Katherine Thomas, Free Range Lawyers
In the seventh podcast in this collection focusing on providing practical support and assistance for those working in the legal ecosystem during this time of extreme change, we discussed how our world of legal work has been turned upside down with Katherine Thomas, CEO, Free Range Lawyers in Remote Working…in a crisis.
Working remotely has been on the agenda for law firms for a long time – not new! Moving your entire workforce to work from home at short notice – that’s new! While the initial foray into this world was all about getting the tech connected, setting up the home office, and completing WH&S checklists, as we now know, some weeks in, where we work has become a catalyst for change that runs much deeper.
As we undertake our work each day from home, we’re witnessing and contributing to not only a proof of concept, but also the global transformation of how law firms can and are operating in a very different way. Working remotely is changing what work we do, how work is produced, how we work together: how we communicate, collaborate and trust. It’s also brought about a renewed focus on mental health and well-being. It’s challenging mindsets, the status quo, leadership and management structures, styles and even own assumptions.
That’s what Katherine focussed on in this session – context, evidence and highly practical recommendations for leadership, management and individuals - and, in so doing, made it clear that wide scale remote working may have come to many quickly, demanding change, agility and experimentation that some were prepared for but many were not but, it also created a unique opportunity for law firms to embrace the future of work, TODAY!
The question for us now is no longer if remote working can “work” (it can) but rather if the legal industry is willing to see this as a catalyst for change in law firms so, when we can return to the office, we make that decision (and many others related to it), because it is the best option, not just because it’s what we did before…
Thank you Katherine – informative, insightful and practical - we love your work!
