Litify's VP of Growth Jon Robinson chats with VP of Solution Engineering (and lawyer) Dov Slansky about actionable things law firms can do today to operate remotely effectively—regardless of the size of their business. 

Watch the conversation, or read the highlights below.

First thing's first: Move to the cloud

If your business is operating fully on the cloud, all you need is a tablet or computer with access to the internet to work. In addition to setting your company up for virtual success, you also bolster your security and save firm resources.

When you move to the cloud, you are essentially handing over server maintenance to your cloud provider. This helps remove a lot of IT bandwidth. 

There’s a pervasive myth that your business is more secure if you can see your servers in the office and only log in on work computers chained to office desks. But in addition to around-the-clock physical security that cloud providers offer, most cloud providers also provide two-factor authentication (prompting you to enter a code from your phone or email in addition to a password), and the ability to restrict access to certain IP addresses.

Lastly, it saves your company time. You won’t have to worry about a loss of productivity when servers crash or you have to manually update software.

Companies are making it easier every year to move off of on-premise software because it’s easier for them to issue updates and security patches from the cloud.

What you can do today to set your firm up for virtual success

It may not be realistic to completely overhaul your operations overnight, but here are some easy things you can do today to set your company up for success long after the coronavirus pandemic subsides.

Go paperless: You can’t operate remotely successfully if you’re required to carry stacks of paper with you wherever you go. Stop printing and make e-signature the norm in your firm. For those stacks of physical documents that already exist, use a scanner app on your phone to digitize them. You can also pay a service to digitize your entire firm and create a digital filing system that mimics your physical file cabinets.

Stop sending paper checks: No one in your company should have to visit the office to send or receive a paper check. Now is the time to set up direct deposit for each of your employees, and use credit cards or wire transfers to pay vendors.

Cut the copper phone-line: Switch to a VOIP phone system that allows you to connect phones over any ethernet cable or WiFi. Go one step further and see if your phone system offers a softphone application so you can make calls from your business extension on your cell phone or computer.

Prioritize internal collaboration: Use a system like Slack or Microsoft teams to enable your employees to instant message one another and post company or team-wide updates. By organizing conversations into channels, you eliminate internal email overload. 

Find new ways to communicate with clients: You can’t meet in person, but you aren’t limited to just phone calls or email. Try text messaging, social media direct messages (most of your clients are already there), or video conferencing.

Find new ways to advertise to potential clients: Your clients aren't going to see your billboards or bus advertising right now. Most plaintiff's firms are still undervaluing digital advertising.

Consider investing in programmatic advertising which allows you to advertise to the specific demographic and profile you're hoping to reach, rather than focus exclusively on the channel. These platforms (like Stackadapt, LiveIntent, and Choozle) find and serve your target profile your ads wherever they may be (YouTube, for instance), so you know you're reaching the right audience.

What the industry should be doing 

The coronavirus pandemic is currently shining a light on just how outdated the U.S. justice system’s technology infrastructure is. If proper investments had been made, there is no reason why everything would grind to a halt like they’re doing now.

Once we get beyond COVID-19, e-filing will be a must for every court system. We will also need to find a secure way to host remote hearings and trials. It may not have to be any more complicated than a zoom meeting: a platform that allows participants to have private conversations with others, one that supports visual displays, and allows the host to mute participants. 

Just do something

If you're overwhelmed with all of the tools available to choose from, don't be. Just start somewhere. Look at one pain point in your business, and try a new program to solve it. If it doesn't work, try something else. It's better to take some action now, then to do nothing at all.

If you want to tap into our team's legal technology expertise, don't hesitate to reach out. We're more than happy to answer any questions you may have.