The hybrid firm has arrived and it’s here to stay. In fact, currently 41% of lawyers are working away from the office at least three days a week. While hybrid work isn’t new for modern law firms, the scale of hybrid work in a post-pandemic world is sure to put their technology and processes to the test. 

While many firms have successfully pivoted to remote working practices in response to the pandemic, the challenge comes in creating a long-term, sustainable hybrid work environment. With lawyers and staff now working from dispersed remote locations, the time has come for firms to replace inefficient manual processes with universally accepted and user-friendly digital workflows.

The ability to thrive in a hybrid world has become a crucial element in retaining top talent and attracting new clients. If your firm’s processes are heavily manual, making it harder to get work done, and you’re competing for talent with firms that allow staff to work from their location of choice, then you’ll lose the talent. On the client side, today’s tech-savvy clients demand efficiency, agility, and flexibility - and the failure to provide it will result in a shrinking clientbase. 

To evolve with the times and stay competitive in the market, today’s firms must adapt their processes and adopt technology that fosters a more collaborative, efficient, and flexible way of working. 

Streamline Processes & Reduce Complexities

Do your firm’s lawyers still rely on email, phone calls, and manual data entry to get work done? Without automated workflows powering day-to-day operations, legal staff can quickly become overwhelmed, inefficient, and prone to error. 

Processes play a key role in legal operations - from client onboarding and contract negotiations to service delivery and transactional work. If these processes are siloed and inefficient, they slow down work, make it more difficult to scale, and create opportunities for human error. On the other hand, adopting digital workflows across the firm can help reduce complexities, streamline efforts, and ensure the right information is presented to the right people - wherever they may be working. 

For example, London-based law firm Wedlake Bell recently streamlined its process of managing complex supply chain audits with a no-code workflow application from Sysero. Using the application, lawyers can easily manage suppliers through a centralised online database and efficiently produce client reports via a cloud-based workflow, which can be accessed in office or at home. 

Stay Competitive and Relevant

It’s not just law firms working in a hybrid environment - it’s their clients as well. As clients adapt hybrid working practices, they’re becoming more accustomed to flexible ways of working with their lawyers. In fact, according to the recent Legal Trends Report, nearly 80% of clients see the ability to work remotely with a lawyer as an important factor in selecting one.

Adopting automated digital workflows can improve the client experience at multiple points during their journey, from client onboarding through to the delivery of transactional work. Digital workflows like Sysero are powered by secure online forms that are accessible to clients via the cloud. Here, clients can provide their own data and information to kickstart a variety of legal processes, such as client intake, document production, and contract negotiations. 

By powering digital workflows that enable clients to quickly, easily and securely share information with their lawyers via online forms, firms can take a significant step closer to becoming a trusted and valued partner.

Maintain Compliance and Security

Client confidentiality, regulatory compliance, and data security pose unique challenges in the world of hybrid work. However, digital workflows can help you proactively address issues created or accelerated by hybrid working. 

On one hand, firms must be able to adopt cloud-based technologies to foster greater accessibility and collaboration. On the other hand, they also need to ensure data security and compliance. A hybrid cloud workflow can help you accomplish both of these things. 

Modern-day workflow solutions like Sysero enable firms to start workflows with a client-facing public form and end with storing sensitive and confidential information on a private cloud. This way, clients can easily participate in workflows, while you can rest assured that data is secured and protected behind the security of your firm’s firewall. 

Additionally, workflow automation solutions like Sysero come with built-in enterprise-grade security protocols, such as pseudonymisation and encryption, to keep internal data protected.

Adapt to the Hybrid Work Environment

The hybrid firm has arrived, is your firm ready? At Sysero, we’ve helped hundreds of law firms around the world transform and digitise their processes through automated workflows designed specifically for legal. To learn more and find out how we can help your firm excel in a hybrid environment, please get in touch with our team.