Learn how Negretti & Associates has thrived as a remote law firm since 2012. Jonathan Negretti shares tips on how to implement the right technology and culture to succeed virtually. Watch the entire conversation, or read the highlights below.

Creating a virtual law firm culture from the start

Operating remotely works for Negretti & Associates because they’ve been remote from day one. 

When Jonathan Negretti first opened his law firm, he looked for ways to reduce overhead. The costs needed to maintain a large physical office space was an easy area in the budget to cut.

While the firm still needed a physical mailing address and location to meet clients, those costs are nominal compared to having to maintain a traditional brick & mortar office. 

Operating virtually works well for Negretti, but he can only imagine the hurdles that traditional law firms are facing having to operate from home overnight. 

He acknowledges that it is an adjustment. Over the years they've had to ensure they are hiring the right employees who can thrive in their virtual culture. It isn't for everyone, he points out.

But more important than hiring self-motivated people for your team is having the right technology in place that enables your firm to be transparent and collaborative.  

Prior to finding Litify, Negretti & Associates relied on a CRM and other one-off technology solutions. But as a remote firm, it became vital that they have one central location that everyone in the firm could work from. That turned out to be Litify.

Long-term impacts of COVID

As COVID continues to impact our personal and professional lives, it can seem impossible to find anything good associated with the virus. But there are lessons to be learned from this crisis, and opportunities to come out stronger than before.

One silver lining is that there is greater familiarity and acceptance of remote work. In the past, many gripped to the misconception that work could not happen outside of a physical office. But now that we’ve all been thrust into this new normal, there will hopefully be fewer naysayers in the future. 

It isn’t just employees and business owners who are embracing remote work: the general public is welcoming opportunities to connect virtually, too.

Telehealth is surging in medicine, and patients are understanding that they don’t need to see their physicians in-person to address every ailment they have. We’ll likely see this transfer over to legal: Clients will begin to welcome the chance to chat with their lawyers on a video conference call, rather than having to drive to their office.

But as we all adjust to juggling family, our personal lives, and work all under the same roof, we've also learned that traditional 9-5 hours don't always make sense. Negretti & Associates has known for years that work isn’t confined to a specific location or time. Employees work in different time zones—some are more productive in the early hours of the morning, while others are completing tasks late at night. Negretti hopes that more firms will embrace this flexibility after the coronavirus pandemic ends.