Welcome to The New Normal

The COVID19 situation hit the legal community like a slow-moving train wreck; we all heard it was coming and had our advance thoughts and opinions about it (based largely upon which news channel you choose to watch), but nobody was quite sure what would happen when it got here- or just how impactful it would turn out to be. That story is still being written, but it’s already clear that a “New Normal” is emerging as lawyers and firms try to find ways to continue working- and in some cases, survive.

Some firms have made a smooth transition into working (and running their firm) remotely and are fortunately just as busy as they’ve always been. I’ve seen several social media postings lately from friends with larger firms, thanking their IT Departments for the quick and painless transition to remote practice. At the same time, smaller and solo firms (many of whom don’t have an IT Department) were (and still are) completely unprepared- and sadly, they’re struggling to stay afloat.

Traditionally, lawyers have been slow adapters to technology; in fact, some of my peers in the 50+ age group still insist on having paper files- because they like to “touch” the paper and “feel” the file instead of reading everything on the screen of a desktop computer, or even worse, a tablet or mobile phone. But as time marches on, those lawyers are sunsetting from practice and being replaced by younger lawyers who learned PowerPoint in 3rd Grade, grew up on social media, and are technologically savvy. can’t live without their mobile phones. Meanwhile, mobile devices are getting better and more powerful as better apps and platforms make it easier and easier to work, and even run a practice. Which brings us to the “New Normal” that’s emerging in the South Florida Legal Community.