Covid and the New Law Firm “Normal”

I have been a lawyer since 1991, and have seen many changes over the years. Back then, computers had two floppy drives, the internet was years away, and files were kept in dusty file rooms the size of most houses. Legal research meant hours in the books to find case law, statutes, and answers. We met clients face to face, and had fancy reception areas and conference rooms. Messages were written down in duplicate, and there was no such thing as email. Women lawyers were the minority, and we dressed in formal business suits with skirts – and would get sent home by the partners if we showed up in a pantsuit.
Fast forward to 2020, Covid times. Our fancy reception area and conference rooms are locked up tight. Staff and attorneys work from home. There are no “file rooms”, because all documents are securely stored in specialized “cloud servers”. Legal research is instantaneous through subscription web-based databases. I wear pants – actually shorts and flip flops – because clients only see me from the shoulders up via zoom or facetime. And our pets love the attention as we work from home.
Clients enjoy the informality and ease of meeting via zoom or facetime. They have their pets at their ankles too. Estate Planning, elder law, and trust administration matters are handled efficiently. Clients can receive hard copy paper, or electronic copies through secured portal email. Our staff makes “Covid compliant” home visits to notarize documents, with sanitized pens, social distancing, and masks.
My, how times have changed! But, many of these “new normals” will remain for our Law Firm, even after Covid is a thing of the past.
For an appointment, please call the McNamara Law Firm at (661) 287-3260 or visit www.theMcNamaraLawFirm.com.