The changes that have started to develop this year will manifest themselves more clearly in 2021. This includes the reduced staffing levels we’ve seen as firms became focused on cutting costs, adjusting to remote work, and keeping rainmakers happy during an economic downturn. The pandemic led many to shed practice areas they viewed as more […]
Gift giving will be a bit more complicated this year for law firms, so start planning now. With fewer people in offices this holiday season, the usual routine of having partners, associates, and paralegals sign the same card and send it off to someone’s workplace might not be an option. A nice electronic card may […]
As California considers major regulatory changes that would allow non-lawyers to own stakes in law firms, we are closely following updates in Utah, where similar shifts are a step ahead. Citing “crisis levels” of demand for affordable legal services stemming from the effects of COVID-19, the Utah Supreme Court on August 14 announced its decision […]
There is compelling anecdotal evidence that workers with school-aged children are having an especially hard time dealing with the present situation. When the pandemic began, it was the virus itself that drew most of the attention. Now, an increasing percentage of the lawyers we advise are reporting that, while they and their families are safe, […]
In the early months of the pandemic, many lawyers were especially attentive to their key clients and referral sources, recognizing the importance of checking in. Firms reassured their clients that business would continue on without interruption, emails were exchanged to offer support to anyone who might need it, and Zoom calls were scheduled to connect […]
As we wrote about last week, COVID-19 probably isn’t going away in the next few months. Beyond adjusting your firm’s workflow to a fully or partially remote system, there are other facets of the pandemic which should be considered in your management decisions right now. In today’s post, we’re bringing attention to a huge potential […]
The shift to working remotely came suddenly for most without much lead-time for planning. Law firms adapted to the new normal thinking it would be a few months or maybe just a matter of weeks. It’s become clear, especially in cities like Los Angeles where social distancing measures haven’t contained the virus, that we are […]
No date on the calendar causes me to think more about this country than August 26. It’s my personal Fourth of July. August 26, 1970. That’s the date on which my family arrived in the United States. My mom, my brother, and I took a Pan Am flight and settled in Philadelphia. We followed my […]
California has joined the ranks of states temporarily allowing law school graduates to practice under the supervision of licensed attorneys without first passing the bar exam. This unprecedented situation gives rise to two related questions: Should you hire a graduate of the class of 2020? And if you do, how should you employ them? The […]
We’ve written before about maintaining cash flow in a crisis and how projecting revenues is vital to the planning process. While this isn’t a concern limited to economic hard times, the uncertainty caused by the pandemic dramatically increases the importance of establishing and implementing a sound system for estimating future revenues. Establishing a process for […]