What happens when the unthinkable occurs and you find your law office space in Chicago has been displaced due to fire, flood, or other catastrophic event? This is a question no attorney wants to mull over as it can present a slew of potential headaches, financial pressures, and strains to consider that will affect your firm during the transition period. However, if you don’t have a contingency plan in place, you’re setting your firm up for a difficult and strenuous displacement.
When displacement occurs, the main focus should be on getting your firm back up and running as quickly and efficiently as possible. The transition should be swift and smooth to provide both you and your clients a feeling of seamlessness while maintaining your firm’s integrity as well as your clients’ faith that the ball won’t be dropped on their cases just because you’ve experienced a situation out of your control.
In order to provide this security for your firm and clients, you should consider the following:
1. Rent Only the Space You Need – Conference Rooms
With your law offices in Chicago out of use, you’ll need a professional place to meet with your clients, conduct closings and depositions, etc. The last thing you want to do when dealing with displacement is allocate more funds than necessary for a temporary space. By utilizing a conference room rental, you can choose the size of space tailored to your firm’s needs and use it only when you need it. Make sure your conference room includes necessary items like a conference phone and high speed Internet.
- Day Offices
You should be able to focus on your cases in a space that offers the feel of a firm or schedule a day of meetings with clients where you can provide them with the sharp, professional aesthetic they’ve come to know and expect from you. - Large Conference Rooms
It’s important to have a place to meet with your litigation teams that is large enough to hold everyone and is close to the courts so you gain time preparing witnesses during trials. Make sure your conference room is located conveniently to the courts in Chicago, and if not, close to transportation so you can quickly get to and from them. - Board Rooms
When law offices in Chicago are displaced for any period of time, board room rental is an affordable solution for gatherings of large groups and provides an excellent opportunity for attorney networking during meetings and seminars.
2. Take Advantage of Attorney Networking Opportunities
Just because your law office space in Chicago has been displaced doesn’t mean you can’t find and enjoy perks in the meantime – perks like taking advantage of attorney networking where you can receive expert guidance and co-counsel opportunities as well as a vast referral network that you only get with a virtual or coworking space for attorneys. These all offer the ability for your firm to grow and prosper even in the event of a disaster.
- Virtual and Coworking Space for Attorneys
Virtual and coworking space for attorneys allows you to utilize a professional office space when you need it. Present the professional image of your firm when you want, and save financially by working from home during the other times. Just make sure wherever you choose to house your Chicago attorney office rental it has multiple locations to take advantage of. This will ensure you can conduct firm business when and where you need at a moment’s notice. - Surround Your Firm with Experts
Attorney networking is critical to growing your firm – whether just starting out or having been in practice for a few decades. By choosing a location for your firm during displacement that offers a community of lawyers, you are essentially boosting the potential success of your firm in spite of the situation you’re currently facing with displacement. - Use Your Time for Billable Hours
It’s enough to have to deal with finding a Chicago attorney office rental when your firm’s been displaced. Adding on the daily mundane tasks to that ever-growing pile of frustration is easily avoidable. Make sure the space your firm will temporarily be utilizing offers highly-trained, expert attorney staff on-hand that handle things like call answering, administrative tasks, and client intake. Get an even bigger bonus when you find a location that includes this service as a standard.
3. Private Chicago Attorney Office Rental
If your law office in Chicago is in need of a longer time table for space during displacement, you may want to consider renting a private office space. When considering a private office, you’ll want to ensure it offers the same attorney networking benefits as virtual and coworking space for attorneys as well as the following:
- Individually Priced Offices
The last thing you should waste money on is a private office space that is half the size but the same price as the larger, corner office down the hall. When seeking out a Chicago attorney office rental for private offices, make sure the pricing is individualized. That way, you a find what fits in your budget. - Saves on Extras
Enjoying a community of lawyers that allows for attorney networking when your firm’s been displaced happens best when your Chicago law offices are in a space that shares common areas like cafes and lounges. Look for common areas that expand your space without expanding the price. It should always be included. - Chicago Law Office Aesthetic
Even though your firm has been displaced, you and your clients shouldn’t have to feel the burden of change during the transition period. Choosing a Chicago attorney office rental space that holds the aesthetic that best represents your firm is key to ensuring a smooth shift from one space to the next and back again. Keeping with the look and feel of your current law offices in Chicago will also keep you working efficiently and more productively as you’ll feel at home.
Keeping all of these things in mind when looking for Chicago attorney office rental space will greatly ease the burden of displacement. It’s important for your firm to get back to focusing on billable hours and not dwell on the situation at hand.
If you’re looking for a Chicago attorney office rental that offers all of these things and more, look no further than Amata Law Office Suites. With multiple locations to choose from, all boasting different aesthetics from traditional to modern and everything in between, there’s something for everyone. Our locales are all convenient to Chicago courts and major transportation as well to save you time and money so you can focus on what really matters – getting back to business.
Tired of wasting time being an office manager instead of handling firm business? Give Amata a call today to find out the Amata difference!