THE PRACTICE OF LAW IS NOT PROGRESSING AS FAST AS IT SHOULD

Are you as frustrated as me? Why am I so frustrated? Because the practice of law isn’t progressing as fast as lawyers need to succeed. Firm strategies, processes and certainly their cultures are behind the times. WAY behind.

Millennials know best. Despite criticism, the generation of Millennials have catapulted progress in technology, systems and culture far beyond that of their predecessors. Millennials use apps on their smart phone to order food, grocery shop, arrange a ride and pay bills-just to name a few. Such practices have created much needed ease. Yet, this practice has not translated to our profession.

Time is up! Millennials have surpassed both Baby Boomers and Gen Xers as the highest number of adults in the work force. Pew Research Center reported in March 2018 that in 2017 (the most recent year for which data are available),

" 56 million Millennials (those ages 21 to 36 in 2017) were working or looking for work. That was more than the 53 million Generation Xers, who accounted for a third of the labor force. And it was well ahead of the 41 million Baby Boomers, who represented a quarter of the total. Millennials surpassed Gen Xers in 2016".

What does this mean for law firms? Your attorneys and your clients WILL be Millennials. Millennials’ needs and expectations are different from those of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers. Millennials expect systems that create ease. They expect a sense of culture. 

Millennials and our future generation attorneys and clients want to work in/with law firms that are remote-friendly, technologically advanced, offer flexibility and are transparent with them. 

Is your firm up to par? Or, are you a vintage firm operating as you did in the 80s? 

Here is a short list of considerations: WARNING: these are signs you are not meeting your employees and your clients’ needs

• Firms require attorneys to work in the office because the partners belief anyone who works remotely will slack or be less productive than if they are under their watchful eye.
• Firms refer to the support team as “the gals” or “the girls” and support team members are only required to work from in the office with set hours.
•  The firm’s technology doesn’t provide laptops for remote access, cameras to facilitate meetings and doesn’t have online scheduling for its clients.
•  The firm partners believe that every prospective client of the firm needs to meet with a lawyer in their office before they retain its services.
• Even as virtual support is available, firm partners continuing employing in-office full time support with rising labor costs while making excuses for raising their clients’ legal fees.
•  Despite high production levels, top performance and high billable hours, associates are allowed just two weeks paid vacation.
•  Attorneys are still dictating correspondences.
• Partners of firms don’t seek out feedback from their associate attorneys, support team or clients and just assume they know best when it comes to the firm’s processes, philosophies, systems and culture.

The list goes on and on. How does your firm match up? Consider what policies, systems or technologies are available to your firm  that could be implemented to avoid the behaviors listed and ensure your clients and staff are happy.

Lisa Haster is an Attorney, 2X Author, Host to the Podcast "I'll See You at the Bar" and Founder of JDsync. JDsync is a free app that syncs lawyers with On-Demand Virtual Support so attorneys only pay for legal support when they need it saving thousands in monthly overhead. To receive $50.00 in support services with your first job hire, use coupon code: Welcome$50 at www.JDsync.com and subscribe to her podcast "I'll See You at the Bar".