The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

Lawyers have always been better at managing their employees in-person.  Law firms prefer butts in seats . . . of course, now those butts are in seats at their own homes.  There’s no more managing by walking around.  There’s no more looking over shoulders.  Even as offices begin to reopen, they will do so in a way that contemplates social distancing, at least in the near-term.   The good news is that there is a better way to manage case progress; and, it’s suitable  for pandemic and post-pandemic life.   At this point, most of the major productivity and case management tools include workflow features.  Workflows are simply aggregations of tasks, strung together.  What workflow tools allow you to do is to create groups of tasks at the same time, rather than task-by-task.  So, not only does workflow management make it easier to create sets of tasks, it also makes it easier for employees to manage those tasks, and for supervisors to review p...

Most law firms are distributed businesses, at this point.  And, even as states begin to slowly reopen during the continuing coronavirus pandemic, they are likely to remain that way, at least in part, moving forward.  But, even as the economy leaves the pandemic in its wake, at some future point, the way that people work is likely to be changed forever.  That, in part, means that working from  home  will become more accepted in the law firm environment, and  a larger part of every lawyer’s workday.   What the pandemic has exposed is that there are significant advantages to working from  home , many of which are centered around cost savings, including: the reduction of a physical office footprint, the move to cloud services and a reduction in commuting costs and times for employees and staff.     One of the reasons that law firms have not more fully engaged remote work/distributed workforces, is because there are no rails around that proce...

For years, law firms have been able to access reduced overhead expenses, across  a number of  categories, including office space, about which we wrote last week.  But, that cost reduction can extend to technology and staffing, as well -- especially since  technology upgrades often lead to workflow automation, which often reduces the size of staff, or focuses existing staff on  more important, less rote tasks.   Yet, all those advantages have existed for law firms for years, and they have been reluctant to take advantage, for whatever reasons.  Even now, as the genera l  economy and law practice have been shaken,  many attorneys remain resistant to change their  decisionmaking  to reflect the realities of a modern, virtual l egal practice .     There’s also this: With unprecedented economic pressure in place,  the vast majority of  law firms will start to virtualize, which carries with it reduced office space requ...

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has changed many of lawyers’ closely-held beliefs about how to run a law practice.  Not a single aspect of law firm business management is being left unexamined.  And, as law firm concerns over revenue grow, cost - cutting measure s  begin to intercede.  At this point, a number of law firms have furloughed staff; but, many have held onto the second largest office expense: the office itself.   That may change, however, as social distancing requirements linger.  If no one, or fewer people, are at the office, your law firm won’t require as much office space.  And, it’s likely that you and your employees are becoming far more proficient in working at home.   If those trends continue, it’s the smart business decision to reduce office space, and so your monthly rental nut.     Of course, that was the smart move before you ever even heard of the coronavirus; but, you were probably too afraid to pull the tri...

Lots of lawyers remain unsure about what do during mass quarantining.   They’re  uncertain about how to move their businesses forward, so they do . . . nothing.   That’s  the wrong play .     A number of law firms are shutting down intake, reducing advertising spend and limiting marketing efforts.  Now, however, is exactly the time to be ramping up your efforts in marketing online.  Consumers who are looking for lawyers are seeking guidance; and, for those consumers, a lawyer’s guidance has never been needed as much as it is now.     Many attorneys don’t want to market their services right now in light of the coronavirus pandemic, because they don’t want to be seen as profiting from tragedy.  Most law firms have issued a notification about the state of their business during closure: that law firms are essential businesses, and that they remain open.   But, potential and existing law firm clients don’t just want i...