The Cost Math
XPRTS vs Hiring In-House: The Comparison Law Firms Actually Need to Make
The real comparison isn’t XPRTS vs. a competitor. It’s XPRTS vs. the way you’re currently staffing your firm. Here’s the honest breakdown.
Full Cost Comparison
What a Hire Actually Costs
Intake Specialist / Legal Assistant role — $50,000 base salary equivalent
Cost component
In-house U.S. hire
XPRTS remote staff
Base compensation
$50,000/year
Significantly lower — contact for current rates
Employer taxes (7.65%)
$3,825/year
Handled by XPRTS
Benefits (health, dental, PTO)
$8,000–$15,000/year
Handled by XPRTS
Recruiting cost
$5,000–$15,000 per search
Included
Onboarding time (founder hours)
20–40 hours @ $300/hr = $6,000–$12,000
Included — staff arrive trained
Ramp period productivity gap
60–90 days at 40–60% productivity
Reduced — Bay Legal training accelerates ramp
SOP creation (if none exist)
Additional founder time — 10–30 hours
XPRTS builds SOPs as part of engagement
Failed hire cost (if they don’t work out)
3–4x salary = $150K–$200K
Lower risk — infrastructure reduces failure causes
Total first-year cost (successful hire)
$70,000–$95,000+
Materially lower — request current pricing
The Case for XPRTS
When XPRTS Outperforms In-House Hiring
- Your firm doesn’t have SOPs for the role yet — XPRTS builds them
- Your Clio or Lawmatics isn’t configured — XPRTS configures it
- You need intake, billing, or admin support — roles where system fluency matters
- You’ve had bad hire experiences before — the infrastructure-first model reduces failure causes
- You want staff who arrive trained in legal workflows, not learning on your time
- You want lower total cost with comparable or better output quality
The Case for In-House Hiring
When In-House Is the Right Answer
- The role requires physical presence — court appearances, in-person client work
- The role requires deep local jurisdiction knowledge
- You’re hiring a senior attorney or partner-track position
- Your firm is large enough to have dedicated HR and management capacity
- You have strong existing systems and just need capacity — and prefer a local team
The Honest Answer
It Depends on Your Infrastructure
Neither XPRTS nor in-house hiring works without the right infrastructure. The question to ask before any hire — remote or local — is: do I have the SOPs, the configured technology, and the defined role that will make this person successful? If not, build that first. Then hire.
Not Sure Which Platform Is Right for Your Firm?
Request a free Strategy Review. We’ll audit your current tech situation and give you a specific recommendation.