This week on the In Seclusion Podcast, the discussion began a pivot away from how are we adjusting to working remotely, to how are we planning the slow progress toward reopening some offices. Let’s be honest, it is very possible that some legal professionals never go back to the office full time ever again. But, for some, getting back to the office is seen as essential for both their job, and maybe even their sanity. Take a listen to the five episodes from this week from a diverse group of legal professionals around the globe.
Monday, May 18th – Navigating So Many Rules as We Start to Reopen – Mary Jenkins, Accufile
Mary Jenkins, Director of Research Solutions and Senior Law Librarian at Accufile, contracts with multiple law firms and corporations ranging from smaller firms companies all the way up to some of the largest national, and international law firms. Trying to navigate the individual rules of the businesses, the buildings, and the local, state, and federal governments can be quite complicated, but it gives her some insights on what is working, and where she thinks we are heading as we look to reopen offices, and how this pandemic is going to affect us long term.
Tuesday, May 19th – The Distance has Kept Us Together – Colin Lechance, VLex
One of the themes I’ve picked up on with the now 41 episodes of this series, is that the transition to remote working environments caused by the pandemic was helped immensely by the increase in cloud and communications technology, as well as our need to work between multiple offices across vast distances. Colin Lachance from vLex solidifies that theme and tells how his recent international merger didn’t seem to slow the transition at all, in fact, it may have helped make that transition even more efficient.
While we may be in the middle of a crisis, there are certain processes and relationships we need to maintain in order to make sure we have those as we make our way out of the crisis. Aurelia Spivey from Digitory Legal and the host of the Pricing Matters Podcast discusses the need to maintain our community, be creative, and focus on the needs of our clients. These three C’s will be determining factors on how well we perform both during and after the pandemic and economic troubles.
Thursday, May 21st – Continuing our Connectedness… Just in a Different Way – Sherry Kapple, Litera
Sherry Kappel from Litera, flew back to the US just in time to avoid the travel ban on March 11th, and then immediately began preparation and action to move employees across the world to work from home. In the more than two months since this time, she has focused on interacting with her fellow workers, customers, and the legal community through virtual conferences and even daily tv-style presentations. She sees a future that continues to stress our ability to connect to one another… it’s just going to happen in a different way.
Friday, May 22 – We’ll Be Two Meters Apart, But Still Face to Face – Justin North, Janders Dean
Janders Dean founder, Justin North, has seen many downturns in the economy and legal industry before but he thinks that the ability for us to keep our stories alive on how we handled downturns before, has helped many navigate this particular situation. And through a bit of planning, and a little bit of luck, he finds his company accidentally ready for this pandemic. When we make our way back to the office, we’ll be two meters apart, but we’ll find ways to essentially be face to face.