The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

With work from home/remote work in full swing, employees may be pleasantly surprised by how productive  they can be  outside of the office.   Meanwhile, law firm managers, who are used to hav ing  butts in seats in leased office spaces, wonder what to do next.     Like many thing s  that have happened over the past several months, the rise of the distributed law firm model  has come as a surprise to many attorneys, most of whom are still adjusting to the ripple effects.  Adopting a distributed workforce model in an instant is not easy, for sure; but, there are some tactics you can apply, to make your law firm run better, even if it’s not all running from the same place anymore:     (1) Give up on the 9 to 5 working hours model.  In an environment where the societal structure is fraying at it edges, when everyone is worried about their health, and there are no reliable options for childcare, it’s time to stop pretending that the best method for getting through the work day  is by  adher

By now,  the vast majority of  law firms want to run paperless offices; the problem is often figuring out the logistics -- especially for law firms with decades of history (and files) behind them.   T he  most daunting  question  is often  how to get started.   So, let’s talk about how you can get paperless, even with a pile of paper behind you.       This is the playbook:     (1) If necessary, audit your files.  Organize by year, then by client, then by matter.     (2) Collect any files that were closed more than 6 years earlier.  If you have previously gotten permission/consent from your clients to  dispose of those files, do so in a confidential manner.  If you haven’t, contact the clients associated with those files, and ask them whether they wish to retrieve them or receive them.  (If they do, it usually means more business for the law firm, as past clients tend to generate new referrals in this context.)  Once clients are returned these files, or inform you they don’t want them,

We are l i ving through unprecedented times, for sure.  There are multi-fronted crises overtaking the American landscape, including those related to reopening of cultural institutions and business, like law firms.  Of course, the issue of reopening, and the speed with which it occurs, have become deeply personal questions.  Just because your law firm office  can  be open, you need to decide whether it  should  be,  to what extent it will be,  and what you will require of your employees in that context.     Even as law firms reopen, the question of when and how to bring employees back is specific to the individual law firm, which needs to deal with space considerations, as well as the psychological health of its lawyers and staff.  One thing that  law firm managers should do is to gauge the willingness of staff and employees to come back, and when.  Some businesses, including law firms, are not expecting to open offices back up until the end of the year, despite state rules enabling the