Tips on New Ways to Work Amidst a Pandemic

Many of us have been working from home for over a month now. After an initial adjustment period, we're settled into a routine and can reflect on some of the pros and cons of doing our work outside of the office.

Some of these workplace changes are proving to be beneficial. We have seen changes in our own habits, our clients, and the law profession in general.

1. Working from home as a future option

As the month went on, we saw more and more companies adapt and work remotely. As firms settled into their work from home routines, we saw that working remotely may just be a feasible option for the future.

We've seen resources shared and automated solutions fast-tracked in many ways over the last month, from virtual courts to free cloud-based platforms. Software like ActionStep and the Canada Will Registry help to improve legal processes and remain organized while working from home.

2. How we communicate is more important than ever

Since popping by your colleague's desk to check in is no longer an option, it is now more important than ever to refine our communication skills.

As most of our interactions are now via Slack, Zoom , and Microsoft Teams , dynamics change, but not necessarily for the worse. We are now training ourselves to be more concise, realistic, and frequent with check-ins and our goals each day (which applies to clients and colleagues).

3. Automating Processes

In the last month we have seen many changes in the legal system; virtual meetings, hearings, and will witnessing are now the norm.

The COVID-19 work from home measures might be the push towards tech dependency that the legal community needs. The estate law community has provided resources and information during this time to help ensure these virtual processes are implemented and run smoothly.

Hull and Hull provided a valubale list of things to keep in mind to avoid risk while wills and POAs are witnessed virutally. They also put forth a revised Witnessing Wills by Video Affidavits of Execution.

Our practice considerations contributor, TJ, also wrote about estate practice considerations amidst COVID-19, you can check it out here.

Takeaways

The changes in how we work now highlight the outdated processes that many professions have held onto. Although the changes we make now, might just be step in the right direction.

As firms shift to cloud-based platforms, working from home, and increase online communication, we realize that these platforms can help overall organization, increase security for client's data, and ultimately, cut costs and increase productivty.

You can read more about our cloud-based services, here.