CASE STUDY
8 Extra Hours of Daily Case Progression: How Littles Lawyers Built a “Never Sleeps” Legal Support Team
Industry:
Legal Services (Compensation Law)
Network Size:
150+ onshore team members (and growing)
Headquarters:
Australia (multi-state presence)
Littles Lawyers is an Australian compensation firm that supports people after life-changing events such as workplace injuries, Compulsory Third Party (CTP) accidents, total and permanent disability (TPD) claims, and institutional abuse matters.
“We work with clients at some of the most difficult points in their lives,” says Chloe Christofis, Senior Paralegal of Littles Lawyers. “The work is heavy, but it’s also incredibly important. Getting things right and getting them done efficiently really matters.”
As the firm expanded across Queensland, Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania, the administrative workload grew alongside case volume and complexity.
Years with Emapta:
Since 2021
Remote Team:
15 to 20 support team members in Vietnam, plus a 5-person specialist team in Macedonia
The Challenge: Brilliant Lawyers, Buried in Admin
As Littles Lawyers grew, highly skilled lawyers were spending too many hours chasing records, formatting documents, and drafting routine letters. Matters became more complex, files more numerous, and capacity was increasingly stretched.
“At a certain point, demand just outpaces what you can reasonably do within standard office hours,” Chloe explains. “You either slow down, or you rethink how the work gets done.”
The work is emotionally and technically demanding. A single claim can involve multiple doctors, specialist reports, and detailed chronologies. Barristers need clear briefs to assess liability and likely outcomes. Disclosure requires carefully prepared records and correspondence.
“If any of that slows down,” Chloe says, “the client’s recovery, financially and emotionally, can slow with it.”
Littles Lawyers needed a model that would:
- Keep matters progressing when local teams were at capacity
- Improve the quality and completeness of briefs and disclosure
- Give lawyers more time for client work and legal strategy
That led them to Emapta.
The Turning Point: A Support Model Built to Extend the Legal Day
Littles Lawyers worked with Emapta to build a support team that keeps files moving after hours while keeping workflows and quality standards inside the firm. Emapta manages recruiting, HR, facilities, and compliance, while Littles Lawyers retains full control of priorities, processes, and review.
“From day one, the offshore staff worked as an extension of our firm,” Chloe says. “Not as a separate supplier.”
Phase 1: Vietnam Support for Case Administration
In Vietnam, the team supports the back end of matters by:
- Drafting authorities and routine correspondence
- Filing documents and sending requests for information
- Preparing documents and completing admin-heavy tasks for solicitors
“Having that added layer really helps the business run smoother and at a much bigger scale,” Chloe says. “It allows our onshore staff to spend less time on admin and more time engaging with clients.”
Phase 2: Macedonia for Specialist Briefs and After-Hours Progression
Littles Lawyers then built a 5-person specialist team in Macedonia focused on:
- Medical and counsel briefs
- Disclosure packs
- Key pre-hearing preparation tasks
The team works from about 5:00 p.m. Australia time until around midnight or 1:00 a.m. For them, that is a standard workday. For Littles Lawyers, it means matters continue progressing after local offices close.
“Our CEO always had this big-picture vision of the business never sleeping,” Chloe explains. “Having a team working while Australia sleeps means matters are always progressing.”
Because everyone works inside Littles Lawyers’ case and task systems, handovers are straightforward:
- The Australian team progresses a matter during the day
- When they log off, the Macedonian team picks it up and completes the next set of tasks
- By morning, files are ready for review and the next stage of work
“There’s no waiting around,” Chloe says. “We log on, and the work is already there.”
From Learning Curve to “Well-Oiled Machine”
As the Macedonian team ramped up, Littles Lawyers and Emapta invested in:
- Careful hiring for resilience and attention to detail
- Structured training on systems, terminology, and context
- Direct collaboration with Australian leaders for feedback and Q&A
- Fast adjustments to workflows and communication as needed
“There were a lot of long nights,” Chloe says. “But now it genuinely feels like a well-oiled machine. It doesn’t feel like offshore and onshore. It feels like one office.”
The Results: Extra Hours, Clear Output, More Time for Clients
Today, the Vietnam and Macedonia teams work as an integrated extension of Littles Lawyers’ support function. The impact shows up in daily operations and turnaround time.
- Up to 8 extra hours of daily case progression
With the Macedonian team working after hours, matters keep moving while Australian offices are closed.
- Stronger briefs and disclosure preparation
The specialist team prepares medical and counsel briefs and disclosure packs in a consistent structure, reducing gaps and improving clarity for review.
- Visible output and faster turnaround
Using the firm’s task platform, leaders can see how many briefs are created, queued for review, and finalized each day and each week, which improves planning and workload forecasting.
- More time for lawyers to focus on clients
With admin and document preparation handled offshore, onshore staff can spend more time on client support, negotiations, and legal strategy.
- Capacity that scales with demand
As the firm grows, it can expand support coverage and responsibilities without overloading Australian offices.
Building Your Own “Never Sleeps” Legal Support Team
If you lead a legal practice or manage complex workflows in a growing organization, Littles Lawyers offers a practical example of how to structure support across time zones without losing control of quality.
Key Takeaways:
- Design teams to work across time zones by splitting responsibilities and building reliable handovers
- Start with outcome-driving work and expand scope as confidence and capability grow
- Use shared systems so everyone works from the same source of truth
- Integrate offshore staff as part of the firm through training, feedback, and shared standards
- Choose a partner with professional services experience across hiring, governance, and delivery
“At the end of the day, it’s about clients,” Chloe says. “We want fast, high-quality outcomes, and we need the right support to make that happen.”
Littles Lawyers shows it is possible to scale a specialist practice, protect your standards, and keep matters progressing beyond local office hours.
From day one, the offshore staff worked as an extension of our firm—not as a separate supplier. It genuinely feels like a well-oiled machine. It doesn’t feel like offshore and onshore. It feels like one office.
Chloe Christofis
Senior Paralegal, Littles Lawyers
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