Your associates don’t need to start from scratch
When faced with an unfamiliar task, we’ve all asked ourselves the question, “Where do I begin?”
Attorneys, especially associates, want to feel confident, and it’s not easy to start from scratch on a new case. With the right tools, lawyers don’t have to feel like every new area of law is a blank page.
Why is knowing where to start so important?
Because it means a jumpstart on efficiently handling any matter.
There’s no way a young associate at your firm can know all the nuances of every practice area, but with access to the right insights and guidance, they can remove uncertainty and get right to work solving the client’s needs.
Knowing where to start means associates can get back to doing what they truly want to do: practicing law.
Don’t rely on search engines
For example, let’s say that an associate at your firm received a call from a client they usually help with their business formation needs, but this time the client has specific questions about Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation.
Your associate doesn’t have extensive previous experience with employment benefits plans, and other experienced attorneys don’t have the time to get them up-to-speed without losing billable hours. But the firm is still committed to retaining business. So, where should they go?
First, the associate heads online to see what kind of resources are available on the topic. Starting with a general internet search could give an initial look at the issue and may even provide some helpful information, but it’s risky to stake the business on a Google query and it takes precious time to wade through the results pages of your favorite search engine.
With the right tools, associates can confidently tackle any new area of law
Instead of starting from scratch, an associate could open Practical Law and simply search for “executive compensation” to find what is needed to understand the issue. They can accomplish the task at hand quickly, without needing to cull through the massive amounts of information inherent with any Google search.
With the helpful Toolkits in Practical Law, associates can also access a broad overview of executive compensation and the resources needed to get the work done, all in one place. These toolkits are set up to highlight the most important resources needed to quickly grasp the topic.
Your associate can also find practice notes, standardized documents, and checklists that will help get the work done efficiently. Considering the same scenario, they’d be able to access the practice note ‘Negotiating and Drafting an Executive Employment Agreement,’ to deepen their knowledge of how to set up an executive agreement and review background information on the subject. These practice notes give access to clear, concise how-to guidance on the most current laws and practices and are designed to be read and understood in less than a half hour. Most importantly, all Toolkit resources are vetted and kept up-to-date by expert attorney editors, so your firm can rest assured that the most relevant sources are accessed on topics like executive compensation.
Understanding the processes and steps involved in a matter will help your firm in advising clients and managing their expectations, while also serving as useful guides in your own work and conversations with colleagues.
Utilize tools that support new ways of working
Let’s look at another example. An associate at your firm may be working from home, and they receive a question from a client that they aren’t sure the answer to. When everyone is in the office, this may be a scenario where the associate walks down to their colleague’s office to get the answer they need. But, when people are working from alternate locations, who can the associate turn to to get the answers they need quickly?
New remote and hybrid ways of working often leave professionals without the option to walk to their colleague’s desk for quick, easy answers to their questions. Even when working collaboratively with a team, it can be difficult to get immediate feedback. Fortunately, Practical Law acts as that ‘mentor down the hall’, providing expert and reliable answers without requiring the associate to leave their desk.
Get guidance from experts with Practical Law
With the legal know-how inherent with Practical Law, your associates can use the guidance and wisdom of more than 650 expert attorney editors to confidently represent any kind of case.
