TR's on Top of Things

Lately I have been commenting on the growing sense that we are moving into the next phase of business in the time of COVID-19. More and more firms have been announcing their return-to-office dates and plans and there is a palpable eagerness to finally get on with some modified form of life and work. We seem to be shifting into what I am calling the "lessons learned" phase. We have an idea of what we need to do to get back to some semblance of normal and are laying the foundation to go there. Our colleagues at Thomson Reuters today share with us some of their observations from the last year or so and prognosticate a bit on what it all might mean for the future.

• About a year ago, TR released its Dynamic Law Firms Report. As Bryce Engelland notes, it "sought to examine the top quartile of law firms in [the company's] Peer Monitor program in order to identify which aspects had made some firms more successful than their peers." Well, they have been watching those firms closely throughout the last year and preparing the next version of the report. What have they observed during the pandemic? According to Bryce, "What [they] found is very much like a fairytale, though not necessarily one with a happy ending for everyone." While we have to wait until spring for the full report, you can get a look at some early observations in: Dynamic law firms are experiencing a fairytale moment.


• And then Sharon Melt Abrahams focuses in on what firms have been doing to onboard new attorneys during this period of remote working. She writes, "The professionals responsible for designing, coordinating, and delivering on-boarding found themselves scrambling to create an experience that could accomplish the same tenor as previous orientations, yet without the in-person peril." Further she says that "[t]hey struggled to hold on to traditions and instill the firm’s culture using virtual platforms; and unfortunately, firms are still facing many of the same issues around on-boarding and associate orientation as last year." How did it go? Check out: Practice Innovations: Lessons from 2020’s improvised new associate orientation.

Just don't call me late for dinner,

John J. DiGilio, MLIS, JD, Editor of Librarian News Digest
Firmwide Director of Research Services, Sidley Austin LLP
Founder & Editor, informed.JD
Phone: 323.459.4999
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/johndigilio/
Blog: Pinhawkblog.com
Twitter: @pinhawkhappens

Note: Any opinions expressed are solely my own and are not intended to reflect those of my employer or affiliated organizations.