When the petition workload outgrows your day, there are two obvious moves: hire a paralegal, or outsource the drafting to a Virtual Bankruptcy Assistant. Both can work. They solve different problems, and the right choice depends on your volume and how much of the file you want in the building.
Overhead
An in-house hire comes with recruiting, payroll, tax withholding, insurance, benefits, workspace and equipment. It also comes with sick days, holidays and a salary that continues in a slow month.
With a VBA you are buying a service. There is no payroll and no benefits, and you pay per petition, so the cost follows the work that actually comes in. The trade-off is that you do not get someone who is physically present for everything else the office needs.
Capacity and flexibility
A paralegal has a fixed number of hours. If filings double in a month, so does the backlog. A VBA is a way to add capacity quickly, and to scale it down again, without a hiring decision. Some also offer evening and weekend availability for emergency filings, which most office staff do not.
If your volume is steady and high enough to keep someone busy on a wide range of tasks all week, an in-house hire may make more sense. If it is lumpy, outsourcing the petition drafting often fits better.
Training and the learning curve
An in-house paralegal usually has to be trained on your software, your forms and your trustee's preferences. A VBA who does this all day has typically already done that for other firms, and only needs your local-rule preferences and your own way of working. Some NAVBA members have also passed the Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 certification exams. Certification is optional, and whether to require it is entirely your decision.
Control and supervision
An in-house employee is easy to supervise because they are in the room. With a remote assistant, supervision is a process: clear instructions, a defined review step and a way to send corrections back. Either way, you remain the attorney of record and the person responsible for what is filed. We cover this in more detail in how to supervise a remote assistant without losing quality.
Risk
- Client confidentiality. Wherever the work is done, the same duties apply. Ask how a VBA protects and backs up client data, and how they dispose of sensitive information. NAVBA members pledge to do both in the Code of Ethics.
- Dependence on one person. One in-house hire leaves a gap when they are out. A good VBA arrangement can be reinforced by having more than one person you know and trust.
- Quality. Neither option removes the need to review. Both work best with a checklist.
You do not have to choose
Many practices keep a paralegal for client contact and court deadlines and outsource the petition drafting. To test the arrangement, send a single case, review the result, and decide from there. You can browse the NAVBA directory for free or request a VBA and we will point you to members who are accepting work.
This article is general information about bankruptcy practice, not legal advice. Local rules, trustee preferences and state law vary, so confirm current requirements for your jurisdiction.
