
1. Use Your Words
This phrase is often used in childcare settings when toddlers start learning to communicate. I found it fitting for the first bit of advice to paralegals who work for multiple attorneys.
We know that attorneys are bombarded by phone calls, emails, memos, and meetings. So, there is always the unsettling chance that something gets lost in translation or misunderstood.
In my journey as this “catch-all, be-all” paralegal, I have come to realize that there is great importance in knowing when to speak up and use my words. The attorneys know that I’m doing different things for different people, but it’s just not always on their radar.
I’ve had to learn the hard way the difference between saying “Yes, I’ll do this” and “Yes, I will do this when I’m finished doing that.” Knowing when to use your words is extremely helpful in setting expectations with your attorneys and you need to be specific in setting expectations when you’re tasked with taking on additional work.
If you’re in the middle of doing something for an attorney, then you need to make that clear if another attorney asks you to take on another file. Ask questions like, “Do you need this taken care of right now?” or “Is there an important deadline?” Clear and direct communication will be the key to balancing your caseload between multiple attorneys.
Learn the 7 C’s of Paralegal Communication.
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2. Set Boundaries
Even though we are comparable to superheroes, every paralegal has their limit. I realized that at the moment I started to feel myself falling behind on my to-do list or felt like the work was piling up and that I was doing something wrong.
I draft documents for the land use attorney, I handle probate for the estate planning attorney, and I dissolve LLCs for the corporate attorney. I’m working in many different areas of law and in different courts, which all have their unique deadlines and procedures. Every client matters whether it’s the business owner waiting for the liquor license to be approved, or the widow who has no clue how to settle her spouse’s estate.
I have to know my limits and communicate them clearly to my attorneys because otherwise, I am not going to be very good at this paralegal thing. Sometimes, you need to say, “If this needs to be done right away, I can’t do it.”
I’ve cut back on some of the other administrative tasks I was handling that I could no longer do while maintaining my paralegal caseload. My goal as a paralegal has always been to provide the best service I can in whatever capacity or role I’m tasked with, whether it’s opening a file or drafting a deed.
To successfully manage our cases, we have to know when we’ve taken on too much and can’t keep up. When you’re assisting multiple attorneys in various types of matters, setting boundaries internally and externally will help you bob and weave. The work that we do as paralegals directly reflects our caseloads. My advice is to be confident enough to use your words, that way you will be able to set those necessary boundaries.
Here are 6 tips for reducing paralegal stress.
3. Learn and Re-learn Time Management
You think you’re good at something until you’re not. I used to think I was pretty good at managing my time in the office, but I still had a lot to learn. Managing your time in a personal injury paralegal position differs from managing time when you’re working on different matters for separate attorneys.
The idea of assisting multiple attorneys seemed easy to me at first. I figured because I had been a personal injury paralegal that I was prepared. Then I found myself trying to do it all.
I would be working on one thing for an attorney when another would walk in and ask me to do something else. I would shift gears and just come back to whatever I was originally working on.
As you can imagine that method quickly spiraled out of control like having too many internet browser tabs open at once. It took me several weeks to adjust.
I had to learn how to designate days to work on estate planning documents and decipher what can wait and what can’t. I thought I was done with my to-do list days, but I utilized one until I figured out the key to this balancing act which was learning to manage my time more efficiently. Like choosing one day out of the week to focus on a specific task or designating a day for callbacks.
I learned it from one of my co-workers who records deeds every Thursday. If the attorney just had a consultation with the clients to prepare estate planning documents, I have a few days before I need to jump on it. The process is never perfect, but it is practical and when you’re juggling the needs and wants of multiple attorneys, it’s everything.
Here’s how to perform a time audit to help avoid overwhelm.
4. Be Intuitive and Think Ahead
The ability to read the room is another fantastic quality of a good paralegal. Learning your attorneys’ subtle cues and preferences will help you excel in your career.
Working for multiple attorneys has taught me that every attorney has a different method to their madness. There are extremely organized attorneys, who want their files set up a certain way and then there are attorneys who are a little more relaxed in their organization and welcome the guidance of a paralegal to handle it all.
I work for both types. It is an adjustment to learn the different practices of each attorney. It can be frustrating because you’re used to doing one thing a certain way and here comes something different.
I get it, but as paralegals, we have to adapt or get a new job! I think being intuitive to know what your attorney needs is crucial to managing the caseload of multiple attorneys.
If I know that one attorney needs everything printed out, then I just automatically do it. On the flip side, if I know that an attorney is more inclined to review documents electronically, then I know to create a folder for them and save the documents there.
For a while, the attorneys would remind me, but then I learned to think ahead. I learned their likes and dislikes (through trial and error). With all that the attorneys have on their plates; it is a breath of fresh air when the paralegal does things without having to be told.
Read this to see what it looks like to be a proactive paralegal.
5. Organize Your Office and Everywhere
You don’t need me to tell you how important it is to be organized as a paralegal. In fact, organizational skills are always listed as a necessary skill when applying for a paralegal position. If you don’t have any, you must learn.
When you’re working for multiple attorneys, you’re tested to the max in your organizational skills. It’s one thing to be organized in your PI case load, but it’s another to be organized in probating an estate, handling a liquor license mailing or drafting estate planning documents.
The information, the timeline, all of it must be organized by you as the paralegal. I wasn’t sure how that looked at first because the attorneys I work for all handle things differently. They don’t have case lists, they needed me to be organized for them. I figured as long as I kept my office organized, I would be fine.
I realized though that in order for the office as a whole to function properly, all of it needed to be organized. If you’re staring at that supply closet with disgust right now, this is your sign. Our office is small, so it is up to us as the paralegals to tackle these types of responsibilities.
I’ve organized attorney filing rooms, the supply closet, the copy room, in fact I eventually re-organized the entire office slapping a label on anything I could (pictured above). And guess what? My boss was like “I can find what I need without searching for it, this is great!”
Check out these 10 paralegal career takeaways from 2023.
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My journey so far has been quite an eye-opening experience! I never thought I would want to be a paralegal who works for multiple attorneys. But now, I’m excited every day when I come to work because I just don’t know what the day holds.
I often think of the old saying “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” because I feel like that’s exactly what I am doing here. I can do substantive paralegal work while also learning the different areas of law.
I set out to learn as much as possible as a paralegal and there’s no better way to do that than being involved in as much as I can. I’m getting experience in multiple areas of law versus just one specific area which makes me a well-rounded rockstar paralegal!
Find out the 10 things attorneys look for in a paralegal.
Meet the Author
Christina West is a paralegal at Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze, P.A. After practicing in personal injury for six years, she decided to expand her knowledge of the law and transitioned into a real estate paralegal role. After a year of learning all things real estate, her journey led her to her current firm where she handles a variety of matters for multiple attorneys.
She is a Delaware native and graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She continued her education at Delaware Technical Community College earning her Paralegal Certificate in 2017. She is the Newsletter Editor of the Delaware Paralegal Association since 2021. She lives at the beach with her family, and enjoys reading, movies, and being outdoors.
