by LAWPRO

Law can be an isolating profession, but it doesn’t have to be. There are lots of ways where collaboration can help you find joy in your practice and increase your productivity. Here are three quick tips to get collaborating.

Get a buddy

Just like it can help to have a gym buddy to keep you on track for fitness goals, getting a work buddy can help keep you on track, add accountability, and help reduce the isolation that can come with the practice of law.

Whether you’re a true solo with no staff, or part of a large law firm, there are all sorts of ways to use a buddy, including:

  • Meeting up to work on your matters with company (as long as you make sure that confidentiality and privilege are maintained)
  • Call, video-chat, text, or otherwise check in on each other
  • Challenge each other to a daily task goal (ex: I will complete this factum today) and check in with each other as to progress / completion
  • Create a “Goals Group” where you share certain goals with colleagues and encourage each other to continue to strive towards and achieve them.
  • Buddy systems help bring some social interaction and fun into practice, and help you have trusted peer relationships, which can help if you need to seek general guidance (again, while maintaining privilege and confidentiality).

Get a Mentor – Be a Mentor

LAWPRO supports mentoring. Mentoring is another way to help collaboration. Mentoring can be formal or informal, within a firm practice area, or provided by lawyers outside the organization. Learn more about how to make the most out of your mentoring relationship by reviewing the practicePRO Managing a Mentoring Relationship booklet. Learn more about mentoring programs by checking out practicePRO’s list of Ontario Mentoring Programs.

Use technology to help collaboration

Sometimes we can’t meet in person. And sometimes we’re just busy, so we want to make sure that we make the most of our in person time but are still connected and collaborating with our clients and colleagues. Use tech to help collaboration. You need not break the bank to use technology to help collaboration. Many technologies used in firms already have tools for:

  • Video conference meeting platforms often have screen sharing and white board functionality
  • Online chat platforms such as Microsoft Teams reduce email and allow for real time collaboration
  • Microsoft SharePoint, Google and others offer cloud based document sharing multi-author editing

There are lots of ways to engage using technology to enhance workflow and team inputs to enhance productivity and work quality, and to add fun into work collaboration. Explore what works for you and your team. Here again, consider starting with what you already have in your tech deck, and to explore more, check out practicePRO’s Technology Products for Lawyers and Law Firms.

Next week we’ll focus on priorities to get the most out of your time. Subscribe to the avoidaclaim.com blog to have the post emailed right to you. Got a question? Reach out to [email protected].

Next week we’ll focus on priorities to get the most out of your time.