8 Things Lawyers Can Do To Make Remote Work More Effective

Chances are, you’re reading this from your laptop or phone at home. As the Coronavirus has expanded, wreaking havoc on firms’ typical day-to-day, most lawyers have gotten more comfortable working remotely. Even those who traditionally haven’t worked from home are finding innovative ways to make remote work easier. If you are hoping to not just survive, but thrive, during the crisis, it’s important to work smarter (not just harder). Here’s a few things lawyers can do to make remote work more effective. 

1. Take the time to work on your firm’s website

If being home is providing you a little extra time that you didn’t have before, improving your law firm’s website is one of the most productive things you can do with that time. This might be the best time to spruce up your practice page content or work on your search engine optimization (SEO). Take the 2 minutes to run a free SEO audit of your site so you can see where you stand on search engines and get a clear picture of the on-site issues you may want to fix in order to rank higher. Another area worth looking into for your website is live chat. Live chat functionality can help prospective clients to stay connected with your firm and get answers in real time. 

2. Improve your firm’s infrastructure to better enable working remotely

One silver lining to the current crisis is that the way people work is changing forever. If suddenly needing to work at home has revealed some flaws in your technology or tools, now is a good time to address them. There are plenty of platforms out there to help lawyers work remotely – now is a good time to implement some. 

3. Touch base with former clients

Now is a great time to check in with former clients of your practice just to see how they’re doing. It can be as simple as letting them know you had a little downtime and you were wondering how they’re doing during this difficult time. 

4. Network with colleagues

Just like with former clients, there’s no better time than to reach out to other attorneys or professionals you know. See how they’re faring, and if you can help each other in any way. It’s also a good time to introduce yourself to lawyers in other practices. 

5. Begin an online networking and referral group

Similar to the point above, take things a step further by suggesting to those that you reach out to that you can help each other by collaborating in a more formal space. Put together a group of like-minded professionals and you should all be able to help each other with cross-referrals. 

6. Focus on your CLEs

Depending on the regulations of your jurisdiction, you may be able to get a jump on CLE hours. That way, when business ramps back up, you won’t be “stuck in class” like many others. 

7. Create valuable, client centric content

When you share information that you are passionate about and have a unique knowledge in, you’re doing an important service for your readers. As you continue to share informative content, you’re providing value, building trust, and creating more of a brand for yourself and your law firm. Those are all things that will be good for business once real life picks back up. Whether you create articles, podcasts, webinars, or just stick to blogging – putting out thought leadership shows people that you’re an expert and also that you care about helping. See: How to Make Your Law Firm’s Content Stand Out When Everyone is Writing About the Same COVID-19 Topics.

8. Practice self-care

It’s important to take care of yourself, or you can’t help any clients (or anyone, for that matter). It seems everywhere we look there are signs of stress and discouragement. Make sure you’re exercising, getting fresh air, and eating well. Many lawyers are using this time to “reset” some of their unhealthy habits (like eating fast food lunches every day). Is there a healthy habit that you’ve been waiting to implement, such as afternoon meditation? Now is as good a time as any!

Takeaway

The legal industry as a whole hasn’t always viewed working remotely in the best light. However, our current circumstances are showing us that not only can remote work be effective – but it can be even more productive than working in an office. Find ways to make remote working easy and impactful, and you’ll change the trajectory of the way your law firm works for years to come. Use this time to get more done than you ever thought possible. 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay on top of the latest developments in legal digital marketing and learn best practices and tips to enhance your marketing and business development efforts at your firm.