The COVID crisis has been a stark reminder to law firms of the importance of being able to communicate safely, securely and consistently with your team – and to do it remotely if unable to gather in one location.
This extends to communicating with your clients, colleagues, courts, service providers and other stakeholders as well.
So it’s no surprise that companies that offer video conferencing and Zoom-style platforms are booming. Nor is it a surprise to find apps to keep people connected – like the open-source Griffin App, a mobile-office scheduling-assistant – are also thriving.
“Call it glass-half-full or looking at the sunny side of life, surprising silver linings for the tech enterprise have emerged from the cloud of COVID,” writes N.F. Mendoza in CXO. “Nearly from the start, the quick exodus from the office to the home revealed to tech leaders the viability and potential of a primarily remote workforce. If companies are able to lock down hardware, software as well as the imperative need for cybersecurity, this could mean flexibility for employees, as well as savings on office rental, supplies, and more for employers.”
The glass-half-empty: the cyber risk increases because of new vulnerabilities. Consider cyber training of staff, cyber webinars from Alta Pro, and cyber coverage for your practice.
Learn other silver linings at our upcoming FREE, one-hour CLE webinar “Zen and the Art of Practicing in a Pandemic” on December 15. Attorney and licensed therapist Michael Kahn, host of the “Thriving Lawyer” podcast, will offer practical tips on ethics, mindfulness and work/life balance. Sign up here.
Here are 4 other Silver Linings, courtesy of Mendoza and CXO (all quotes are hers):
1. Tapping into innovation and self-sufficiency. “The pandemic was the catalyst for many entrepreneurs. A new report from JustBusiness revealed that 26% of those who were laid off due to COVID-19 were starting their own businesses. One in five respondents who said they didn’t have plans to start a business pre-pandemic, do now; 51% said they identified new business opportunities due to the crisis. As for the impetus to begin a business now, 32.9% cited that they were inspired by the changes in the market due to the pandemic. The entrepreneurs stated that the type of business they want to open were accommodation and food services, retail, as well as arts, entertainment, and recreation. The report acknowledged that given how hard hit these industries were, the response was surprising.
2. Empathy. “2020 has undoubtedly been a difficult year for everyone, but if there’s a small silver lining, it’s how much we’ve learned to care for each other and empathize with human struggles happening near and far.” Empathy can be shown by expressing concern for a remote worker’s well-being and discussing ways to improve the situation.
3. Cyber liability insurance coverage is easy to get. “Insurance agencies can now distribute cyber insurance coverage to small and midsize businesses at speed,” says Mendoza. “They can do so by upgrading the traditional insurance paper-based model to a 100 percent online process.”
Take a look at an excellent and easy-to-apply-for cyber liability product here.
4. Home life became a focus. “Without commuting back-and-forth to work, without after-school activities, get togethers, church services, families had to learn to navigate their way around each other. For parents (or a parent) of a returned college-age or even older child it was an unprecedented, and unlikely to happen otherwise opportunity: Whether putting puzzles together, binge watching Breaking Bad together and having to eat nearly all meals togethers it was the chance to bond, unlikely any other in our lifetime.”
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