I noted an interesting article on the MyCase site. I have no business interest in MyCase and in fact don’t even use the product. However, it is a known good law office management system. In this blog piece they discuss something tangential to thoughts I have been having.

Post-covid law practice

What will it look like? In March 2020 we were all happily winding our way through endless days of “routine” law practice — or in my case mediation practice — with no clue about what was about to hit us. Speaking at least for the rural areas, few law offices were equipped to even try virtual client interface, much less do it fulltime. I had a mediation suite that easily handled a 3-party case and was a comfortable neutral site. Then by March 2021 as the pandemic waned, everyone was an expert at virtual client meetings, online mediation, and even online court hearings and longing for a real day IN court.

But as we think about March of 2022, what will that look like? everyone I know is waiting for the new normal but none of us know what that may look like.

Intake pathways

Post-covid the MyCase article says that much attention needs to be given to client intake. The article makes a good case for systems both as a general proposition and for client intake in particular. For example:

Convenience is the driving factor for consumer decision-making in the modern economy. For law firms that want to compete, delivering an intake program that respects the emphasis consumers place on convenience is essential. Oftentimes, convenience is driven by systems, which must rely on consistency and speed. Not only do law firm systems provide a hedge against malpractice (checklists limit mistakes), but the application of systems also provides for a more consistent (and improved) experience for both leads and clients.

Can your firm perform client intake that “respects the emphasis consumers place on convenience” or are you one of those described here:

The majority of law firms don’t utilize a cognizable, or reliable, intake program; instead, they’re winging it, and if you catch them on the right way, they might look like they’re providing competent customer service. Certainly, that’s not a ringing endorsement.

The gest of the article, and of my point in bringing this to you is wrapped up on this: “But, the end of the coronavirus pandemic, like the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, is a unique opportunity for law firms to revise their intake procedures. Since everyone will react slightly differently to this new world we’re all about to enter, it will be essential for law firms to create fully-systematized intake programs, for both those potential clients who want to interact completely online, as well as for those who require in-person service.” How true. It’s an opportunity to excel and for those on the fence about whether we return to the “old normal” or a “new normal” you may be right both ways. But don’t you want to plan for the (in my opinion) the most probable result of our practices having to exist in a hybrid world?

Would you say that, even if we go back to the “old normal” that this digital experience has given you new capabilities and some strengthening against future disaster — like weather-related disasters, riots, another pandemic, or … (use your imagination).

What’s next?

MyCase has published this as the first in a 3-part series. You might want to tag along.

Read the original article at ‘Two track mind: Post-COVID law practice will require both intake pathways’. (2021, April 22). MyCase Blog. https://www.mycase.com/blog/2021/04/two-track-mind-post-covid-law-practice-will-require-both-intake-pathways/