Lawyer Monthly Magazine August 2020 Edition

50 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | AUG 2020 GETTING YOUR BUSINESS BACK ON TRACK AFTER THE PANDEMIC HOW TAKING ON LOWER PLAYING CLIENTS MAY BE THE ANSWER TO GETTING YOUR BUSINESS BACK ON TRACK AFTER THE PANDEMIC C VID-19 As we all know COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown has forcedmany law firms into hardship and although we are gradually coming out of lockdown, that does not mean there aren’t any challenges still ahead. As lockdown is slowly lifted, law firms will be looking to get back into business and onto an even keel as swiftly as possible. However, they will also probably be looking to cut costs to do so. This needs to be balanced with the knowledge that certain types of work are likely to be more abundant than others in the immediate aftermath of lockdown, such as commercial leases and contracts, tenancy agreements, general contractual disputes, divorce and family law, probate, will writing, employment contract, and company mergers and acquisitions, etc. These are areas you want to be sure you can serve effectively and profitably from the minute your doors open again for business. However, some of these areas are at the lower end of the fee scale and may not be work you generally focus on. Perhaps in the past they have not been profitable enough to form a key part of the business, but with demand likely to be high, now might be the time to reconsider. So, what can you do if your firm does not employ (or is unable financially to employ) sufficient experienced individuals in these areas? This is where outsourcing to a local licenced paralegal may solve the problem. NALP licenced paralegals specialise in one or two legal areas and will not be as costly to employ on a contractual basis as a qualified