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Attorneys can now use RON (Remote Online Notarization) in Illinois! Here’s how it works.

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At the Office

Governor Pritzker has approved an executive order for remote online notarization (RON) of documents. This executive order will be in place while the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation is in force.

If you need remote online notarization services, reach out to your regular notary, set up a web conference and follow the guidelines below. Or if you’re an Amata Law Office Suites client email [email protected] and a notary will work with you.

Below are the key provisions of the executive order:

  • The remote notarial act must be done by two-way, real time web conference communication that allows for direct interaction between the Notary and the signer.
  • The signer of the document must attest that they are currently physically in Illinois during the web conference, and state what they are signing on the web conference.
  • The resolution of the web conference must be of sufficient quality for the Notary to properly examine the signer’s personal identification credentials.
  • All attorneys must record the remote notarization process using their web conference platform. A copy of the recording must be emailed to the Amata Notary to retain for a minimum of 3 years.
  • The signer must show the Notary every page of the document being signed. The signer should also initial each page to ensure that the document is complete.
  • The signer must fax or send by electronic means the signed document requiring notarization to the Notary no later than the same day, and the Notary must send the completed notarized document back to the signer by fax or electronic means within 24 hours.

Amata also provides virtual paralegal services to attorneys in need. For our virtual paralegal rates, reach out to Director of Legal Support Services, Tisha Delgado at [email protected].

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Being Remote: Lessons to Take Back to the Office

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At the Office

If you have a physical office space, being remote may feel like a temporary burden. You’re either:

  • making the office set-up you have work, and hoping this will be over soon, or
  • you’ve signed up for a couple of telework services that you can cancel as soon as you’re back to ‘normal’

This can be more than just an aberration in your firm’s history, though. Many attorneys are hoping measures like RON (which Gov. Pritzker is permitting in Illinois while the gubernatorial disaster proclamation is in place) and video conferencing for uncontested motions stay in effect long after the pandemic has passed. In the same context, measures put in place to manage your firm remotely can be brought back to the office to benefit your firm’s efficiency and bottom-line.

There is a lot to talk about, so we’re splitting it up into three parts, each a blog filled with lessons we’ve learned and that our clients have learned, and that are worth taking back to the office. This week, we are discussing technology that feels practically necessary when working remotely: practice management software and the cloud.

Practice management software & the cloud

Law firms who aren’t on the cloud are scrambling to set up VPNs and put their employees on secure networks at their homes. Law firm partners are struggling to share files and manage their employees remotely (and the employees are having a hard time co-editing docs). Practice management software and cloud drives can help firms overcome these momentary hurdles, but many attorneys find they are also just a great addition to a firm in general.

We grouped these two services because they go hand-in-hand. You won’t attend a single practice management software demo without the salesperson covering document management and the cloud drives they can integrate with. It’s not a surprise; much of the casework you and your team is working on revolves around documents! Similarly, the benefits of these two pieces of tech intertwine.

How these technologies help your firm work remotely now, and will benefit your firm in the future.

Fewer emails. More answers.

What was the status of that case? Who sent the document you are group editing last? Outlook used to hold the answers. Now your inbox is flooded with pandemic related email updates, webinar invites, and your neatly defined folders have been muddled. Not to mention spending fifteen minutes searching Outlook wasn’t the best solution in the first place.

With a practice management software, you don’t need to depend on Outlook to know who is working on what, to find the status of any given case, or to see a version of any given file. Additionally, if you’re group editing a document with your team, and want to work on the most recent addition, then you simply need to pop into your cloud drive and open the file – no guess work. (For many cloud drives, including Office 365, you can even edit a document collaboratively). By removing your dependence on emails, you’ll have less of a chance of missing important updates or accidentally sending the wrong version of a file. Plus, less time is spent digging through your inbox. And we all know time is money.

Benefits summary: Saves you time, keeps you organized, and gives you the answers you want when you want them.

Better team management.

With a practice management software, comes two items called ‘tasks’ and ‘workflows.’ Workflows are simply a series of tasks that you put in order and can assign to specific staff members. When a client comes through, you place them in the appropriate workflow, and a robot assigns your staff tasks for the casework as the case progresses.

We’re not saying you can drop the ball and let your staff do as they please, but we are saying that the documents will be assigned to the right staff member, at the right stage, with little oversight and managing necessary on your end. And when you spend less time managing your team, you spend more time on the billable hour (or with your family).

Benefits summary: Once again, frees up your time and provides better organization; this time not just for you but for your whole team, which means you’re improving the efficiency of your entire firm.

The convenience of working from anywhere.

This is the most widely touted benefit of both practice management software and the cloud. It’s also the most ignored! For firms who have a physical office, this isn’t a selling point. They don’t want to work from anywhere, they have their office for that. Firms who say “we don’t need to work from anywhere” are missing a huge part of the picture: decreasing the overhead costs of physical space.

Let’s say your firm has two attorneys, a paralegal, and a law clerk. That’s space for four people that you pay for each month. It you shift your firm’s thinking, and have yourself, your partner, your law clerk, and your paralegal, working from home part-time, and rotating days in and out of the office, then you can cut office costs in half while maintaining all the benefits for being a brick-and-mortar firm. It’s a simple solution to decreasing overhead costs for your firm; and if you pass the cost savings onto your clients, you’ll find yourself a strong competitor due to your decreased rates.

Additionally, by cutting out the commute to work on some days (and Illinois commutes are no joke) you’ll each earn more time in your week.

Benefits summary: More money kept in the bank each month. More personal time for both you and your staff. And potentially greater mental health due to having more free time in your day and a healthier financial state for your business.

The main concept is that these two tech items bring (the ever elusive) efficiency to your firm.

It’s easier to know what is going on with casework and to find the information you need. You spend less time being shifting through disorganization, and less time on tiny tasks like following up on casework, assigning tasks to staff members, or trying to find the latest version of a document someone sent you. If there are any pieces of tech you are looking to adopt to increase your remote office functionality, these should be the top two on your list. They are easily applicable to traditional and private office setups — though if you decide to move to a partial remote office setup for your firm, you can see even more of a payback in money saved.

If you’re intrigued, but don’t know where to start, we have some ideas:

  • Ask other attorneys what practice management software they use.
  • Contact us! We have the wealth of knowledge from 700+ Amata member attorneys at our fingertips and have experience with both types of tech. If we don’t already know a good solution for you, we can put you in contact with an attorney who does. Reach us at [email protected], or give us a call at 888-497-9957.
  • If you use a cloud drive already, reach out to some practice management companies and ask if they integrate with your cloud drive. Then you’ll be able to set up demos with ones that fit into your existing infrastructure.

Why we’re writing this series: Private law office members at Amata have reached out over the past month and told us how using the remote services we offer has changed the way they will operate their firms in the future. We’re not exclusively a virtual office for lawyers, but this is remote office technology we’ve had for a while that many legal office space users didn’t have an immediate need to use until COVID-19. The out-pour of client support has been incredible, and many have explained that this is tech they will continue to use. We’re building this series of blogs based on their emails, and the conversations we’ve had because of them. To every Amata member, we just want to say: thank you.

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How to Keep Your Firm Running During a Crisis (And How Amata is Doing the Same)

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Tablet on Couch: VPN Access

“Flatten the Curve.” This is not a Flat-Earther motto, but a worldwide goal to minimize the coronavirus by hindering the spread of the infection. Social distancing is key, but as of March 26th, there is still no federal mandate to shelter-in-place, and as Chicago found out just this week, warming weather causes many to disregard these executive orders (which in turn caused Mayor Lori Lightfoot to close down the parks).

All these factors pile up against our race to flatten the curve, and work against our goal to contain the spread. Meaning we could be experiencing these Shelter-In-Place orders for longer than anyone would truly like.

This makes it all the more important for law firms to innovate, adapt, and keep business running even from their homes, and we have a few tips to help.

Pick up the phone and give people a call

Friendliness. A new person to talk to. A reassuring voice. There are many reasons why this is our top tip. We are doing it ourselves: Amata staff members have been calling clients daily checking in on how they are doing, assuring them their firms are in good hands at Amata and asking if they need any help or training on our office services.

As a lawyer, calling existing clients and letting them know you’re still doing everything possible to work on their case (even though the courts are closed) can be a great way to keep the client relationship connection strong, and give not only reassurance, but great customer service during a trying time. The not so obvious tip is to also call your staff, peers, mentors, and people in your network regularly as well; more often than you normally would. The idea is to make up for lost time around the watercooler (so to speak). Better yet, schedule video conferences and invite a handful of people! There is no reason for social time, networking, and business to grind to a halt, and video conferences can reestablish a normalcy in performing all those tasks while we observe the current Shelter-in-Place order.

Commit to new technology

Now may not seem to be the right time to spend more money. But if your firm is having a hard time working (or even at a standstill) due to a lack of flexible infrastructure, then you may need to reassess that instinct. What happens if you experience Shelter-in-Place for a month? Or for two months? Or more –  as this opinion piece from the New York Times suggests is necessary for the orders to be effective?

Your firm has to keep running during this time because you still have business to get done, and that may mean taking new steps and adopting new tech. Find good options, and become prepared for the future. You may be surprised what great new things can be achieved when one is forced to innovate.

We’re a shining example of this tip at work: while Amata has been providing flexible law office services for nearly two decades, over the past two weeks we launched additional services to help our clients. Our 3CX Web & Video Conferencing is now included, free-of-charge, for all clients currently using our 3CX phone services and for everyone who signs up for a phone only, virtual law office, or private office during this time. This service was added due to the COVID-19 crisis and all our services are better now because of it.

Stay secure while working from home

This final tip comes in two-steps — the first is courtesy of the Amata Law Office Suites preferred technology services provider, Bridgepoint Technologies:

If you and your staff are new to working remotely from home, make sure your setup has a router along with a recommended firewall and that the computer being used has recent updates and virus protection. If you are connecting directly to your business network, only do so through a secure channel such as a VPN or secure remote software. Before doing so, make sure that your wireless network at home has a complicated password with a name that will not personally identify your home. I.e.: Don’t name it: “Smiths House”.

Read more about the importance of Network Security.

Part two of this step is to check that all employees and staff members have the equipment they need to successfully work from home. At Amata Law Office Suites we just recently started ordering headsets to make conferencing and calling easier now that many of us are using our computers instead of phones to communicate — having a sturdy Bluetooth headset has been invaluable for our staff during video conferences.

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COVID-19: Chicago Updates & Amata Operations Information

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COVID-19: Chicago Updates & Amata Operations Information

As the situation on the coronavirus pandemic grows in both Illinois and throughout the world, we will maintain this page with our status and updates.

As of Friday, March 20th: Amata Law Office Suites is still open and operating. However, we are encouraging clients work remotely.

Recent Update: Thursday, April 9th

225 W Washington Street (Chicago): Positive testing for COVID-19 in building

Amata Law Office Suites has been notified by the building management of 225 W Washington that an on-site employee has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19).

For previous updates please see below.

Wednesday, April 1st

Amata Law Office Suites free services extended through extended “Shelter-In-Place” end date

Governor Pritzker has extended the “Shelter-in-Place” order an additional 30 days, through April 30th (Executive Order No. 18). Our free services (mail scanning and document preparation) have also been extended to match this new end date.

For a list of all Illinois executive orders, click here.

Friday, March 20th

Amata Law Office Suites open during the Shelter-in-Place

The operations of Amata Law Office Suites fall under Section 1(12) item m. in the executive order as put forth by the state; stating that “businesses that sell, manufacture, or supply products needed to work from home” fall under the “Essential Businesses and Operations” category. Therefore, we are remaining open during this order.

For the complete executive order click here. 

Thursday, March 19th

161 N Clark Street (Chicago): Positive testing for COVID-19 in building

Amata Law Office Suites has been notified by the building management of 161 N Clark that an on-site employee has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). CBRE will be following the guidance of the CDC while responding to the incident. The tenant in question is addressing the issue in their space.

180 N LaSalle Street now operating from 8 AM-5 PM.

Effective today, the Amata Law Office Suites location at 180 N LaSalle will be closing an hour earlier than usual. We will be operating from 8 AM-5 PM during this pandemic. Once the current situation is improved, we will return to the extended hours previously observed at this location (8 AM-6 PM).

Tuesday, March 17th

77 W Wacker Drive (Chicago): Positive testing for COVID-19 in building

Amata Law Office Suites has been notified by the building management of 77 W Wacker that an on-site employee has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). Ownership and Transwestern are in close communication with the tenant and the Chicago Department of Public Health in responding to this matter.

Sunday, March 15th

Governor J.B. Pritzker has closed all bars and restaurants in Illinois, starting Tuesday, March 17th.

In order to combat COVID-19, Governor J.B. Pritzker has closed all Illinois bars and restaurants for on-site consumption. This will go into effect Monday evening, March 16th, starting at 9 p.m. and extending through March 30.

During this time, customers may order food for delivery or takeout.

Amata is open but encouraging work from home and social distancing.

If you are a client who has not yet established remote working procedures and options for your firm, please contact your center manager, or call us at 312-757-7840. We will assist you in setting up your firm for telework through our virtual office services.

Why we need to practice social distancing.

Friday, March 13th

Cook County Courts closed starting Tuesday, March 17th.

Starting Tuesday, March 17th, 2020, the Circuit Court of Cook County will not be in session at the courthouses. This will extend through April 15th, 2020, with normal operations commencing on April 16th, 2020. Please note, this date may be modified by subsequent order of the Chief Judge.

The Circuit Court of Cook County will make exceptions for emergencies in civil cases or certain categories of criminal cases. There will be two assigned emergency judges (per day) in the Domestic Relations Division presiding in the Daley Center courtrooms 1903 and 1905. These judges will be only addressing emergencies.

Read the official notice.

Amata Law Office Suites is still open.

Amata Law Office Suites plans to remain open to provide services to attorneys during this time, and our locations are still open pending any changes to the COVID-19 situation in downtown Chicago. We will work diligently to keep our client’s firms running as smoothly as possible, and maintain our virtual services for all Amata clients who have chosen to telework due to the outbreak. We’ve also extended our free of charge legal admin and paralegal services to match the court’s date of April the 15th.

If you are an Amata Law Office Suites client who is interested in working remotely and have not yet received mobile phone training for you and your staff, or if you need more information regarding our free of charge admin & paralegal services now put in place through April 15th, please reach out to us at 312-757-7840.

If you are not a client but would like information on how Amata Law Office Suites can assist your firm, please call us at 312-815-1884.

March 12th Update

Amata Law Office Suites is open for the foreseeable future and preparing clients to work remotely.

Our teams have been working around-the-clock with Amata clients training them to use their mobile business phone technology so they can continue to serve their clients during this challenging time. We’ve also removed select administrative & paralegal service fees so they can operate as usual, without incurring additional costs due to this outbreak.

It’s important to us that our clients are able to work from anywhere and can implement the policies they believe are best for their firm’s health and safety. To assist your firm we are offering the following services at no charge:

  • Court filings and court runs in downtown Chicago (filing fees will still be incurred)
  • Document preparation
  • Mail scanning to you and your employees

If you have not yet received training for you and/or your staff, please reach out to us at 312-757-7840.

Discover our offices for lawyers in Chicago.

Advice on Moving (or Relocating) Your Law Firm

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Advice on Moving (or Relocating) Your Law Firm

Moving from working out of your your house into a private office space? Expanding into a new location in a new state? We have tips and advice for all types of moves. It’s an exciting time, and if you’ve given your choices proper consideration, it doesn’t have to be stressful.

Your First Office: “I work remotely and want to move into private office space. How do I pick the best space?”

You’re taking a big step, both for your practice and for your bank account. Make sure you properly vet any space you are looking at to ensure it satisfies your growing firm’s growing needs and doesn’t become unaffordable overhead.

We recommend asking the following questions of your potential landlord or space provider:

  • What’s the shortest lease term I’m able to sign?
  • What happens if I need to scale up during my lease term? Or scale down?
  • What amenities are included in my base rent and what ones are add-ons that I need to pay each month (like water, heat, office equipment, etc.)?
  • What are the benefits to being at your space? And can you think of any negatives?

We especially want you to ask that last question – there are negatives to ANY arrangement, and having a landlord or space provider who is honest and upfront with you means you’re getting into business with someone you can trust.

Your New Office: “The attorney I sublease from isn’t renewing their lease. What do I do next?”

Many attorneys sublease space from other attorneys – who are effectively trying to be both landlords and law firm owners. It’s no surprise then, that so many find themselves suddenly kicked out of their space when the attorneys they sublease from decide to give up the dual roles and not renew their leases.

If this is your situation, you’re probably stressed out, and potentially a little angry. You want to make sure your next situation is stable, and you probably discovered a few options:

  1. You can sublease again
  2. You even take on the dual role yourself and lease a large floor
  3. You can take an office with a shared office space provider

Before you make a choice ask yourself: “What do I really need to practice law successfully.”

If this move isn’t really that cumbersome, and isn’t interfering with your day-to-day business, then go with option one. Just keep in mind that you may need to move again sooner than you expect, and that your options may be more limited so price and location shopping will be difficult.

If you loved your traditional space and like the idea of having a small floor of other attorneys in a community you hand crafted, then go with option two. Make sure you speak with other attorneys who have done so first, though. Otherwise you may find yourself stressed and overworked (and not with legal work).

If this move is causing stress, and you want both stability and the ability to shop around for the best price and best location, then a shared office space is your best bet. Additionally, you’ll get the same benefits as option two – a community of attorneys – if you choose a boutique shared office space provider who specializes in supporting law firms. Check if your area provides one!

Your New Beginning: “I’m opening my firm in a new state. Any advice?”

Congratulations on your success! Aside from the legal business of becoming an attorney in a new state, you’ve got a new market you’re trying to enter. Many of our own attorney clients find success by first setting themselves up to work remotely. Most often they purchase a Virtual Law Office program which gives them a local address on one of our floors, a local phone number for their firm, as well as access to all of our locations and our conference rooms for meetings. This saves them the overhead of renting private office space until they are more established in their new city, while giving them all the amenities they need to run their practice in the new location.

The added benefit of opening a Virtual Law Office is that when they do make the move into physical, private space, they are able to maintain their address by simply upgrading from their Virtual Law Office into private office space. Need more information on how this works? Visit our Virtual Law Office page!

Additional Resources for moving your law firm:

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Established Attorneys Who Don’t Choose Traditional Space for Their Firms

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Established Attorneys Who Don’t Choose Traditional Space for Their Firms

Shared legal office space isn’t just for new solo attorneys. We have law firms of all sizes here at Amata. Why? Because flexible space is good for every firm, at every stage.

Having an office space that gives your firm options for expansion as well as shrinkage means:

  • Less resources (both money and time) spent on moving
  • Consistency for you and your clientele
  • Staying cost-effective, no matter what happens

Many attorneys who sign up for traditional law office space find themselves losing profit to pay for space they aren’t using. For instance, if an attorney or employee leaves their firm, they suddenly have an unoccupied office they are paying for. Or if they are looking for offices downtown for three partners and a secretary, their only options may be large build-outs with six offices (two more than they need). Other law office solutions exist, however.

Here a few examples of established attorneys who choose alternative law firm office options, and how that choice helps their firms.

The Defectors

A new CEO, a merger; they change the corporate structure of firms. A couple of attorneys frequently get together in these times and decide to break away to start their own practices.

How shared legal office space providers help

Defecting attorneys need discretion, and they need to set up shop quickly. By going with a shared office space for attorneys or a legal coworking space, they can keep things discrete, because they won’t need to post ads to hire staff or run around the city looking for space or furniture. A shared office provider presents itself as a “pop-up” law firm option: the defecting attorneys can create their PC or LLC, rent the few offices they need (which come fully furnished), get a new phone number for their firm through the shared office space (who set everything up with the phone company), and they’ll have a receptionist who is answering their calls the moment their number is active.

All the attorneys have to do is give notice and show up in their new space! Should they decide to hire more staff and add more offices – or customize their office with their own furniture – they can do so later on without issue.

The Established Attorney in a New State

Making a leap and branching out into a new state can be scary; if going the traditional route, it becomes all the more frightening.

How shared legal office space providers help

Like a defector, the ease of setup gives this attorney less to worry about. A smart attorney branching into a new state will also want to keep over-head costs as low as possible while building up their client base. Starting their firm out with a Virtual Law Office – which includes access to a shared law office space floor’s common space to work from, conference rooms to meet clients at, a business address on the floor for receiving mail, a phone number with their new city’s area code, and access to the shared law office space staff – allows them to have a professional presence in the new city, without the high overhead cost of traditional office space.

Virtual legal office programs allow the attorney to telecommute until their firm is established enough in the new city to hire a permanent associate at that location, and upgrade to a dedicated private office space on the floor!

The Satellite Firm

For successful large firms, overhead may not be as large of a concern. Putting associates in an environment where they can meet other professionals and establish themselves in the community, however, may be.

How shared legal office space providers help

A shared office space for attorneys is a giant floor filled with a medley of attorneys from firms as small as one to as large as fifty! With all these attorneys in one space, making connections is as easy as making a cup of coffee. If associates are new to a city, having this built-in network can help them find a group of peers to integrate with, network within, and assist in building the firm’s referral network in the new city. A more holistic benefit is their well-being. Associates and partners who are able to work from a shared law office space will have a higher ability to find like-minded individuals who aren’t colleagues; new people to have lunch with or go to happy hours with after a long day.

Feeling part of a community is an undeniable wellness benefit, and hard to ignore in an industry plagued with stress and mental illness.

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How to Get Affordable Health Insurance for Your Small Law Firm

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How to Get Affordable Health Insurance for Your Small Law Firm

 

If you’re a partner at a law firm, then being an attorney is not your only focus: running the firm takes up a large portion of your time and energy. It’s probably why you’re reading our blog. You are interested in shared law office space (like we provide at Amata Law Office Suites) because of its cost-savings and extensive, built-in, support staff for your firm.

At Amata, we want to ensure that we help support your business knowledge so you can run your firm well, and focus on practicing law. Today, we’re tackling one of the most fraught areas of running a law firm: selecting health insurance.

The truth behind small business health insurance…

After reading The Price We Pay by Marty Makary, M.D., our CEO & Founder, Ron Bockstahler, dove deep into the world of health insurance and uncovered some interesting information: small businesses have more comprehensive and affordable health insurance options than they are often led to believe. For instance, many small firm attorneys would be surprised to learn that as a one-person business, they have access to group-health insurance.

If you have individual health insurance, you may have learned the hard way that the individual market lacks stability: the plans are often shifting & changing, and prices are prone to jumping (many see this happen yearly!). The group market, on the other hand, is lower cost and provides more stable insurance options. The plans do not change often, either in design or in price. They also renew each year, and are less susceptible to drastic federal and state legislative changes.

How is it possible that a one-person business can have access to something labeled “group”?

Technically, it is referenced as a small group, and there are restrictions. Since many of us infer group as including a large number of individuals, we don’t look into whether group insurance is an option for us as small businesses and default to the individual insurance options. For many small business owners group insurance is not only a viable option, but the best option. The benefits of group health are so large that business owners shouldn’t assume they won’t have access without talking to an experienced insurance professional first.

What are the benefits of going with group insurance?

Aside from the lower costs and increased stability, providing good health insurance both for yourself and your employees can create a better work atmosphere. Health insurance is one of the most contentious topics in America right now, but everyone can agree that they want good insurance. Being the firm who can provide great benefits will help bolster your employee satisfaction, and can boost not only staff retention but overall happiness – both of which will bolster your firm’s effectiveness.

Does your firm qualify for group insurance?

Answering this question is worth the time investment. You can either contact your existing insurance people, or if you’re an Amata Law Office Suite client, you can attend our special education event “Insurance Education: What they don’t tell you” hosted by Alexandra Eidenberg of The Insurance People and Richie Marrero of 360 Benefits. This event takes place at 77 W Wacker on Thursday, February 20th, and is open to all Amata Law Office Suites clientele. You can RSVP with us at [email protected]. If you missed the event and want more information, send us an email!

In only an hour Alexandra and Richie will give a crash course on the insurance options you don’t know about, and you can pick their brains to see if any of these options are good for your firm. If you want your questions answered, please RSVP. For anyone looking to network, cocktails and appetizers will also be available post-event.

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New Year’s Resolutions: Ideas for Attorneys in 2020

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New Year's Resolutions: Ideas for Attorneys in 2020

As an attorney, work is probably on your mind a lot, even when you’re not sitting down at a desk. So it makes since that your resolution for the new year benefits both you and your law practice.

Re-Energize Your Biggest Asset: Your Brain

Put down your phone and unlock the power of boredom

When you’re scrolling through Facebook, shopping on Amazon, even listening to The Journal podcast, you classify the time as unwinding. Dr. Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, WNYC’s first guest in their 6-day Bored and Brilliant challenge, reveals a different reality to the smartphone-centric lives we all now lead:

“[After getting a smartphone] I began to feel like I was losing my ability to really concentrate seriously on the things I needed to do.”

Dr. Soojung-Kim Pang is a smart guy; he earned a PhD in the history of science and technology and he has been a visiting scholar at Stanford for over 15 years. This shift in his attention alarmed him, and drove him to write his book, The Distraction Addiction. As an attorney you probably agree with his sentiment that losing yourself in complex problems is “one the most satisfying things” you’ve ever experienced. He urges you to put down your phone, so you can reclaim this ability and spend more time immersed in your thoughts.

Interested in doing the full boredom challenge? Follow Bored and Brilliant’s 6 day boot camp to re-discover the benefits of boredom. The concentration and creativity you gain could lead to enhanced problem solving on your next difficult case. At the very least, you will actually be giving your brain time to relax, instead of keeping it constantly stimulated, even during your down time.

Ignore the billing clock for an hour. Instead, invest that time in being mindful.

Americans are stressed out. As an attorney, that stress can be even higher. “Mental wellness” and “mindfulness” have become key terms in legal conferences, and a quick search for stress-management CLEs turns up hundreds of results. The pressure attorneys feel — from their demanding jobs, the never ending ticking away of the clock, and the emotional burden of many types of practices — is what drove Harvard-educated lawyer and mindfulness expert, Jon Krop, to create his company. Mindfulness for Lawyers, is exactly what it sounds like: a program designed by a lawyer, for lawyers, to achieve mindfulness.

We’re used to the term now, but mindfulness’s new reputation as the end-all, be-all for stress management, energy revitalization, and mental clarity, was once regarded as ‘new age’ nonsense; so don’t be surprised if you hear some guffawing around older legal professionals. Still, we’re excited about the focus on stress management and meditation so often touted by Generation Y attorneys these days.

Guided Meditation Apps: Headspace (pay-to-play) | Smiling Mind (free)

Don’t forget to breathe.

Renovate Your Day-to-Day

Take advantage of living in the ‘future’

AI doesn’t mean the same thing in 2020 as it does in The Terminator (or if you need a more emotional example, the tear-worthy movie from the 90’s, A.I. Artificial Intelligence). Despite this difference in definition, AI is software, complex software that can help you and help your firm. We could write a paragraph about the benefits of automating (especially if you work in practices like Estate Planning, which are flooded in repetitive tasks and steps), but instead of reading about LegalTech in general, spend your time exploring specific pieces of LegalTech!

Make it your goal to commit to a single piece of software in 2020. Sure there is an initial time investment in finding and implementing it, but you’ll see a great return in the next quarter as it helps automate your day-to-day tasks.

Clio | For document management, client management, accounting management, and much much more

Lawmatics | It’s not just for the sales cycle. Put your clients in a systematic workflow and stop using brainpower to remember what step you need to do next.

Documate | Say goodbye to complex Word Document shorthand, and hello to legal document automation

Boosted | A time-tracker app on your phone! Organize by client name and break the work down by task for easier billing

Get some help!

We’ve met a lot of attorneys who are bogged down by work. You probably have too. Maybe you are one. The point is, when you’re busy, it’s hard to spend time thinking about how to make your life easier. You have to concentrate, focus on the immediate task ahead just to stay afloat. Even if you want to hire someone to assist you, the time input for posting a job opening, interviewing people, training someone, starts to sound like a major commitment in an already tight schedule — and that doesn’t include delving into your financials so you know how much help you can even afford.

If you need support, but don’t have time to hire a new person, then we’ve got some quick ideas below. Or you can read our full blog How to Get Affordable Support for Your Law Firm.

Alternatives to hiring a new, full-time employee:

  1. If your team is only working 6-8 hours a day, then offer overtime to check more items off the to-do list
  2. Invest in an existing employee and pay for higher-level training for higher-level support
  3. Hire on-demand legal support! It’s cost-effective and benefits your firm in intangible ways

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

How to Get Affordable Support for Your Law Firm

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How to Get Affordable Support for Your Law Firm

Hiring more legal support staff is a catch-22 situation for most attorneys. On the one hand, they are overworked, struggling to keep up with never ending tasks and casework. On the other hand, they have a tight budget.

A new employee is not only a time investment – during the hiring process and training – but a risk. Will they be worth the lost money to the firm? Will there be enough work to keep them occupied eight hours a day? Will revenue ever go back up after investing in this new hire, or will the benefit only be in decreased stress?

Then there’s the ultimate question. Which is more stressful: Having more help but less money to run the firm, or having more money but less help?

If you’re reading this you need support for your law firm. We’ve worked with attorneys for a long time, and over the past twenty years they have shown us that there are more options then simply hiring someone new.

Before Hiring a (New) Permanent Employee for Your Law Firm

Offer overtime to an existing employee or employees

If you have an employee who puts in 6-8 hours a day, ask them to work overtime occasionally to clear more tasks off the to-do list. Be careful you don’t push your employees too hard, though, or this method won’t actually benefit your firm. As this study from John Pencavel, of the Department of Economics, Stanford University, shows more hours logged doesn’t mean more hours worked, especially if the employees are already working long-strings of time without significant breaks.

Offer higher-level training to an existing employee

Your law clerk is a hard worker, but you need the expertise of a paralegal more and more. Your legal secretary is wonderful, but office and client management isn’t as important as the casework piling up on your desk. Before you hire that second employee, you could offer your current one more training.

Putting your law clerk through paralegal training can present a significantly lower cost to your firm versus hiring an additional employee. Plus, you’ll receive the added time benefit of avoiding hiring and training processes. Your current employee already knows you, your business, your priorities, and your clients. Invest in them first, and the benefits can be astounding.

Hire on-demand support with virtual paralegal services, virtual CFOs or more

Whether it’s for paralegal support, billing & collections assistance, or even a part-time, case-by-case attorney, hiring exactly who you need for only the time you need them is the most straight-forward way to find affordable legal support. This solution is not always easy, though. On-demand support is cost-effective and provides great benefits to your firm, but this support comes via a contracted employee and therefore they may not always be available. Which means the person you work with could change more often than you’d like.

If you hire on-demand support, find someone with great references, and make sure you inquire about their objectives. Are they doing this because they are trying to pay bills during law school? Because they can’t find full-time work? Or because they like the case-diversity the role provides? This can help you find someone who will provide longevity. A new law school student could be a great hire in a few years, but the contractor who is simply having a hard time in the job market could provide instability once they do land their dream job.

When to Hire a New Employee

At first you think it’s just a “tight period.” A couple months of low resources and high demand. You keep your head down and work hard, knowing that with enough overtime the path will clear, the demands will slow down.

But the tight period does not seem to wane. Because it’s not a tight period. Your practice is doing well and your demand has superseded the quantity of people at your firm (whether it’s a count of one – yourself – or twenty). Now is the time to hire. Your new employee will help not only relieve stress, but take on a size-able portion of the work. They will be worth the money. And because your firm is growing, you will see the return on investment from spending time training this new hire. Take the leap and get the legal support you need and deserve.

Discover our legal support staff for lawyers in Chicago.

Dick’s Last Resort & 18th District Police Partner to Deliver Santa’s Gifts!

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Dick's Last Resort & 18th District Police Partner to Deliver Santa's Gifts!

For the 29th year Santa has had help delivering gifts to local Chicago area children, thanks to the efforts of Dick’s Last Resort and the 18th District Community Policing Office.

Santa and his elves hosted a gift giving extravaganza at the local restaurant on December 11th; Dick’s closed their doors for the event and accommodated approximately 50 children who were bused in from area schools and churches. Festive face painters made the children laugh with delight as their faces were decorated with Christmas designs. Carolers from VanderCook College of music serenaded the crowd. Also attending were members of the 18th District police force and local politicians.

Toys, school supplies & books galore!

A Community that Cares…

Each child received multiple gifts from Santa, and while they received amazing toys, their gift piles also included more practical items, like school supplies and books. In the 29 years of this event, Dick’s Last Resort has spent more than $100,000 on gifts for Chicago area children.

“These are children who probably would not be getting much for Christmas,” said David Swann, regional manager of Dick’s Last Resort, “and in these challenging economic times, we wanted to provide an extraordinary afternoon.”

Ron Bockstahler, CEO of Amata Law Office Suites, added, “It’s a blessing and a privilege to assist the police and Dick’s Last Resort in providing gifts to these children. Dick’s has been helping the community for many years and with all the turmoil in our world, it’s heartwarming to know Chicago has corporate citizens that care about our children.”

And an Event Children Look Forward Too

The adults aren’t the only ones who appreciate being able to participate in this yearly tradition. This holiday event is an staple in the community and children are excited when they learn they are attending. Professor Robert Sinclair, Ph.D. Director of Choral Activities at VanderCook College of music said, “Having our students participate in this event is very meaningful for them. They so enjoy getting the children up, singing, dancing and laughing. We look forward to participating every year.”

The children were chosen by community volunteers and school officials in conjunction with the 18th District Community Policing Office, which is led by Sgt. Chris Schenk.

Taking Time to Educate

Local politicians and the police department use this event to educate children as well. Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who has attended the party for the last 17 years, spoke to the children this year about the importance of staying in school and not getting involved with gangs.

Also in attendance were 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly and 18th District Police Commander Daniel O’Shea. Officer Ramona Stovall assisted with the party. The event is organized every year by Chicago civic leader Kathy Posner, a member of the 18th District Community Policing District Advisory Council (DAC.)

Each year Amata Law Office suites staff head down to Dick’s Law resort to help wrap gifts. Thank you to our Amata admin Kara Fuss and receptionists Mirel Robles and Erica Morgan for your time and generous spirit this holiday season.

Discover our networking events for Chicago lawyers.