19 Tips From Attorneys to Get You Through the Rest of COVID-19

MyCase recently conducted a nationwide survey of legal professionals to understand the financial, operational, and individual changes law firms are making to maintain business continuity during this time. 

In our law firm survey, we asked respondents what advice they would give to fellow law firms to endure the COVID-19 era. Below is a sampling of actionable responses broken out by topic.

TIME MANAGEMENT

“Prioritize! Not everything is an emergency. Make a plan and stick to it.”

– Whitney, Johnny W. Thomas Law Office, P.C.

“Create a schedule every day and be accountable to others to complete the schedule.”

– Glen Van Dyke, Van Dyke Litigation and Trial Attorneys

“Focus on mental health, try to impose structure, get exercise, and make a list of the most important items you have to accomplish – try to do at least one important thing, like completing a filing and getting it out to the court, per day.”

– Brice, Breton & Simon PLC

ROUTINE

“Keep the same office hours at home that you did at the office.”

– John, J. Thomas Black, P.C.

“Get up each morning, get dressed for work just as you always did, and the same hours as well. Nothing has changed except the location of your office. And to remember when working remotely, you might experience a few glitches, remain calm, it’s a small price to pay to still have your job, your paycheck, and be able to work from home and keep safe, keep your coworkers safe as well as your family members.”

– Dawn, Greg Coleman Law

“Set up a routine and stick to it. Have some down-time and fun activities planned ahead. Take the time off.”

– Martine, Simplex Legal

FINANCES

“Be as flexible as you can while meeting the needs of clients. It may cost a little bit of money now to implement new tools, but if it helps keep you in business, it will be worth it. Look into the options for small business loans as a safety net. Keep marketing, yet adjust to current restrictions, like video calls instead of in-person meetings, mediations when court is canceled, etc.”

– Heather Stuart, Godfrey Law & Associates, PLLC

“Increase streams of revenue, find ways to market services to needs coming out of the COVID crisis, use technology to keep costs low and efficiency of your workforce high.”

– Joshua Kotter, AVantGarde Law, LLC

“Research into state and local business loans or assistance. Consider taking cases outside of your normal area of practice and field, especially if you are knowledgeable in another area.”

– Celeste Jameson, Law Office of Donna Jameson, LLC

STAFF

“It’s a time to start trusting people, maybe relax some policies that you put in because you were concerned employees weren’t working hard enough, too distracted, etc. A little trust will go a long way to making remote employment work.”

– Michael, Cook Law

“Bring your staff on board for a brainstorming process. Empower them; give them a voice.”

– Peggy, Law Office of Peggy J. Bristol

Related: [Blog Post] Remote Working: Lessons for Law Firm Leaders

TECHNOLOGY

“Hang in there. This too shall pass. This is the time to make sure your software is working the best for your firm and optimizing its efficiency.”

– Michelle Howser, Howser & Associates

“This is the time to work on systems, policies and team culture. Use this downtime to revamp your firm from the inside so that it is well prepared to handle a larger volume of work once the pandemic is over.”

– Ilona D. Anderson, Saenz & Anderson, PLLC

“Increase your technology competence.”

– Anthony, Greene Law Group PLC

“Automate.”

– Barry, Law Offices of Matthew Brekhus

“Move everything to the cloud. EVERYTHING.”

– Eduardo, Access Law

“Move as quickly as possible to virtual interactions and cloud-based software.”

– Joy, Crain & Wooley

“Accommodate your clients as best you can, and adopt as much technology as you comfortably can. In other words, if you can do meetings by Zoom or phone, do so. If you can sign documents remotely, do so.”

– Sarah, Ambrogi Law Office

“Good online case management software really does make a world of difference. Get it, learn it, use it. For example, our struggles with signatures are much less with MyCase because many of those items we can use electronic signatures, especially right now. It can keep you in touch with staff and give you access to all your case information.”

– Rebecca Pescador, Whole Family Legal, LLC

Take a look at our complete survey results on remote work, finances, and productivity.