The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 have had immense effects on every industry, and legal is no exception. Selling to law firms has always had its own unique set of challenges: limited time and resources to dedicate to implementing a new service or feature, needing to demonstrate expertise about your offering as well as showing that you can understand the particular challenges they face as business owners and attorneys, and explaining the total cost of ownership, to name but a few.
The ongoing nature of the pandemic has resulted in new stressors that are impacting law firms and legal professionals that you need to be aware of before picking up existing conversations with potential clients or entering into new ones.
At nQ Zebraworks, we have been hearing from many of our clients that they and their firms are struggling to adapt to the rapid transition to work from anywhere. The challenges we hear about the most are:
Access to key documents
Physical files are now legacy systems in today’s digital arena. Firms that still rely on access to paper documents for a client matter are losing time and money. Digital access is a must, especially in a work-from-anywhere environment. For firms with a large number of records still kept in paper, the task of starting the digitization of those files is daunting and falling further and further by the wayside as the day-to-day of the practice takes precedence. Plus, the problem gets a bit worse every day.
Storage
As more and more law firms transition to work from anywhere and reduce their footprint, storage space has become an issue. Firms may be looking to reduce the office space needed for their people, but they still have to manage their files. Because offsite options for paper storage are costly, this pain point ties directly back to the challenge of digitizing files - but scanning takes planning, time, and resources.
Collaboration
Paper simply isn’t conducive to collaboration. Only one person can be looking at a document at a time, which has always caused problems for firms with multiple offices across different regions. Work from anywhere makes it even worse, as colleagues who technically work in the same office may hardly ever be there.
The decision-makers you are accustomed to being in front of are now tasked with handling a wide array of new issues that necessitate sensitivity and awareness. In addition to the above, many may be putting together a “back to the office” plan that is subject to the moving target of state and local policy. The best entry point for any new or existing conversations begins by first assessing their needs by listening to the unique obstacles they are facing. Have them talk you through the specific pain points they are dealing with day-to-day, and be prepared to discuss how your solutions can address those needs. If there isn’t an immediate solution you can provide, that’s ok. Keep the conversation open and keep yourself available for support.
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law firms and their teams to work from anywhere,