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Lessons for young sole practitioners from COVID-19
For emerging leaders in the boutique law space, there is much to be gleaned – personally and professionally – from the age of coronavirus, says one practitioner.
Jerome Doraisamy
COVID-19 has been challenging on a range of fronts for boutique lawyers, particularly the younger ones. However, those who are self-aware, look to grow organically and have the confidence to back themselves are the professionals who will succeed in a post-pandemic world.
“Whilst, business-wise, we managed quite well, a big challenge (particularly early on) was dealing with the uncertainty about what the long-term implications would be for the firm’s clients and the firm itself,” she said.
“Clients also had a lot of questions about the implications of COVID-19 on certain transactions and documents, so it was really important to get across those issues straight away and to proactively approach clients to outline where they stood and what options they might have.”
Like many Australians, the outbreak of coronavirus made for a difficult personal transition, Ms Howard mused.
“My biggest hurdle was adjusting to the impact on my physical fitness once gyms and beaches closed, as regular exercise and surfing play a big part in my mental health. Given that I was still working full-time (albeit from home), I needed to figure out a new routine to balance the temporary loss of these activities. I eventually figured out ways to exercise from home, which gave my body and mind the balance I needed!” she said.
Professionally, however, she found that she was in an advantageous position, given that her practice has “always had a big emphasis on technology”, meaning that entering lockdown was rather seamless.
“This ‘head start’ allowed us to put more energy into being proactive with clients and business development from the beginning and, in this sense, we were lucky as we managed to maintain a relatively consistent influx of work (particularly from existing clients who took this time as an opportunity to consolidate their legal documents or to work on other projects that they had not been able to prioritise before),” she recounted.
When asked what lessons she had learned from COVID-19 that other young sole practitioners could also benefit from, Ms Howard said it has been valuable for her to better appreciate what types of work can survive in such unprecedented times.
“Whilst some of our commercial and corporate work slowed somewhat, other types of matters (e.g. disputes and conveyancing) were a constant,” she said.
“To other young sole practitioners – identify the services that you provide that are a consistent source of revenue and are more reliable in times of economic downturn and invest in building those areas up in your firm.”
Moreover, emerging boutique leaders must ensure their capacity to be set up remotely, assuming they have not already done so.
“I hope that this [time] has shown all firms, big and small, that it’s valuable to embrace technology and different ways of doing things. This pandemic has shown us that people can work from home and, further, that it can actually improve their overall mental health,” she noted.
“I believe that it has also shown clients how useful it is to have fixed costs (especially legal costs) for your business, in order to properly budget and plan. I would love to see all firms embracing fixed fees and more remote-working possibilities in our post-pandemic world.”
Looking ahead, Ms Howard suggested that young practitioners look to “grow organically”.
“Don’t commit to too many overheads too soon. Look for flexibility in your financial commitments. Think smart, and even unconventionally, when it comes to your firm’s structure, operations, software and methods,” she said.
Finally, there is no substitute for self-confidence, she added: “Back yourself to know that you can do it (pandemic or not)!”
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
You can email Jerome at:
