The year 2020 changed everything. It’s no surprise that when the pandemic swept across the world, everything changed, from when and how we interact with others, to how we conduct business.

Checklists form the groundwork for an excellent, well-run practice that is error free and purposeful. Setting up systems using checklists for every procedure you and your staff do is pivotal to growth, if done consistently and intentionally.

 

Of course, the initial reaction to expect might be that you don’t need or can’t rely on checklists to practice law because everything you do is unique. But if you put your mind to it, you’ll be able to come up with many areas in your practice where the use of checklists will make your work easier, smoother and foolproof.

While the content of your work might be unique, you will find your steps are those you repeat over and over again, and anything that you do repeatedly is ideal for checklist use.

In order to survive in 2021, savvy law firm leaders, from office managers to managing partners, need to adapt law firm operations in critical areas such as:

• Remote Client Interactions – This has come to stay as clients are now significantly less willing to meet in-person at the office, and who can blame them? To this end, law firms need to offer their clients contactless options for communication and collaboration using tools such as online communication portals, online payments, and virtual intake forms in order to keep cases moving forward.

 

• Seamless Firm Collaboration – Law firms must be on top of what they do and no matter where you are working from, a seamless collaboration with the aid of technology is the way to go. The only way to build business resilience into your law firms is to ensure that you’re able to provide legal services from any location by making it possible for team members to access case-related information and firm communications in the cloud.

 

• Adopting the Right Technology – Law firms like yours have rapidly adopted helpful technology in order to maintain their business and keep clients safe. Is your firm’s technology keeping up? Rapidly adopting new technologies like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Slack, and case management is a top priority for law firms seeking to adapt and thrive in 2021, despite the uncertainty it brings.

In The Checklist Manifesto, Atul Gawande very persuasively illustrates that the use of checklists by doctors and pilots saves lives. If doctors and airline pilots can use checklists in the midst of emergencies to save lives, surely lawyers can use checklists to protect their clients’ livelihoods, too.

We have no excuse.

 

 

 

REFERENCES

https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/support-and-resources-for-lawyers/practice-checklists/.

The Checklist Manifesto – Atul Gawande