Everything You Need To Know About Setting Up A Remote Work Policy For Your Law Firm

Now that the dust has settled after COVID-19 and the Great Resignation, many firms are implementing permanent work-from-home policies to increase productivity and retention and better serve their clients. Crafting an effective hybrid workforce requires careful planning, intentional thinking, and a coherent policy. Our guide explains everything you need to know about setting up a remote work policy for your law firm.

A productive remote workforce starts with the appropriate case management software. Contact our team today to find out how Curo365 supports law firms in the long-term transition to remote work.

What Are the Current Trends Around Working Remotely vs. Return to the Office?

Before you set up a remote work policy, you may be curious about the trends in working from home and if a widespread return to the office is on the horizon. After all, if telecommuting is not here to stay, why uproot or adjust your systems to something that was merely a pandemic phenomenon?

In 2022, Mckinsey & Company and Ipsos conducted an online study with 25,062 Americans aged 18 and older to determine their experience with remote work. They asked participants a host of questions, such as whether they work from home at least one day a week and, given a choice, if they would take a remote job over in-office employment. The results were a resounding “yes.”

Over half of the respondents (58%) indicated that they could work from home or are in a hybrid working arrangement with their employer where they do not have to be in the office daily. Eighty-seven percent indicated that they work from home at least one day a week.

These numbers convey a compelling notion that, rather than being a trend, remote work has become a mainstay of modern employment. Employers who set up a remote work policy can help their firm stay relevant and meet the demands of current applicants and employees.

Are Legal Professionals Who Work Remotely Just as Productive as In-Office Workers?

Contrary to the “productivity paranoia” experienced by many employers, remote workers are just as constructive as in-office workers. In fact, in many cases, they are more productive, and their ability to focus is greatly improved, despite the potential for far more distractions.

For example, in 2015, the Stanford Graduate School of Business publication, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, published an article on how working from home impacted employee performance, productivity, morale, and attrition for a large Chinese travel agency. The results heavily favor working from home, with a sharp rise in the number of hours worked and calls handled per hour.

According to the study, the primary downside of working from home is that the employee’s promotion rate decreased during the experiment, likely due to the employer’s perception of workers’ productivity. In other words, employers tend to think that workers out of their boss’s sight are not doing work, whereas the data support a different conclusion.

Employers can more accurately measure employee performance by shifting their focus from just clocking in the hours to putting in the work. After all, you can tell if someone submitted a report on time to by looking at when it was turned in without having to hover over their shoulder. 

Further, many people can recall a worker who is always in the office but does not get any projects done (yet still manages to be the boss’s favorite). By removing the physical office from the equation, you can set up measures to determine the employee’s output rather than focusing on how long they are physically in the office.

What Are the Benefits of Having a Remote Work Policy?

Remote work is an instrumental framework for a healthy and inclusive law firm. Some of the advantages include greater flexibility, higher retention rates, and being able to manage risks effectively and scale your business.

Flexibility

In today’s fast-paced economy, being agile is an increasingly attractive trait of any successful business. Further, workers – and clients – expect that law firms and other professionals will offer more flexible options. For example, the idea that your lawyer will only meet with you in person at their office is a relic of the past.

Providing your team and your clients with a variety of modalities in which to interact with your firm helps you conform to recent trends and be prepared to meet many more challenges. For example, if you already have a remote work policy in place before the next pandemic, the impact on your business will be much less than it may have been during the first one.

Retention

There is no denying that allowing your employees to work remotely requires trust. You can measure productivity later on and determine if investing in the remote policy works out for your team. But, in the meantime, you need to trust that your new hire or policy is operating as it should be.

Trusting your team to get the job done, and allowing them to work when and how they function best, is an excellent way to attract new talent and retain your current workers. Associates, paralegals, and receptionists are more inclined to stay at a law firm if given the freedom, opportunity, and support to excel. Further, by creating a remote work policy, you can show that you are committed to supporting your employees and crafting a conducive work environment.

Scalability

Creating a remote work policy also better positions you to grow and scale your business. By allowing your team to work remotely, you increase your ability to retain top talent, which in turn helps you better serve your clients. Further, having a remote team can decrease your overhead expenses, leaving more money to expand your operations than if you are spending massive funds on unnecessary office space.

Further, when your team feels supported and can work remotely, their ability to participate is less impacted when unexpected changes arise (such as a global pandemic).

Manage Risks

Another benefit of having a remote work policy is to clarify expectations and manage risks. Ask anyone who works from home, and they will tell you that simply logging in to their computer at work is the tip of the iceberg regarding thriving in a work-from-home environment. In a heavily regulated field such as the law, it is imperative to have a remote work policy that functions well from a legal and employment standpoint.

Essential Elements of a Remote Work Policy

So, what are the essential elements of a remote work policy for today’s modern law firms? Critical components of an effective policy include ensuring it is in writing, kept up to date, and compliant on a state and federal level. Likewise, it should clarify your and the firm’s expectations.

It Is in Writing

The foundation of any remote work policy is that it is in writing. Having a written document serves two purposes. First, it requires you to articulate your expectations, which helps you and your team understand what telecommuting looks like at your law firm. Second, it helps ensure everyone on your team is on the same page.

Ad hoc work-from-home policies can lead to misunderstandings and inadvertently treating some staff differently from others because you and your colleagues have not done the work to create a coherent written policy. Reducing your guidelines to writing helps limit the potential for misunderstandings and other problems that may arise.

It Complies with Your State’s Employment and Labor Laws

Another critical factor when creating a remote work policy is ensuring it complies with state and federal employment and labor laws. For example, clearly outline when your staff must be available and when they may do their work. You may inadvertently open yourself to employment law liability or wage and hour violations if you do not take the time to reduce your policy to a cohesive, written form. 

It Clarifies Expectations

Having clear expectations is essential for any successful business, especially law firms. Without clear guidelines, client information may be inadvertently lost or disclosed. Your telecommuting policy should articulate how the staff treats client information while working from home or another remote location.

For example, indicate whether the staff can bring paper copies of files home or if that right is solely reserved for attorneys. Ensure everyone is on the same page in these and other arenas by clearly communicating what you expect and need from your workforce.

It Is Kept Up to Date

Finally, your remote work policy should not be something you write once and never look at again. Set aside time periodically to review the guidelines and update them as needed.

Reflecting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the legal profession from March 2020 through today, the sector made many changes to adapt to the times. For example, while conducting court via Zoom was necessary at the pandemic’s onset, now it is a staple of most jurisdictions. The result is a more equitable and accessible judicial system than it was previously, and more changes are forthcoming to close the access to justice gap.  

Likewise, your remote work policy should evolve and change with the times and as situations arise. Adjust your approach periodically to ensure it works for everyone, not just the partners or paralegals.

How to Support Attorneys and Legal Assistants in a Remote Working Environment

Having a written telecommuting policy in place is only half the battle. You must create a supportive and functional environment to serve your staff and clients better.

Weekly Check-Ins

The challenge of having a remote workforce is that your work environment and culture must be intentional. In other words, you cannot depend on the small talk in the hallway or other in-person events to generate the firm’s culture or make people feel welcome. You must put forth effort to define and carry out a coherent culture that works for everyone.

One way to accomplish this is to have weekly check-ins with your team. Likely, you will communicate with them more often than once a week, but this weekly check-in is when you can catch up and see how everyone is doing. You can invite people to share something work-related, such as a challenge or success, as well as an event or obstacle in their personal life.

Much like you would ask a colleague how they are and how their weekend was if you saw them in the office, this weekly check-in can be a place to do this while everyone is remote. It is also an excellent time to ensure that your staff does not feel isolated and feels they can talk to the team if they need help. Of course, define the expectations and parameters of the weekly check-in so as not to blur the lines between work and home and make people uncomfortable.

Set (and Keep) Boundaries

Part of the convenience of working from home is that your office is always “just down the hall” or wherever you decide to conduct business. This can also create challenges, especially with work and home life boundaries.

When you and your team work from the office, there is a definite beginning and end to the work day: It begins when you unlock the firm’s front door and turn on the lights and concludes when you turn off the lights and lock the door. Working from home does not have this baked-in boundary and can create an overwhelming work environment if not properly managed.

Tell staff when they must be available and when they may choose to do their work. For example, if you find that you work well at night, ensure that your paralegal understands that he does not have to respond to emails sent from you at midnight. Likewise, be transparent with your team about who can and cannot work weekends and how to track this. This practice also helps you and your staff maintain a healthy work life balance.

What Are the Fundamental Tools for Working from Home?

So, we have our remote work policy in place and understand how to create a balanced work environment. To properly implement a telecommuting culture that works, you must have some fundamental tools in place.

Cloud Based Legal Practice Management Software

Investing in reliable cloud-based legal practice management software is the first pillar of any telecommuting law practice. This type of software allows your team to work from anywhere and have access to all the files they need to handle your cases effectively. Cloud based legal software is also more secure than other types of programs because it is backed up in secured cloud storage rather than on a vulnerable on-site program.

When shopping for cloud-based case management software, be clear on your expectations and priorities. Software like this is a significant investment in your firm and can elevate your practice if implemented appropriately. You also want to ensure that your software integrates with the other programs, such as Word and Outlook, your firm uses daily.

Curo365 is the premier Microsoft legal case management software for modern law firms looking to work remotely. Our suite of services includes task management programs, internal messaging systems (like Microsoft Teams), and a client portal. We also streamline the calendaring and intake process, implementing powerful and intuitive automation so your team spends more time on critical, billable tasks and less on data entry.

Modern Billing Software

Making the transition to work remotely is an excellent opportunity to take a second look at your billing and time-tracking system. If you rely on your staff to manually set a physical timer, this creates inefficiencies and leads to errors. You and your team should implement an intuitive time-tracking process that works how and when you do, rather than requiring you to complete extra steps, such as data entry.

You cannot work on other tasks when you or your team complete invoicing tasks, such as inputting your time, drafting bills, and reviewing invoices. Further, this time is, by default, nonbillable. Therefore, it is in your and your firm’s best interest to ensure that your billing system is as efficient as possible to ensure your bottom line does not suffer.

Systems like Curo365 provide the best in both worlds because the secure, sleek billing software is baked into the case management system. You and your team can easily track and manage your time, whether you are in the physical office or sitting at your kitchen table. You can customize your invoices, generate powerful reports using Microsoft BI, and integrate your marketing plan into the budgeting process to ensure your money is going to good use.

Electronic Signature Capabilities

Another hallmark of a hybrid workforce is the ability to send and receive documents for signature electronically. Pre-COVID, you may have been forgiven if you did not leverage electronic signature capabilities in your firm. Post-pandemic, it has become a staple of the modern world, and many clients will expect your firm to have this ability.

With a remote team, it is imperative to have a secure and reliable e-signature system set up to create efficient workflows and not miss out on business because a fee agreement got lost in the mail.

Curo365 seamlessly integrates with powerful electronic signature platforms like Adobe Sign to ensure you have what you need to send and receive documents electronically. Further, their case management software employs a client portal where clients can view and pay their bills, review and sign documents, and message your team.

Office Equipment

Finally, before deploying your hybrid workforce, ensure everyone has the right office equipment to efficiently and effectively work from home. Talk to your accountant or HR department to determine what expenses you can – or are required to – pay for regarding your team’s office equipment and what can be written off during tax season.

Ask your staff to log work-related expenses they incur in good faith because they work from home. Ensure that everyone understands what is and is not reimbursable.

How to Combat Data Security Concerns When Running a Remote Law Firm

Like a physical office, hybrid workspaces carry data security risks, especially in today’s interconnected world. Steps you and your team can take to safeguard against these risks include implementing a multifactor authentication procedure, using secure messaging systems, and leveraging cloud-based security.

Multifactor Authentication

Multifactor authentication requires an individual to input multiple pieces of information to gain access to a program. For example, with multifactor authentication, you might have to input your username, password, and fingerprint before you log in to your banking application. When done correctly, multifactor authentication creates an extra layer of security and makes it harder for bad actors to access your systems.

Secure Messaging Systems

Email is an advantageous method of communication, but it is not always the most secure. Boost your firm’s security using secure messaging systems when discussing sensitive case matters or sending clients essential documents. Case management providers like Curo365 equip firms with a secure client portal where clients can view documents, message your staff, and pay their bills without compromising their data.

HIPAA-Compliant Cloud-Based Security

Lawyers interact with sensitive data on a daily basis, from Social Security numbers to credit card information, birthdays, and more. Because of this, they are frequent targets of phishing attacks. Safeguard your firm against these risks by using HIPAA-compliant cloud-based security. This system insulates your data against attacks, and if breaches do occur, they impact as little of your firm’s files as possible.

Curo365: Best-in-Class Microsoft Legal Software for Remote Work

We understand the importance of a seamlessly integrated system that works when and where you do. Curo365 provides an essential, endlessly customizable case management software solution specially designed for the modern law firm.

Contact our team today to find out how we can elevate your practice and help you transition to remote work.