Imagine going into work and being told your office will now begin working remotely and that you will need to come up with a plan to make that happen. What do you do? An untold number of law firms faced that obstacle over the last year, some having success and others not. What created the successful law firms, and how can we apply what they learned for future success stories?
Law.com featured three (3) firms in their recent April 6, 2021 article “Four Things To Learn From The People Who Saved Law Firms,” which included tips on how their firms “thrived” using technology.
Christopher McDaniel, CIO of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, received an email in January of 2020, telling him that Covid-19 was spreading. He needed to come up with a plan to allow approximately 450 associates to work remotely. Similarly, Bradley Bragg, CIO of Womble Bond Dickinson, began working on a plan for his 1,300 lawyers and staff members to access the firm’s network remotely.
Most attorneys had remote access and were able to work from court, mediations, etc., but for the majority of non-attorneys, this was new. Lance Rea, CIO of Baker Donelson, estimated 40% of the people working in their 21 offices did not have remote access when Covid-19 began; however, this process was “very equalizing” as it put everyone on the same plane. That was the first step in creating a successful remote firm.
The remaining steps included the following:
- Scrutinize home internet connections;
- View paperless practice as (close to) reality; and,
- Work isn’t a place. It’s an activity.
Click here to learn more about how the referenced firms utilized technology to thrive in the face of an immediate and overwhelming challenge.
Advocate Capital, Inc. faced this same challenge when we began working remotely on March 9, 2020. We are thankful to our great Operations Team, who made the successful transition to continue serving our national clients.
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