By Toshi Bolton Nelson

The Trend

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many law firms turned to video with the goal of better marketing their legal professionals. As we continue to adapt to the “new normal,” this trend maintains its growth — and why shouldn’t it? In an ever-changing world, where technology undoubtedly continues to take hold, it is difficult not to realize the tools and benefits at our fingertips.

Video can exist in multiple ways in the legal industry, from communicating a firm's legal services, sharing knowledge of a firm’s legal professionals and delivering firm messages internally and externally. After completing projects, the videos can be emailed directly to clients or posted on a firm website, news aggregators and various social media platforms. Implementing video at a firm can be challenging, depending on its culture, location, budget and practice areas. Nonetheless, it is possible.

We’ve all been looking forward to 2021 since, oh, say, June? While I hate to be anything less than positive, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that 2021 won’t be functionally better just by setting out some new calendars for your law firm.

We have to plan for it to be better.

But we’ve got something that can help us plan for this better year — a lot of data. Website visits, open rates, click-through rates and email signups. New and old client stats. All data can shine a light on your path to a successful and profitable 2021.

The success of the modern law firm hinges on its ability to adapt and pivot. Even before being struck by a global health crisis, the profession has been experiencing significant disruption due to rapid changes in technology that reshaped client expectations. Today, the combination of these two factors results in an urgent need for law firms to embrace change like never before.

So, what will the law firm of the future look like? What can firms do now to succeed amid the chaos and how can they prepare themselves for future disruptions, challenges and pressures? In order to answer these questions, we must direct our focus to the client experience. I spoke with Heinan Landa, founder and CEO of Optimal Networks and author of “The Modern Law Firm: How to Thrive in an Era of Rapid Technological Change,” to get his perspective on how law firms can embrace and deliver on a client-focused strategy. Here he shares his ideas and expertise based on three decades of providing IT services to law firms.