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For many law firms, the prospect of relocating to new digs may raise more than its fair share of objections. Like all business organizations, best law firms may expand or downsize as their business develops, and a time may come when new law offices are needed. Small law firms that achieve tremendous growth over a short period may want to move to bigger law offices, while law firms that outsource labor-intensive functions may consider shifting to law offices that would fit a smaller staff. But no matter what their reasons are for moving, best law firms must plan ahead to avoid any productivity loss that might result from relocating law offices haphazardly.
After all, moving your business or home is the single-most stressful life event, according to a 2000 survey by the British health and disability insurance company Unum Ltd. Even if you are only moving to another floor in your building, the thought of relocating law offices probably sounds about as appealing as doing laundry by hand. Many people tend to resist change, and relocating can be regarded by some as a major change. Employees of top law firms that have recently moved may take time to adjust to the new law offices. This could result in a noticeable productivity drop. Migrating equipment may pose additional problems for relocating law offices, as well. Even the building where the new law offices will be located could be ill prepared for the technology migration. Considering the many things that could go wrong when relocating law firms, you can understand why attorneys would like to get out of town when the business remodels, relocates, or redecorates.
Careful planning and contingency management can help minimize downtime from relocating law firms and migrating technology. Here are key points best law firms should keep in mind when moving law offices.
There’s no such thing as planning too far ahead
when changing law
offices
If it is a minor move, then you should know in advance where the cubicles will get set up and where the Ethernet connections will get wired through. Leave nothing to chance. Relocating small law firms can also mean moving a local-area network or a wireless network, numerous PCs and printers. Consequently, moving law offices will demand shipping equipment and inventory. Line up your ducks well in advance of the big day.
Tip: With careful planning, and depending on your law firm's size, you can ensure that the actual move happens over a weekend. That gives you enough time to install and troubleshoot any technology that has migrated. It there's any downtime, it will be on Sunday and Monday, minimizing the impact to your clients.
Be prepared for the unexpected
A move of any kind forces you to think on your feet and to be ready for anything. If you travel frequently, you probably already know how to do that. For example: Where do you go to buy a box of RJ-11 wire at 1 a.m. What if you need to make copies, but don't have any of your machines set up? It forces you to take nothing for granted, even little things like power and phone service. Best Law firms must be prepared for any logistical contingencies that changing law offices might entail.
Use the move as an excuse to upgrade
Use the move, as an excuse to upgrade For example, if small law firms are using bulky CRT monitors, here is the perfect reason to donate those clunkers to a favorite charity and buy flat-panel monitors. It is also a good opportunity to take a hard look at the software your law office is using to see if it needs upgrading. Basically, small law firms want to be in better shape at the new location than they were when they left.
Tip: Use your laptop computers as “interim” office machines while you are in transit. In other words, make sure they are all synched up and have the latest software before you begin your move. Then, use them as your primary PCs while your new office gets situated.
Anticipate down time, even if you expect none
Moving law offices can be unpredictable. For instance, you might expect to close
on a property in the morning, but because of some unexpected financing issues,
the paperwork does not go through until the end of the week. Delays happen.
Notify clients, colleagues, associates and friends in advance, via e-mail or
phone, that your availability may be somewhat limited for a day or two. By anticipating
down time, law firms gain a head start that would prove useful if work interruption
does occur.
Tip: If it is a long-distance move, and you have to stay in a hotel for a prolonged period of time, make sure it can double as an office. Check for free meeting areas and high-speed and wireless Internet access.
Let your applications help you “move.”
If changing law offices also involves an upgrade or migrating to new hardware (and as mentioned before, this is an excellent opportunity to upgrade), make sure your programs do the heavy lifting. Save all of your old user options and migrate them to the new hardware or software, so that once you arrive in your new digs, you will be able to get to work right away.
Tip: The trickiest of the migrations tends to be moving e-mail from one PC to the next. Outlook 2003 automatically imports your preferences and e-mail when you upgrade from a previous version on the same computer. When you are switching PCs, go to File, Import and Export, and pick up the option for the application you are using.
With a little planning and shrewd use of your existing technology, top law firms can make sure that their next move will be as painless – and productive – as possible. Do not forget … moving is still stressful. Yet hopefully, with these tips, it will be a little less so.
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