BUSINESS OF LAW by Renée N.G. Stackhouse
STEPS FOR RECOVERING FROM THE IMPACT OF COVID-19
I
n the last few months, business-owner lawyers have
STEP 3: WORK TO STAND OUT
had to transition to working from home, keeping our
If you have extra time right now, make sure your website and
businesses running, figuring out how the court closure
social media are accurate and send the messages you want
affected our work, keeping our clients up to date, bringing
to potential clients and referring colleagues. Start writing or
in new clients, and balancing family demands. Many of us
recording blogs, study for the board specialization test, get
are exhausted. Some lawyers are contemplating closing
that realtor license, take that online course, start learning
their businesses, changing their practice area, or retiring.
that language, or even just read that Trial Guides book. Every
Those may be good options. But they are not the only
achievement not only helps you stand out, but makes you a
options. Here are five steps for rebuilding after COVID-19:
better lawyer.
STEP 1: STOP THE BLEEDING You will not be able to make calm, rational decisions about your business if you are financially bleeding to death. Look into the CARES Act, Paycheck Protection Program, and any business interruption claims you may have. Go online to see resources available to businesses from the City of San Diego, State of California, and Small Business Administration (SBA). Review your existing contracts to see which have no, or acceptable, cancellation fees. Review your repetitive
STEP 4: THINK ABOUT COOPERATIVE WORK There are two kinds of people out there in the legal community right now: those who are drowning in work and those who need work. While you must make sure you follow the California Rules of Professional Responsibility, there are a lot of opportunities for people to come together to be successful. It may be as simple as making sure people know to refer cases to you in a certain area of law or bringing in a colleague to help on a case that is taking up too much of your time.
monthly expenditures to identify necessary expenses
STEP 5: REMEMBER TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH CARE
and cut the rest.
The world feels like it’s on fire right now. In some places, it is. People are hurting. Make sure to slow down enough so that
STEP 2: CONTACT PAST AND CURRENT CLIENTS Let your network know you’re open and that you’re available to answer questions or provide referrals to someone who can. The outreach is thoughtful and it could have the additional benefit of driving business to you. Invoice your current clients. You deserve to be paid for the
you can treat everyone — clients, colleagues, court staff, judges, co-workers, and YOURSELF — with care, kindness, and respect. Potential clients will feel your authentic concern. Your current clients will feel safe knowing they made the right choice in representation. Your colleagues will appreciate you. And you deserve it, too. At the end of the day, we are our business. We can’t be successful when we’re not caring for ourselves.
work that you have done. Email your latest invoice to your clients and provide them with options to pay such as cash, check, or credit card. Offer payment plans if necessary. The easier it is for them to pay you, the more likely you
Renée N.G. Stackhouse (renee@stackhouseapc.com) is a founder of Stackhouse APC.
will get paid.
SAN DIEGO LAWYER
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July/August 2020
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