In the PwC survey, 15% of employees and 21% of female employees said they would give up part of their salary and reduce the pace of promotion by working fewer working hours. If flexible work were offered, 64% would like to work from home from time to time. Staying relevant to clients and growing your law firm requires keeping up with industry trends. But sometimes finding good information can be a challenge, and interpreting new data can reduce your free time.
The pandemic has been tough for all of us, but for small law firms, it has forced many to venture out of their comfort zones and start approaching work differently to help their clients through this difficult time. In an increasingly limited world of capital, portfolio financing can help law firms manage and improve cash flow. In order to prepare and plan for a post-pandemic world, companies and law firms must evaluate how they think about managing legal costs and risks. Companies will need to focus on how to deepen and expand relationships with their existing customer base while attracting new customers, perhaps from companies that have become complacent.
Legal financing prepares companies to create and expand contingency practices to meet customer demand and provides the working capital and liquidity to outperform competition. Now is the time for small law firms to take ownership of a specialty or niche by becoming experts in everything under their umbrella; this will allow their firm to remain competitive in the coming years. By investing in cutting-edge resources, law firms send a clear message that they are committed to meeting the needs of their clients today and tomorrow. For example, by entering into a portfolio finance agreement with a legal finance provider, law firms have access to a large amount of capital when they need it most and can foster a special risk partnership relationship with the provider of their choice.
When looking for a trusted partner for a business relationship that can last for decades, a client wants to ensure that a law firm is not only able to resolve current issues, but is also prepared to address issues that may arise in the future. Now is the time for small law firms to take their businesses to the next level by investing in a technology roadmap that allows them to offer a higher level of service to their clients. We can see this happening by looking at the growth of alternative legal service providers (ALSP) and the legal services offered by the four major accounting firms. In the last recession, law firms made cuts in staff, but those layoffs didn't begin until the rest of the economy began to recover.
For lawyers looking to serve the needs of law firms or compete directly for work, these service requirements will also be key to staying competitive. The legal landscape is constantly changing and, to stay competitive, law firms must adopt new technologies.
