P2P

I n March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic required law firm managers to make significant changes in their business operations to protect profitability while providing legal services to an isolated client base. Many managers seized on this adversity as an opportunity to embrace internal change by adopting new technologies that create efficiencies, reduce costs, enhance productivity and cultivate innovation for remote workforces. The cloud was no longer a consideration in implementing new technologies but a destination. Many law firm stewards who embraced change left their firms better off than they started in 2020, putting them in a competitive stance for the foreseeable future. For example, the Am Law 100 raised revenue by 6.6%, and revenue per lawyer grew by 4.8%. Bucking the trend of widespread layoffs, the most prominent firms increased profits per equity partner by 13.4%. The second half of the Am Law 200 also had a profitable year. Revenue was up by 1.1%, revenue per lawyer by 3% and profits per equity partner by 8.8%. While much of this gain is attributable to cost cutting, it illustrates how core business principles, supported by readily available technology, can enhance law firms' bottom line. Create Efficiencies, Improve Productivity Law firms that weathered the pandemic created efficiencies and improved productivity with cloud-based resources and software as a service for document management, legal practice management and calendaring and docketing. Cloud-based document storage Many law firms subscribe to cloud-based document storage. Cloud storage is a convenient way to share files, access them remotely and back up documents. Although it is efficient for all users on day one, a large New England firm took it further to ensure data loss prevention, maximize efficiency and enhance security. The New England firm backs up all its data to the cloud. It no longer budgets to acquire and maintain physical servers and hard disks. The firm does not have a cloud storage limit. It pays for what it uses and adds more space on demand. Like all law firms, the New England firm must keep client data secure. The New England firm's cloud provider understands its role in ensuring that data security and privacy protections are persistent for all data, including client files. The firm's data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and it manages the encryption keys, rather than the provider's staff, partners or contractors. The firm also uses two-factor authentication and regularly reviews who is accessing the DMS, when and from where. The New England firm did not accept a boilerplate service-level agreement. It negotiated and customized an SLA to incorporate reporting metrics, performance incentives and penalties, term and termination processes 23 I L T A N E T . O R G Part 1 of this 2-part series, "Lessons Learned Since 2020," recounted experiences of firms and service providers in the trenches, the specific challenges they faced, failures and successes and valuable lessons learned. Part 2, "A Look Forward," shares insights from law firm leaders who acted as stewards of change to seize opportunities presented in 2020 and improve law firm efficiency, productivity and revenue.

• Cover