Law firms are switching their legal tech buying and usage habits during the massive shift to remote working. In addition to more attorneys embracing collaboration and time and billing tools, law firms are also moving away from remote access technology in favor of a more cloud-based approach.
Ryan McClead, principal and CEO of legal technology consultancy Sente Advisors, noted that some law firms are warming up to cloud-based tech after experiencing the weakness of remote access software.
“I think a lot of firms have had VPN connectivity for many years and relied on that, but that was expected to support legal staff, and I don’t think they took into account the volume they would need when everyone was working remotely. I think having cloud-based technology makes having the entire office working remotely somewhat easier to handle,” he said.
What’s more, the sudden shift from the office has also provided law firms with new insights for evaluating legal tech.
“We are discovering where our gaps are in our collaboration and technology and making an investment in new technology to help us collaborate internally and collaborate with our clients,” said Taft Stettinius & Hollister chief information officer Andrea Markstrom.
She added that Taft is specifically developing intake information and workflow technology to better automate lawyers’ document assembly and support decision-making,
“We were already looking at cloud strategies and we do have some of our programs already in the cloud, but there is an accelerated focus at continuing to look at what can appropriately and securely go onto the cloud,” Markstrom said.
Law firms that previously implemented cloud-based technology are watching their investments pay off with a fairly smooth transition to working outside of the office, including at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, said the firm’s CIO Neeraj Rajpal.
Working from home has caused more staffers and lawyers to leverage previously available video conferencing platforms, Rajpal noted. Additionally, more attorneys are utilizing time and billing software.
“Some practices are really busy and they have been taking the time to enter” their billable hours, he said. “We are working in a different normal and they are doing their part.”
Barley Snyder chief administrative officer Dorothy Rund also noticed more attorneys began to use the firm’s time and billing system during the COVID-19 shutdown. Normally, attorneys would hand a document to a secretary listing their billable hours, but shutdowns made that process less practicable, she said.
The sudden shift to remotely working has not only caused some firms to embrace more software but also to reevaluate their laptop programs.
“A lot of firms have scrambled either to provide remote access to personal computers or in many cases getting laptops and mobile devices to people who need to do firm work from home,” McClead noted.
Indeed, previously Barley Snyder adopted a mobile workforce strategy where all lawyers and some paralegals were given a laptop to work, Rund said. When shutdowns kept many of the central Pennsylvania’s staffers out of the office, some staffers used personal computers to work, ”which worked fine but wasn’t as seamless,” Rund said.
“Some people, if they didn’t have the equipment the firm helped them out, but if everyone was on the same basic laptop it would be a lot better,” she explained. Notably, the firm’s IT personnel wouldn’t have to resolve issues regarding various computer models, Rund said.
Legal tech consultant McClead noted that the growing usage of technology by lawyers is to be expected.
“We are seeing a lot of firms recognizing that individuals can and should be doing more themselves, specifically lawyers. I think we will see a push for automation and creating tools that will allow lawyers to do what that they relied on assistants or paralegals to do,” he said.
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June 03, 2020 at 10:30PM
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COVID's Impact - Law.com
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