What Are Some Of The Positives Of COVID-19?
Throughout the pandemic, with the changes taking place, people were, for the most part, not allowed to leave their houses and had to stay indoors with the virus spreading through personal interaction, and the Governments wanted to bring those down to a minimum. Whenever there was a spike in the number of people with the Coronavirus, the Government would implement another national lockdown, not allowing anyone to leave their homes unless for essential services or medical reasons.
While there were many rules that they had to follow when dealing with the law profession, there were changes that they could not easily incorporate. While most legal court sessions that ideally took place in person were on hold, for the most part, some places were trying to incorporate the same sessions virtually. Most of the world was already functioning remotely, and businesses and companies struggled to get work done remotely. There were reports where employers mentioned that they saw a decrease in productivity through remote working means.
If we are to predict the changes that will take place over the next three months, we don’t see a lot changing. Although there might be a few more businesses running in person, we will continue doing more work virtually. There is a lot of work we have to handle when not meeting people, and we were using the time to get through all of that. We were moving forward with paperwork and other changes while staying home for the most part.
With the pandemic and most people not allowed to interact with one another, in person or not being comfortable with an interaction because they could spread and catch the virus, we were not having any jury trials at any point in time. While for a few people, these changes meant they were sitting in jail for an extended period, for most who are arrested, it means a better opportunity to get out of jail because they were part of an improper system.
With most companies and businesses making changes through the pandemic, we had to do the same as a law firm. We changed the way that we were communicating with our clients. In the past, we handled these interactions in person, making it easier to communicate with simpler explanations. Now, we are getting in touch with our clients through either video conferences or over the phone, which is something we rarely did in the past. Additionally, I rarely go to the office anymore and prefer working remotely most of the time.
Working remotely, with many pros, saves time and effort to move from one place to another, but comes with some cons too. We face the primary challenge of maintaining or establishing a real relationship with clients because that would usually happen through the in-person meetings we were having with them.
When it comes to the office, we try to keep the numbers down during the day. Most of my in-person client meetings occur after regular business hours. However, there is a lot of work I have to catch up on post working hours, making it challenging to get through. Additionally, we regularly clean and disinfect the office to make sure people coming in are safe, and we are safe too. The last thing that we want is to have an outbreak through our office.
Being in the law business, much of the information passed on to our clients is confidential. We have to make sure that we are careful of who could get their hands on the information before just pawning it off. We use secure servers and proper mailing protocols to confirm that all the people we are coordinating with are getting the most out of the process. I use secure email to communicate with clients, which we do through Microsoft Outlook. We also use the default end-to-end communication through Whatsapp and other services to keep the information safe. Additionally, I use Zoom and WebEx frequently with courts because we have some virtual hearings, which are challenging to get through.
I usually meet clients after regular business hours and run the office at the same hours I did in the past. However, I work irregular hours by putting in a lot more time now than we did in the past. We are catching up for the months that everything was closed, and the workload is constantly increasing.
With us having mastered the online and virtual game to an extent needed by our profession, I would like to participate in virtual public events and business Expos moving forward. COVID-19 has allowed us to be more comfortable spending more time with our neighbors and our families.
If you are looking for a criminal defense lawyer in Jonesboro, Georgia, get in touch with us at the Law Office of M Byron Morgan. We help with negotiation and litigation and are happy to understand our client’s needs to get them through the legal process. Having worked in this profession for a long time now, we cannot guarantee results but know what we are doing and tell our clients that they are in good hands. We have been practicing within the law profession for three decades and are happy to assist in any way we can. If you want a better understanding of the services that we provide, please click here. If you are looking to get in touch with us, please click here.