In the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak, businesses across several industries have embraced remote working, and legal is not an exception. Today, law firms are working remotely, transforming how they operate.
Legal professionals are collaborating with their colleagues from home, court, or client offices by utilizing various hardware and software tools that are rapidly becoming omnipresent. On the other hand, to leverage remote work settings while saving costs, many law firms are turning to virtual paralegal solutions and external firms that provide legal support services remotely.
However, amid this race for building flexible capabilities to work remotely, law firm administration has usually been overlooked. Given its importance in managing the entire law firm, mainly while attorneys work remotely, let’s read some of the greatest law firm management tips to optimize remote work for your law firm.
Tips To Optimize Your Law Firm’s Remote Work
1. Invest in Technology to Improve Various Functions
To operate efficiently in a remote work setting, as a law firm owner, you will need to invest in the right technologies, including software applications for different functions, two of which are discussed below.
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(a) Document management
Considering the growing need to ensure document security during remote work, you need to start using cloud-based document management software to improve the storage, accessibility, processing, and security of documents.
(b) Project management
Many law firms are not using any basic or specialized project management system. This is one reason their project files usually remain unorganized, increasing the lack of awareness among staff about project timelines. Therefore, to optimize the remote work of your law firm, project management software (in addition to the above two) is a must to include in your technology investment plan.
2. Foster Digital Communication & Collaboration
Communication plays a key role when a team consisting of multiple attorneys or paralegals works on a case. Attorneys need to discuss several things related to their cases, and the remote working scenario raises challenges. To make your staff efficiently work remotely, you need to implement excellent communication systems that can bridge the distance between them.
You may consider using Skype, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or other professional tools to foster communication and collaboration in your law firm. When things go well in virtual operations, law firm administration becomes more effortless and manageable. And all of this will not only optimize your firm‘s workflow in a remote work setting but also enhance efficiency, productivity and reduce TAT.
3. Keep a Check on Your Clients’ Requirements
Although federal and state governments have lifted off several restrictions, many clients and legal professionals still want to avoid physically visiting law firms and offices, respectively. However, communication between an attorney and a client is vital, and the feeling of disconnection is a considerable setback.
For example, your staff might be preparing a case differently, while your client might want something else to be the case’s central point. In such situations, discrepancies can lead to delayed results or even cause failure.
Therefore, calling your clients and enquiring about their needs will help you keep the entire staff (associated with their respective cases) on the same page. This clear communication will lead to better performance even when your team works remotely.
4. State KRAs and Targets Clearly
First things first, observe and determine if the new normal has shifted your targets or not. If so, try to find the causes behind that shift. Yes, in these highly uncertain times, keep your staff informed about the changing legal business practices, team objectives, client demands, etc.
Moreover, some of your staff members might be first-time remote workers; therefore, you need to ensure they know their key responsibility areas (KRAs) or make a formal document stating what they are expected to do daily.
Besides that, you need to lay your trust in your employees. Although it is a tough deal, especially when they are working from somewhere else, and you are supervising them from somewhere else, it is vital to trust your staff and their effort to perform at their best.
5. Seek External Support When Needed
Legal process outsourcing can be a game-changer in today’s remote work environment. Small law firms that may not have the required resources to handle large cases can get assistance from external firms and take on opportunities they might have missed otherwise.
You can outsource tedious, repetitive, and time-consuming legal back-office jobs to a reliable legal support provider. That way, you can reap all the benefits of having in-house paralegals at lower costs without needing to hire full-time legal associates that most of your firm’s workload is shared with your partner, and you get more time to focus on remote work optimization. In addition to that, you can redeploy your staff to other important tasks that create value for your clients and law firm.
6. Review the Overall Picture of Your Law Firm Regularly
Law firm owners need to constantly keep an eye on their firm’s performance and financial health. They need to proactively handle challenging situations and rectify problems before they become worse and cause any damage. For this, they need to regularly review crucial metrics that assess billable hours, employee performance, client satisfaction, overhead costs, profitability, etc.
If you are not doing this, it is time to dive into the pool of internal and external data and examine your law firm’s performance. After that, you will have enough insights that will help you make sound decisions for remote operations and finance management.
Conclusion
Technology has made it possible for law firms to enable their employees to work from home or other locations. Yes, in the new normal, the legal industry is ready to move further and manage more legal functions virtually. Attorneys and law firms are increasingly adopting LegalTech to work even while not being in the office. However, they seem to be slow in building management strategies, which is crucial to surviving in today’s new realities.
Effective remote work and staff management can result in greater efficiency, higher performance, and more productivity revenue. Are you ready to optimize your remote work operations effectively? Get our legal experts’ assistance with back-office processes and free yourself to focus on critical areas like evaluation, operations management, business development, client servicing, etc. To learn how we can help you improve the overall picture of your law firm, contact Legal Support World today. Dial +1 646 688 2821 Or send an email to [email protected].
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