Jones Day office in Manhattan, New York. Photo: Ryland West/ALM

Jones Day

What's one of the biggest challenges law firms face today?

As engagements become more remote, and online meetings and access always available, one of the biggest challenges faced by law firms and lawyers today is staying meaningfully connected with our colleagues, clients, and the broader legal communities in which we practice. Meetings that would have taken place in-person five years ago are more often than not online, for segmented periods of time, followed immediately by the next on-screen meeting. Lawyers are subject to hundreds of group chats, meeting invites, and other electronic messages by phone, computer, or other services daily. While these technologies have created wonderful new opportunities for engagement beyond phone calls, and flexibility for remote connections from home or across the world, they have also limited the ways in which we are out and about in our communities and the organic interactions that come along with those in-person engagements. It is not unusual now for a lawyer—whether working on a deal, a court case, or other type of matter—to conduct all of his or her appearances for the day (or multiple days) remotely, walking away from a screen at the end of the day barely interacting with another person live. That can be exhausting and feel isolating. So it is incumbent on all of us to be attuned to these dynamics and find ways to connect with colleagues, clients, and our communities directly. Here, we emphasize that the bar is not 10 boxes on a screen—it is the people we work with, the clients we serve, and the communities in which we practice. Being together and engaging with each other remains a key component to the practice of law and professional growth, and we should all be looking for the right opportunities to be and work together.

Conversely, name one opportunity available to law firms in the current climate.