VA Newsday

[UPDATE]:  There’s a FAQ Call about the Academy for Legal Virtual Assistance scheduled for Thursday, Jan 29th at 3:00pm.  Please RSVP to Dana at academy4lva@gmail.com to join the call.  A recording will be available after the call for anyone that can’t make it for the live call. They should just send me an email requesting the link.

Live call-in number: 218-339-2500;   Access Code: 535373#

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For Immediate Release
Company: The Academy for Legal Virtual Assistance
Contact: Dana Fortier
Address: 23871 W. LeBost, Novi, MI 48375
Phone: 248-426-9974
Email: academy4lva@gmail.com
URL:  http://sites.google.com/site/academy4lva/

The Academy for Legal Virtual Assistance Announces its Spring Launch

Novi, MI  – January 26, 2009  – There’s a new training program available for legal virtual assistants and you can become a trained and certified legal virtual assistant in a matter of months, studying from the comfort of your own home.

Dana Fortier, a Michigan-based legal virtual assistant, owner of Fortier Business Solutions, which provides off-site virtual law office management to a number of in- and out-of state law firms, has founded The Academy for Legal Virtual Assistance.

The Academy is currently accepting members for its inaugural class which begins on March 31, 2009 and continues for 35 weeks. The course outline includes in-depth study of legal office applications, such as electronic filing procedures, ethics, and mock case studies, as well as the basics for running and maintaining a home-based business, including marketing, tax and accounting issues, business communications.

“In my past career as a legal assistant and as a department supervisor, it was always abundantly clear that quality support for attorneys is in high demand. Due to the recent economic factors, many law firms are looking for quality off-site support. The Academy is positioned in a way to provide the training for that support to law firms and attorneys,” says Ms. Fortier.

For the members of The Academy, web-based instruction will occur once each week for approximately two hours at a time, with homework and reading assigned. Reviews are scheduled to ensure that the learning is continued throughout the course. At the mid-point of the course, Part I of the Certification Exam will be administered. Coursework will proceed, following the same outline with web-based course instruction and built-in reviews, and concluding with an interactive group project and Part II of the Certification Exam.

Simply put, contracting off-site support is cost-effective in many ways. A small firm, or a solo-based attorney can leverage expenses by utilizing a qualified legal virtual assistant in any way from client communications, calendar management, handling discovery processes and even including legal research and writing. A legal virtual assistant can also enhance the office staff already in place by handling tasks that are overwhelming, or can be managed by an off-site person to free up the time of the in-office staff.

With so many career options available today, developing a niche as a legal virtual assistant has taken on new appeal. Stay-at-home parents and disabled people are also jumping on this fast career track. Working at home may not be everything you hope for. While it sounds like the ultimate liberation, you’ll probably have to give up some freedom to provide fast service on painfully short notice. Chances are, the small-business owners most likely to need you won’t call until they’re desperate. But then there’s the positive side of working at home, especially for stay-at-home parents: you’re there if your kids need you.

Dana Fortier is a Virtual Business Manager based in Novi, MI who specializes in virtual office support and virtual project management, with an emphasis on creating strategic partnerships for and with her clients.

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