Estate Planning Lawyer

Law firms have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with high-stakes trials getting delayed and deal work related to mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings drying up. 

Still, there have been some bright spots. Restructuring lawyers have seen a surge in activity as clients looks to navigate the crisis, and firms with strong labor and employment practices are getting a boost as clients navigate cutting jobs and workplace safety issues. 

The coronavirus has forced an unprecedented switch to remote work, and some say the move is already prompting a rethink of office space and talent needs for the long run. Firms are also being forced to reinvent their summer programs in order to accommodate remote work.  

Which practices will be relevant and which practices will become irrelevant in the near term? We suspect estate planning, business licensing, bankruptcy, labor and employment, and litigation will be busy. Flexibility will be a key component of the new landscape for survival of the fittest. 

Another paradigm considered with relevancy in these times is who can successfully work from home and accomplish just as much or more from the confines of a home office. Many women attorneys and staff are affected by this given that children are homebound with remote learning requirements. When school resumes, another new paradigm for the home office may take hold. Again, flexibility will be key, and law firm leaders will most likely be looking closely at hours worked from the home office and the efficiency of work accomplished by attorneys and staff working from home. It may be a new level of efficiency. The landscape of the world and the legal world is evolving. 

Wellness and health will also take on a new meaning as law firms begin to plot how to reopen for firms in big cities located in skyscrapers and high rises. Buildings in metropolitan areas may have TSA-like entry involving taking temperatures, long lines for elevators, mandatory face masks, and a list of questions before entering the building. In addition, staggered work hours may become part of the new normal. How will that work and how will those people be selected? We shall see.

Bottom line, it is incumbent on law firm leaders, such as an estate planning lawyer in Belgrade, MT, like from Silverman Law Office, to present a thoughtful united front on how to proceed. Firms with excellent leadership will create a work environment that is safe, welcoming, productive as well as client oriented.