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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.

The High Cost of Employee Turnover at Your Law Firm

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The High Cost of Employee Turnover at Your Law Firm

Hiring is not an easy task, and sometimes it takes time away from your legal work. Too many businesses focus on the wrong aspects of employment. Keeping your current employees happy is just as important as hiring the right people for your law firm. Employee turnover and retention should be at the top of your considerations. By creating good retention practices, you can have a competitive edge in your field.

In studies on employment, one in three employees expects to change jobs within six months. So how can you keep your valuable legal support staff from leaving?

Determine the reasons for employee turnover.

The most important metric to track is why your employees are leaving. There are plenty of reasons having nothing to do with the company itself, such as life changes or relocation. But what about the reasons that are closely related to your firm and management style?

Are your employees leaving because they are dissatisfied with management, their co-workers, or their duties? If so, only you have the power to make these things better.

As each employee leaves, your focus turns to replacement rather than retention. These costs reach beyond salary and benefits. Your time is also valuable, and the more time you spend searching for the right candidate, the less you can give to your law clients.

It’s easy to think the solution comes down to bigger pay rates, but there are plenty of other factors that affect an employee’s decision. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, 42 percent of people responding to an employment survey indicated they would leave a job due to a toxic workplace, and 31 percent say it would come down to work/life balance. Considering a range of incentives to keep your top legal employees happy will only enhance their experience.

Think about the office environment.

It may not occur to you, but your law office also impacts an employee’s satisfaction on the job. Are they comfortable? Do they have all the tools they need, including technology and software, to make their job more efficient? If they’re feeling frustrated just by accomplishing their normal tasks on a daily basis, it can lead to unhappy, disgruntled employees. Keeping your firm conducive to productivity will cost less over time than replacing your legal staff with others who also will quickly become unhappy in the environment. Learning where to make investments to keep employees happy is the first step.

Realize why productivity levels will drop.

When an employee leaves, it doesn’t affect just their individual job. You will lose the productivity in that role, and it will affect the rest of your team. Someone will need to take up the slack and accomplish the work of two people while you search for a replacement. This will cause that employee’s productivity levels to dip for both duties. It can even start the cycle of unhappiness over again. Unhappy employees also affect their co-workers. The entire team will influence each other, and one disengaged employee can begin an avalanche.

Copyright ©

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Why Open Office Spaces Don’t Work

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Why Open Office Spaces Don’t Work

Open office space was a concept many deemed to be the ultimate solution in workplace collaboration and company success. Touted as the perfect arena for brainstorming sessions that would inevitably breed the best products and services available on the market and the environment for which the strongest collaborations would be born, open office spaces were idealized as the new definition of a company’s culture: friendly, innovative, and team-focused.

The only problem is, they don’t work. And here’s why:

Increased Distractions = Waning Productivity

If you’ve ever found yourself amongst a bustling crowd of market-goers while trying to find the perfect produce to bring home for dinner, you can understand how difficult it can be to focus your attention on finding exactly what you’re after and making the most efficient use of your time: Get in. Get out.

The same speaks true for open office spaces. Research has proven that productivity is at an all-time low thanks to the constant overstimulation within the surroundings. When you’re unable to focus solely on your tasks at hand, it’s difficult to hit deadlines, and even more difficult to ensure the work you’re putting out is at the level it needs to be.

Open Offices are Experiencing More Isolation, Less Collaboration

While the idea behind increasing collaboration through open office spaces looked good on paper, the results paint quite a different picture. By moving away from traditional office spaces – and yes, even the dreaded cubicle – privacy has become nonexistent. While you would expect that to automatically result in more face-to-face interaction, the truth is that people want and need time to themselves, especially when focusing on pressing work.

Harvard Business School conducted a research study that found with open spaces comes an even larger gap in collaboration. In fact, most employees are choosing to isolate themselves as much as possible despite the fact that they have no real privacy (ie: wearing large headphones and keeping their heads down in an effort to appear busy).

More People Desire Remote Work Than Ever

The truth of the matter is, more and more people would rather work from home or enjoy the freedom that a virtual office provides. When compared to open office spaces, they are finding the trade off of isolation vs overwhelm to be worth it.

Amata Offers Virtual Office Packages Designed for You

If you’re ready to ditch the open office space for actual productivity and results, then a virtual office package may be just what you’re looking for. Amata has several packages to choose from to accommodate any business needs, no matter how big or small.

Find the virtual office package that’s right for you.

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Which Chicago Office Space Provider is Best for Your Business?

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Which Chicago Office Space Provider is Best for Your Business?

 

It’s important to know just what you’re getting with your office space provider before you sign on the line. We chose three major law office space providers in Chicago – WeWork, Regus and Amata – and broke down the differences to provide you better insight on where your firm might thrive best.

The Basics: Pricing & How Each Chicago Office Space Provider Measures Up

All three of the office space companies have a variety of locations and therefore will have pricing that varies depending on square footage and office building location.

What you really need to focus on, is where the additions come into play, and most of that can only be found once you request a proposal.

WeWork: Need phone services? Then you’ll need an office or desk…

Only members with a Dedicated Desk or a Private Office are able to request phone services. So, if you are looking for an all-inclusive Virtual Office package, you will need to look elsewhere.

Regus: Build what you need – but pay attention to price.

Regus is a build what you need facility, and that means all their amenities are add-ons, including essentials like the internet. This is good if you need the bare minimum (or less) but your invoice can add-up quickly if you don’t pay attention.

Amata: An attempt to bundle services, but not an exception.

Amata makes things easier by bundling select services into their Private & Virtual Offices – internet and furniture is included for their private offices, for instance.

But you can only bundle so much and so like WeWork and Regus you will need to request a proposal if you are interested in a private office. If you are looking for a Virtual Office program, however, full details and pricing are listed online.

Amenities Make All the Difference – Who Has the Best?

Let’s face it: amenities can often make or break the deal. If you’re going to pay for law office space, you want more than four white walls and a door.

WeWork: Perfect for start-ups, incubators, and aspirations of being Google.

With any WeWork office space in Chicago, you’ll also receive:

  • Reception
  • Micro-roasted coffee, tea, and fruit water
  • Beer on tap at select locations
  • Locations may also include: ping pong tables, bocce ball courts, and meditation rooms (these are just a few fun perks!)

Regus: The basics you need, none of the riff-raff.

While Regus doesn’t offer quite as many amenities as WeWork, they do offer the basics you need to run a business.

  • Reception and telephone answering
  • Admin support
  • Coffee, water and tea

Amata: Tailored to small firm attorneys who need more from their space.

The list speaks for itself, but at Amata, you’ll get to enjoy amenities tailored specifically to attorneys like:

  • Paralegal services and administrative support
  • Customizable reception and phone answering
  • Legal networking and education events
  • Fixed-fee court filings
  • Spanish translation services
  • Coffee, water, tea; coke fountain machine at select locations
  • Cognac room for important meetings and celebrations

Choose the Partnerships that Work Best for Your Firm

The best way to decipher a company’s true interests is to look at the partnerships they invest in. Are they linking with companies that help their clients? Are they joining with non-profits to create a better world? Or are they simply partnering with people that help fulfill their needs?

All good companies are a mixture of these things but pay attention to partnerships and you may uncover more about the character of the people in charge.

WeWork Partnerships

2U: Education Technology Company, Airbnb, Techstars’ Accelerator and Start-up Programs, and Salesforce.

Regus Partnerships

Business Continuity Institute, American Airlines Admiral Club, Delta Airlines Crown Room Club, Equity Office Properties, Hines Interests, and Mack-Cali Realty Corporation.

Amata Partnerships

Union League Club of Chicago, The Metropolitan Club, Republic Bank, CBA Insurance Agency (a subsidiary of The Chicago Bar Association), and R4 Services.

No matter which Chicago office space provider you choose for your firm, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting and how those features, amenities, and partnerships can benefit and even possibly help grow your law practice.

Download this chart for a side-by-side comparison of each of these office space providers.

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5 Things You Should Know if You Want to Work Virtually

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work virtually from home office

3.9 million Americans now work virtually at least half of the week, and that number continues to grow. While there can be many perks in working remotely, there can also be drawbacks unless you’re prepared. We’ve put together a list of 5 things you should know if you want to work virtually, so that you are able to enter the remote workforce and experience success, not burnout.

1. Set Business Hours & Stick to Them

When you work virtually, your home becomes your office. And while that may seem appealing to many, it can create quick burnout unless you set business hours and stick to them from the very beginning. Establishing business hours allows you to not feel tied to your computer during family time or feeling the need to open your laptop as soon as you roll out of bed.

Remember: If you were at an office, you’d be more likely to only handle work there, not at home. So treat your home office the same.

2. Create a Designated Space for Your Virtual Office

In the same way you’d have a designated office if you didn’t work virtually, you should also create a specific space for one when working from home. The reason: It allows you to leave work, “at work”. This is a crucial step in addition to tip #1 that will offer you freedom from burnout and overworking. Creating a designated space for your virtual office will also establish boundaries for any other family members that may be home during your working hours. They’ll know that when you’re in your office, you’re working, and it will help you stay focused.

If you’re self-employed and file a Schedule C, you can also claim the Home Office Deduction on your taxes.

3. Eliminate Distractions by Scheduling Breaks

Working virtually can lead to one of two scenarios: Either you are so focused on your work that you plow through any break time (including taking that lunch that will re-energize you for a busy afternoon of meetings), or you find yourself constantly being distracted by all the things you could be doing and wind up having to work outside of your scheduled hours to play catch up.

Set an alarm on your phone for a 15-20 minute break in both the morning and afternoon, and make sure to include an alarm for your lunch break. Develop the habit now of only scrolling through social media or answering personal emails during these windows to help you be the most productive during your “on-the-clock” working hours.

4. Maintain a Professional Appearance for Your Business

Have you considered the drawbacks to providing your home address or personal cell number to clients when working remotely? Amata’s Virtual Office packages allow you to obtain a professional business address from any one of our prestigious downtown Chicago locations. You’ll also enjoy the functionality of utilizing a cutting edge 3CX VoiP business phone system to maintain your privacy while working from home.

5. Enjoy the Freedoms Allowed for Those Who Work Virtually

Just because you work virtually doesn’t mean you have to be sequestered to your home during working hours. Coworking facilities offer a great place for you to work when you’re feeling the need for a change in scenery. They’re also the perfect place to hold client meetings and provide the professional environment your clients are looking for. You can even book conference rooms or day offices as the need arises as well.

Amata is rewriting the rules when it comes to remote work. Our Virtual Office programs bring your virtual working experience to a new level of professionalism and exceptionality without breaking the bank. Choose the services that work best for you and run your business the way you want from virtually anywhere.

Discover our virtual offices in Chicago.

Guitar Chicago: Relieving Stress & Providing Outlets for Busy Chicago Attorneys & Other Professionals

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Guitar Chicago: Relieving Stress & Providing Outlets for Busy Chicago Attorneys & Other Professionals

Amata Law Office Suites’ member James Lenger of Guitar Chicago is bringing stress relief and renewed focus to attorneys, IT professionals, those in the finance industry, and more with guitar lessons – and all for an impressively low cost.

Low Cost, High Reward

Typical lessons run between $80-90 for an hour and offer a form of therapy that allows busy minds to settle, anxiety to abate, and an overall positive demeanor to flourish in spite of the daunting, and oftentimes highly stressful, work environments the professionals that he teaches experience.

Guitar Lessons Provide Far-Reaching Benefits

In fact, Lenger’s approach has been so successful that fellow Amata member and clinical psychologist, Stacey Willard, is now referring her clients to Guitar Chicago as a way to manage their anxiety.

Music Therapy Brings Newfound Fulfillment for Busy Attorneys

For those that are less concerned about stress and more about ways to find enjoyable time for themselves and a creative outlet to devote to, lessons from Lenger are the perfect solution.

As partner at Kirkland and Ellis, LLP, Ralph Dado III, can attest to this very sentiment. During his sometimes 100-hour work weeks, he’s still able to find fulfillment in learning something new with guitar lessons at Guitar Chicago.

These lessons offer an enjoyable way for attorneys and professionals alike to focus their time and attention, even if just for an hour, in another area outside of their daily work environment. By doing so, it opens up new avenues of finding joy, fulfillment, and fun.

Don’t miss the featured article on James Lenger and Guitar Chicago by the Chicago Tribune.

If you’d like to experience the benefits of guitar or other related lessons, give James a call at 312.863.8588, or head to the Guitar Chicago website today!

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3 Reasons You Should Use On-Demand Paralegals

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3 Reasons You Should Use On-Demand Paralegals

Work-load fluctuation is often the most frustrating aspect of running a law firm. It makes it impossible to project profits, and should you experience a large influx of work, it can be stressful. On one hand you want to be able to accept all clients that come your way, on the other, you can’t take on more than the work week allows.

People who are not in law may say “just hire more staff.” But an occasional need for support does not often justify the cost of a full-time hire. The paralegal you take on during a period of heavy casework may be eating into your profits the next quarter, when cases finish and incoming work slows.

Here are our reasons why hiring a paralegal on-demand is more than just an obvious solution, but a valuable asset to your firm.

1. Temporarily bolster the size of your firm.
Clients want to be number one on your priority list. That’s why they choose a small firm lawyer over a large firm. But if you are too small, they may not believe your firm can handle their case and another. On-demand paralegals can help bolster the apparent size of your firm. Allowing potential clients to feel at ease hiring you, no matter how particular they may be.

2. Double your firm’s working hours.
24/7. That’s all the time you have as a single lawyer each week. But with a paralegal that becomes 48/7, doubling the potential hours you can be paid. And because your paralegal works at a cheaper hourly rate for you – but not your client – you can increase your profit margin for every task you assign them versus yourself.

3. Take on more cases and keep overhead steady.
The pricing of the future is not hourly but fixed. And if you are one of the small law firms who have adopted this modern model, then you know the importance of being able to take on more work. On-demand paralegals allow this in the simplest way. When multiple cases come in, you don’t have to turn them down due to lack of help.

With the increasing popularity of small law firms, companies are popping up left and right with the sole focus on providing firms with on-demand legal support staff. If you are an Amata member, chances are you have already enlisted the help of our in-house paralegal staff in downtown Chicago. A quick search will also give you plenty of options no matter where you live, or how you choose to work. This hired help will be representing you at every turn, so be diligent in who you hire, but don’t hinder the potential of your firm by not hiring anyone at all.

Want more details on our in-house paralegal team? Contact us and see how we can help you, or ask for a pricing sheet at [email protected].

KIRSTEN MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR OF FIRST IMPRESSIONS WITH AMATA OFFICE SOLUTIONS

Kirsten Mayfield, Director of First Impressions with Amata Office Solutions

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Law School Students Get Exclusive Treatment at Amata

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Law School Students Get Exclusive Treatment at Amata

Amata is aware of how hard and costly it can be to get your law firm up and running. And for law students, if you want to be successful in the legal world, you need more than stellar grades and an innate knowledge of law.

The increasingly competitive nature of the legal marketplace has meant that attorneys need to make sure that all aspects of their business are flawless. And your physical workspace can’t be overlooked. In fact, it has become more important than ever before. After all, it can make a meaningful difference in your productivity and longevity.

Discover How Amata Can Help

Starting a law firm, particularly in today’s aggressive market, is no easy task. But Amata Law Office Suites is making it our business to help law students’ transitions to the legal marketplace easier than ever before. For any startup law firm that’s looking to grow, Amata can provide credibility and a more professional image, both of which are key to selling legal services.

Qualified participants in the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Solo & Small Practice Incubator program are able to receive many of Amata Law Office Suites’ services at no charge. With our assistance, you can maximize your chances of success.

Instantly Jump Start Your Law Practice

We also offer a program available exclusively to attorneys – both those that are leaving the Chicago-Kent Incubator program and those in their first year of practice – specifically designed to financially assist new attorneys in getting started with their solo law practice.

Amata knows that the environment you choose to work from can have an instrumental impact on your success. Establishing a strong network is one of the most important steps to starting a law practice. Word of mouth will always be a key driver of law firm growth, so building up a network of attorneys, as well as other professionals, can help generate business.

Enjoy Immediate Access To The Features And Services You Want and Need For Your Firm

The legal profession is one that involves great responsibility in the handling and resolution of important matters in our clients’ lives. Trustworthiness and professionalism are a necessity for any attorney to be successful at landing clients and growing their firm.

Perhaps even more crucial is the workspace environment and staff on hand.

Take Advantage of Amata’s Highly Trained Staff With A Personal Receptionist

Having a polished office space with high-end finishes is an easy way to exude professionalism. Amata comes complete with luxury finishes and even a highly-trained receptionist to greet your prospective clients. We provide these professional reception services at no charge, so you can concentrate on what’s truly important.

  • Incoming calls are handled by a professional receptionist
  • Assistance is provided with any new client intake
  • Receptionist greets visiting clients and announces them upon arrival

Daily Task Assistance Made Easy

The daily tasks of a burgeoning attorney can stack up very quickly, and when you’re still burdened with finishing law school, coming up with the funds to pay for these services can seem overwhelming.

  • Custom call answering based on your requests
  • Personal phone number with voice messaging
  • All assigned phone numbers are owned by you and easily portable
  • Free document scanning at all Amata locations

Grow Your Practice With Exclusive Networking

Attorney networking opportunities can be the platform for taking your law firm to the next level. Working at Amata Law Office Suites with other attorneys is an excellent way to form strong relationships early on. You can establish mutual referral arrangements, share resources and information, and learn valuable lessons about marketing and running a business from other attorneys who are in a similar position.

What’s more, Amata offers exclusive networking events tailored specifically for attorneys like yourself.

  • Membership with 800+ Chicago-based attorneys
  • Social activities designed with lawyers in mind
  • Networking events and speaker series for professional development

Make It Professional With Bonus Access To Many Amenities

The daily needs of a law student preparing to start their own firm extend far beyond routine services. You need a place for working and meeting clients, as well as a collaborative and vibrant workspace. Amata has all your bases covered.

  • Access to all of Amata’s open work areas
  • Private huddle room and client intake room access
  • Free access to WiFi at all of Amata’s locations

A La Carte – Member Rate Services

When you need to go beyond the routine services and are looking for access to specific needs, Amata is your complete source. Amata Law Office Suites offers law school students the ability to gain access at member discounts.

  • Copier and mail machine use when you need it
  • Utilization of our paralegal and administrative team and court filing services
  • Access to our network of business partners and discounted rates

Starting a law firm is no easy feat. There’s a lot to consider, including your potential revenue and expenses, as well as the environment from which you work.

For your workspace needs, let Amata Law Office Suites be your ultimate solution. You can customize your plan today, and take advantage of all Amata has to offer. As a law student, it could be just what you need to get your firm up and running.

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Attorney Office Space on Chicago’s Michigan Ave Offers Numerous Perks

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Attorney Office Space on Chicago’s Michigan Ave Offers Numerous Perks

Why Your Chicago Law Office Address Matters

Like it or not, law offices located in a lesser known, sleepy spot might be passed over by you or your potential clients in favor of one in a thriving metropolitan area. We’re all beholden, to a certain extent, to superficiality. And prestigious or exciting locations will always speak to that.

Any real estate professional will tell you a property’s location is key to making a good investment decision. For attorneys in Chicago, the same is true of your business. After all, law office suites designed with your unique needs in mind, in a prime location, and at the epicenter of Daley Park and all things Chicago, will impress your clients and delight and excite you.

It’s All About Image

Consider this: Would a potential client be more likely to contract your services following a harried meeting at a crowded Starbucks, or after meeting with you in a well-appointed, executive office suite close to all the amenities of the Mag Mile? For the most part, meeting in a professional setting will close the deal much quicker.

Greeting clients in a formal office setting creates a feeling of permanency and strength for your business. Clients who walk into an office space that exudes professionalism will feel at ease. They’ll feel secure doing business with you because it appears you maintain a high-end office, and that’s not an inexpensive undertaking. Potential clients will assume your business is thriving since you can afford high-quality surroundings, office technology and support staff.

Choosing a Workspace for Your Law Office

We said it earlier, but we’ll say it again. Location matters, and offices located in less than ideal areas or in unattractive buildings are simply not as inviting and could lead to a loss in business.

Similarly, working from home can be a tempting idea both for comfort and cost-cutting measures, but a client meeting an attorney in his or her home is likely to think less of them as a professional.

Finding a location that impresses clients is essential and can also make the workday a lot easier.

Advantages of Renting Law Office Space in Chicago

Simply having an office space gives a professional feel that is tangible not only to you, but also to your clients. Knowing you are in a professional, dedicated workspace changes your mindset and helps present a more polished demeanor, which clients can perceive.

A law firm with a fully furnished office space housing the latest technology in an excellent location appears to be more successful. It also gives clients the impression that their matters will be handled by an experienced and knowledgeable attorney that will know how to address their needs.

Benefits of Law Office Space at 150 North Michigan Avenue

Amata Law Office Suites can be the solution to your workspace dilemmas. We offer premiere law office spaces in prestigious, centralized locations as you will find on both the 8th and 28th floors of our Michigan Ave locale. Just one block from Lake Shore Drive, this location boasts incredible views sure to impress your clients.

What’s more, you’re just minutes away from Maggie Daley Park, premier shopping, unrivaled dining and cuisine, and the breathtaking views of our great city! Not only are Amata’s offices impressive, but you can enjoy the dynamic amenities that make Chicago so unique.

Clients and attorneys alike will delight in the numerous perks of our 150 N. Michigan Avenue location.

Learn more about how our 150 North Michigan Ave location can put you on the map to success.

Discover our offices for lawyers in Chicago.