We, as professionals, have been working remotely for years, long before the pandemic. Attorneys and paralegals have been emailing work home to themselves forever – despite IT’s pleas to not do that (you know who you are). The hybrid work environment is not new. What is new, however, is the normalization of it.

Communication is imperative to the success of any law firm, especially when most businesses are operating on hybrid or fully remote work schedules. According to a recent survey, about 16% of firms invested in communication software at the onset of the pandemic in addition to other cloud-based practice management systems. And with the way things are trending, having open communication is going to be integral to building out your practice and making your business a success. However, it isn’t just communication between clients about the status of the cases that’s important, but also communication within the firm and keeping employees on the same page about tasks and matters.

Each year, the Zola Suite development team releases hundreds of updates and dozens of new features to help law firms be more efficient and profitable. While this year was full of updates and changes, Zola Suite users have spoken, and we’re pleased to share our top 10 releases of 2021.

With so much technology at our fingertips, individuals are inundated with information in the form of email, text messages, news alerts and social media notifications. As a business, it can be difficult to cut through all of the “digital noise” and connect with people; branded touchpoints are more important than ever.

With so much technology at our fingertips, IT professionals always have some sort of new technological advancement to tackle. Any time you undertake a project that involves your computers, it is a good idea to have your IT team involved.

Communication with clients and prospective clients has always been very important. Due to the current climate, it is even now more important to ensure that clients and potential new clients are receiving the communications that they want, in the format that they want, and when they want them. Proper communication from everyone in a firm…

As a lawyer, you start off your work day by checking your emails. You see one regarding a task that needs to be done, so you forward the message to your legal assistant. You then receive a reply with questions regarding the task. You reply, and so begins a long email thread. A week later, you’ll add to that thread when you inquire as to the status of the project. It’s an all too common, wildly inefficient, scenario that plagues legal teams.

It’s becoming more and more difficult to stay current with all the cybersecurity threats that individuals and businesses face. The “bad guys” are focusing not only on accessing data, but they are continually sending emails, texts and phone calls. They are targeting smaller business entities with the assumption that these businesses do not have the appropriate protection in place. As more people continue to work remotely, it is becoming increasingly important that everyone understand why security is critical and what is at risk. We all understand the importance of locking the doors to our homes and apartments as well as our automobiles. Cybersecurity is just as important, and in many cases, cyberattacks can be more detrimental than experiencing a home or auto being vandalized. Let’s review some of these cyber threats and ways to protect your firm from them.

Goodbye 2020 and hello to 2021! As we kick off a new year, we asked some of our partners to make some predictions on what we can expect to see across the legal industry in 2021.