As vaccines start to get rolled out and the US economy approaches the verge of the long-awaited recovery, what should law firms, especially small ones, do to stay relevant in the post-Covid World?  Here are some thoughts.

Do Everything Digitally

It used to be that when you want to find a lawyer, you’d ask a friend or relative for a referral; and if you want to meet with a lawyer, you’d go to their offices.  However, Covid drastically changed how people search for lawyers.  People, especially the Millennials, find lawyers in the post-Covid world like they find anything else--online; and when they want to meet their lawyer and conduct a consultation, they want to do a zoom or even exchange text messages rather than call and go to the lawyers’ physical offices.  The lawyers who can adapt to this trend will be dramatically more successful than the ones who can’t.  

Here are a few things lawyers can do to adapt to this trend:

1. Have a digital presence: build out a robust and sleek website, have the right SEO strategy, make sure people can find you when they are searching for a lawyer, etc. See our tips on digital marketing here.
2. Update your firm’s technology stack so you can facilitate transactions digitally. This includes having a robust digital meeting solution (Zoom or something similar), being able to interact with clients via instant messaging (e.g. Slack) or even texting, and updating your client intake technology  -- perhaps by using an AI-backed chatbot (not just one that can only ask the client to leave their contact information). Trusli can help you with this solution using our patent-pending technology.
3. Modernize how your firm works overall. This includes having a digital storage system (e.g. dropbox), a CLM system (e.g. Ironclad), an e-discovery tool if you are a litigation firm (e.g. Disco), and/or a modern case management system (e.g. Clio).

Focus on a Few Key Practice Areas Post-Covid

With the massive impact of Covid, there are a few key practice areas that will become increasingly important and relevant post-Covid.

Contract Disputes

During Covid, a large number of contracts were put on hold or canceled due to force majeure. Now that Covid is coming to an end, what happens to the previous relationships?  Do companies want to re-engage with previous suppliers and customers? If so, how do they resolve the previous disputes and/or pending issues?  The lawyers who can assist clients with an amicable and reasonable solution will have an edge in this area of practice.

Employment-Related Issues.

At the peak of Covid, a lot of companies had to lay off or furlough a large number of employees.  While many companies had the right process and procedure to deal with such incidents, others may or may not have done everything right.  Now that the courts will be back in session soon, we can foresee a surge of employment-related litigation.  The employment lawyers who can get ahead of the curve and connect with such potential clients will certainly be earning a lot of business. At Trusli, one of the areas that we focus on is employment.  If you register with us, we will send you matching clients who are searching for the best employment lawyers in the country.

Future Risk Management and Risk Mitigation Related Advice.

The one thing that Covid taught us is when a “Black Swan” event like this hits, anything is possible.  How companies properly manage and mitigate risks has become more relevant than ever.  Lawyers who can properly advise clients regarding these issues will be highly appreciated.  This includes attorneys who can draft proper limitation of liability clauses and advise clients to get proper insurance coverage, including adequate carve-outs such as “force majeure”, etc. 

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Enable a Remote Workforce

Covid has forced many traditional employers to realize that remote work is not only possible but can also be very efficient.  This further bolstered a workforce that wants to surf by day and work by night.  Many tech workers have moved to locations such as Lake Tahoe and Hawaii to enjoy their work-life balance.  While law firms traditionally have not been keen on the remote work model, they now need to adapt to the new reality.  

We notice that the new generation of lawyers tends to despise the grilling billable hours requirement and wants to work on their own terms. Law firms either need to enable them and retain them as happy employees, or they can see this group gradually start their own practices and kiss the old big law model goodbye.   Services like Trusli AI can bring such solo practitioners a steady stream of viable, high-quality leads and enable them to work on their own terms.  For law firms to retain young lawyers, they need to adopt modern technology and change their mindsets to allow remote work.

How will your firm reach clients in the post-Covid world? Join our platform to have quality leads sent directly to your inbox: www.trusli.com