In Seclusion

Heather Morse, the Chief Business Development Officer at McGlinchey Stafford in New Orleans reminds us of the saying that “one size fits one” and that there isn’t a single way to approach how to manage the current situation. One of the key aspects of legal marketing and business development is that we are in the people business, and especially at this time, we need to understand how to personalize our responses to our staff, our attorneys, and our clients.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

Clark Hill's Director of Marketing, Roy Sexton talks with me about how law firm marketing teams have really stepped up over the past couple of months to help their attorneys find appropriate ways to engage with their clients, and with each other. As we begin the slow process of moving away from the needs of the crisis and into the long-term redevelopment of marketing strategies, Sexton thinks that we will have to completely rethink how we engage with people, because of their needs and willingness to do events and interactions changed. We’re going to have to find ways to personally and virtually engage in ways that grab more people than don’t.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

Tim Corcoran advises law firms on how to improve the business delivery side of things. One of the positive aspects of the pandemic has been the ability for firms to actually look at the processes of their business, and not just focusing on the tools. As we begin to develop a hybrid office where some people will be working in the office, and some will continue to work remotely, it will test how good our management skills really are. Maybe now we'll give some real management training.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

Marcie Borgal Shunk of The Tilt Institute, Inc. is used to working closely with attorneys and law firm leadership. Traditionally, this meant gathering large groups of lawyers into a room for hours, or days at a time, and walking through scenarios together. With the current situation, it means having to adjust to fit the online nature of education and training. For many lawyers, this is new, it’s ambiguous, it’s different, it’s uncomfortable… and they’re actually getting used to it.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

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.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

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.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

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.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

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.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

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.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)

One of the things that many of us struggle with, but may not admit to others, is that we actually really miss the office environment. Whether it is the ability to duck into another worker’s office for advice, or bouncing ideas off others in breakrooms, there is definitely processes of an office setting that are very difficult to replicate. I talk with Kristin Hodgins and ask her about how she is adjusting to a remote working environment that is missing many of the things that she really enjoyed about her job, and working in an office.

Remember, we may all be In Seclusion, but we're in this together.

Host: Greg Lambert (@glambert)