3–4 finalists in about 2 weeks
- Finalist APractical task94
- Finalist BPractical task91
- Finalist CPractical task88
✓ Structured interview✓ References
LEAPSmokeballActionstepInfoTrack
Example pack. Scores out of 100.
A legal virtual assistant for your firm
A legal virtual assistant for Australian law firms: a Philippines-based legal assistant or paralegal who opens and maintains matters, prepares documents from your precedents and keeps deadlines and billing in order, hired and paid directly by your firm.
- Recruitment fee
- $5,000 once, excl. GST
- Monthly markup
- $0
- Shortlist
- 3–4 in about 2 weeks
- Replacement cover
- 6 months
What they take off your plate
- Open new matters, run conflict-check requests and set up files in your practice management system
- Record key dates and deadlines and maintain matter calendars
- Prepare first drafts of letters and documents from approved precedents
- Proofread, format and check cross-references before solicitor review
- Order searches and certificates and file results to the matter
- Index documents, build chronologies and prepare court or tribunal bundles
- Arrange appointments and send routine updates to clients within agreed limits
- Maintain time records, prepare draft invoices and follow up billing queries
Typical salary: $1,500 per month, paid by you directly.Source: Tarino’s typical salary for the role, October 2026.
Software we screen for
- LEAP
- Smokeball
- Actionstep
- InfoTrack
- PEXA
- Microsoft 365
- Adobe Acrobat
Legal assistant or offshore paralegal: what the role covers
Documents, deadlines and follow-ups are part of every matter, but they pull solicitors away from the work clients pay for. A legal assistant takes on the file work at each stage of a matter:
- Opening: set up the matter in your practice management system, run conflict-check requests and record key dates.
- Running the file: prepare first drafts from approved precedents, order searches and certificates through InfoTrack, and file results to the matter.
- Preparing for review or court: proofread and format documents, check cross-references, build chronologies and prepare bundles.
- Billing: maintain time records, prepare draft invoices and follow up billing queries.
Decide the mix you need. A legal assistant focused on matter administration and billing is a different hire from an offshore paralegal who drafts and prepares bundles. Both work well, but the brief should say which. Our page for law firms covers how firms usually split the work.
What stays with your solicitors
- Legal advice and every decision that needs professional judgement
- Review and sign-off of all documents before they leave the firm
- Court appearances, settlements and anything that requires a practising certificate
How we test legal assistants
Most legal outsourcing sends tasks to a shared team. We recruit one person for your firm, working under your supervision. Each search typically starts with 1,000+ candidates from job advertising, direct headhunting and referrals through vetted local networks in the Philippines. Of that starting pool, about 40% pass CV and quality screening, 20% the video screen, 10% the practical assessment and 5% the structured interview. Around 2% reach finalist review, and you receive a shortlist of 3–4, usually within about 2 weeks.
The practical assessment could include proofreading a sample document with errors in defined terms and cross-references, then indexing a set of correspondence into a chronology. When you interview, give a finalist a short precedent and a set of instructions. Look for precision, consistent formatting and questions that show they read the instructions closely.
What a monthly agency fee costs a firm
With a managed agency, your firm pays a fee every month on top of the assistant’s salary for as long as they stay. Staff Domain, for example, publishes $1,099 per person per month, about $13,188 a year, plus $1,200 per hire (checked October 2026). Over four years that is about $53,952 in fees.
With Tarino you pay a one-time fee, and your legal virtual assistant keeps their full salary because your firm pays them directly. Compare agency fees with a one-time fee, or work out the markup on your own salary figure.
Starting well
Give your assistant your precedent bank, file naming rules and a list of matter types they will touch, then review their first ten files closely. Read how 13th month pay works in the Philippines before you set the package. Partners who need diary and inbox support as well can add an executive assistant, and an IT support technician can look after access and devices. More than 95% of Tarino placements are still in the role at 6 months, so the time spent teaching your precedents stays with the firm. See the five screening stages.
How we screen for this role
- 01
Candidate pool
Applicants, headhunted candidates and referrals from vetted local networks build a pool of 1,000+ per role.
100%1,000+ people - 02
CV + quality screening
Experience, stability, written communication, responsiveness and attention to detail.
40%about 400 of 1,000 - 03
Video screening
Communication ability, professionalism and personality.
20%about 200 of 1,000 - 04
Practical assessment
Role-specific tasks test real capability and quality of work.
10%about 100 of 1,000 - 05
Structured interview
Judgement, ownership, communication, problem-solving and independent operation.
5%about 50 of 1,000 - 06
Finalist review
The strongest candidates are reviewed across every assessment stage.
2%about 20 of 1,000 Your shortlist
3–4 finalists with scorecards, practical-task results and independent reference checks, in about two weeks.
3–4people you meet
What a legal assistant really costs, three ways.
Pick a role. We compare the full cost of the same role three ways: a local hire in Australia, an offshore hire through a managed agency, and an offshore hire made directly with Tarino.
Total cost over 2 years, excl. GST
$190,000 typical salary + 12% super
$36,000 salary + $27,576 agency fees
$36,000 salary + $5,000 one-time fee
$22,57636%
vs a local hire, you keep $171,800
Sources and method
Agency: Staff Domain's published rate, $1,099/month + $1,200 per hire, split across the month 3 and 4 invoices, checked October 2026. Salaries: Tarino’s typical offshore and Australian salary for each role, plus 12% super on the Australian figure. Excl. GST.
Legal assistant: common questions
Is legal outsourcing safe for confidential client files?
It can be, when your firm controls the access. Your legal assistant works in LEAP, Smokeball or Actionstep under a named login with limited permissions, and confidentiality terms go in the contract. Tarino doesn't hold your client files. Decide which matters suit the role, use multi-factor authentication and remove access the day someone leaves.
Can an offshore legal assistant advise our clients?
No. The role supports your solicitors. Advice, professional judgement and supervision stay with your legal practitioners, who review every document before it leaves the firm. Define the work, client communications and approval limits before the person starts, and give them approved wording for routine client updates.
Do candidates have legal qualifications?
Experience and qualifications vary. If a law degree, paralegal experience or a particular practice area such as conveyancing or family law is essential, put it in the brief and we assess for it during the search. The shortlist notes where each finalist would need training on Australian procedure.
Who hires the legal assistant?
Your firm does. You hire and pay your legal assistant directly, so they receive their full salary. Tarino charges a one-time recruitment fee per hire, with no monthly markup. Pricing is on our pricing page, and Tarino placements come with 6-month replacement cover for the same role, under the conditions in our terms.
Let’s find your next superstar.
Book a 30-minute call. No pitch, no pressure, just a straight conversation about your business and whether Tarino is the right fit.
Book a free call