When you’re looking to maximise returns in a legal firm, ditching your physical office space is probably not the first thing you think of. Yet, as we draw to the end of this surprising and difficult year, one thing is increasingly certain- the world is adapting to an online world far faster than it may have without the staggering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the global health crisis forever altering how we do business, is it time to revisit the idea of office space altogether? Legal Typing takes a look.
Can you really change to a virtual office setup?
Previously, a key question in the transition from brick-and-mortar to a virtual office would be if it was worth the severe transitional issues that would occur with it. Obviously, there’s a heavy reliance on the net and the need for a solid I.T infrastructure. You would need a trusted I.T firm on your side, able to help out each staff member at their remote working site. You would need to decide how and where you would be meeting clients. These things once seemed like impossible logistics to conquer. The swift changes we have all had to make to how we work in the wake of the COVID health crisis have shown us that this is not so impossible to achieve, after all. Many firms were up and running with some kind of remote setup as soon as possible, proving that sometimes thinking about the move can be harder than actually making it!
Of course, your practice type will affect how easy a transition to virtual working will be. Solo and smaller firms tend to thrive on a virtual model, where collaboration and communication can be harder if you’re running a bigger practice. Your area of legal expertise also will affect the ease of a digital transition. Labour and real estate law can easily be adapted to online work. Personal injury litigation may be harder. It all depends on how you work already and how flexible and open to the challenge your mindset is.
Technological considerations
Of course, the shift to a virtual office means you will need a secure tech infrastructure to get your day-to-day work done. That’s why we suggest forming a partnership with a quality I.T firm who can ensure you’re up and running in the event something should happen to your PCs. Most legal firms are already running heavily reliant on technology, however, and many of us are very used to the perks and foibles of PCs, so this is nothing new. One of the major benefits to this sort of technical operation, however, is in the drastic reduction in overheads that comes with it, especially negating the need for an expensive and lengthy office space lease in these uncertain economic times.
How will this help my overheads?
Many lawyers who have moved to a virtual office space find it a fantastic tool to help maximise returns in legal firms. The first, and most obvious, saving we have already mentioned above- there’s no need to consistently pay for an office location you may not even be able to use during the global pandemic. You aren’t trapped into a lease, and you can work from anywhere as you need.
There are other tangible benefits, however, especially when it comes to supporting staff. If you’re all communicating from remote offices via technology, you’ve already removed the need for your support staff to be based in the same building as you. Unless you have a huge volume of daily administrative and legal clerk work, why float the costs of a full salary when smart and secure outsourcing could fill in the same need? Even better, it will be at a cost you can tailor to your immediate budget and needs, rather than a fixed monthly salary that has to be paid whether work is thin on the ground or not.
Outsourcing, especially outsourced legal typing tasks, is probably the other significant virtual gain we will see develop from the remote work needed during the global pandemic. It simply makes sense as a business strategy. Times are tough, and the state of the economy is leaving everyone concerned about how to manage cash flow without reducing the quality of service provided to their clients. By using secure outsourcing partners, you can tap into their wealth of expertise, still receiving quality as good as (if not even better than) having an onsite legal clerk. Yet you still have the flexibility to pay as you need and increase or decrease work volumes according to the needs of your firm. These outsourced legal typing services, like Legal Typing, offer decades of expertise, completely professional handling of your client’s data, and a smart solution to all your legal clerking needs, hassle-free.
What if I need a space to meet clients?
While some areas of legal practice can be more ‘image-focused’ than others, there’s also a neat solution that doesn’t involve you having to perpetually maintain an underused office space in case it is needed- namely short-term office rentals. These enable you to access all the luxuries and amenities of a traditional office space as you need them, rather than needing to foot the bill all the time, and offer a flexible solution for meeting spaces on demand.
Adapting to a virtual office environment is a great way to maximise returns in legal firms. Coupling it with outsourced legal typing to ensure you can keep overheads tight and quality of service high is a great way to tighten up your bottom line during the uncertainty of the health crisis and beyond. Why not get in touch with the Legal Typing team today, and take the first steps to a tighter, more efficient office that gives you and your clients only the very best service?
