Hybrid legal 2022: hybrid working for law firms in the UK
Author: Sonia Older | Date published: Apr 11, 2022, UK | Read est: 5 min read
COVID-19 saw law firms of all shapes and sizes face the overnight challenge of migrating operations from the office to home working – most without the IT, access and communication tools needed to support the ‘new normal’. The speed with which solicitors, lawyers and administrative staff found themselves shifting to a remote working environment was astonishing and certainly came with its challenges.
Taking laptops home is one thing, but accessing the systems and files needed to continue to operate is a whole different ball game, not to mention doing this safely and securely given the highly confidential nature of the information used by legal businesses. Data breaches can spell disaster for a firm’s reputation, so security is vital.
Hybrid legal and the shift to the cloud
What was obvious from quite early on was that firms needed to tap into more flexible communication solutions; secure technologies that mimicked the level of communication expected as if employees were in the office. Many law firms quickly came to the realisation that operating a hybrid legal environment by moving all corporate communications and IT to cloud-based hosted services was the way forward – facilitating seamless, productive and efficient continuation of business, especially when it comes to telecoms and connectivity.
How hosted telephony enables law firms hybrid working
The big move to law firms hybrid working was facilitated by the introduction of Hosted telephony, allowing for a more remote workforce. Hosted telephony means that calls can be managed wherever, whenever and across any device. And no matter what device is being used, calls can be accepted or transferred quickly and easily. Integrated features include video and instant messaging, call handling, call diverts and call analytics all helping to recreate the office environment and boost collaboration between colleagues who, while working from different locations, can ask questions and get the answer they need there and then.
Another huge plus of a hosted telephony system is the security on offer. With all data and IT systems hosted in either a public cloud service or private centre, strict multifactor authentication or VPNs are in place to guarantee security at all times.
As experts in legal industry solutions, Focus Group can help implement agile web hosted telephony designed and tailored to match your exact requirements. Switch between departments quickly and efficiently, update databases – whatever is important to your day-to-day operations is possible. And more.
VoIP technology and hybrid working for law firms
Hybrid working would not have been made possible without the introduction of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony. VoIP is a solution where voice calls are transmitted over IP networks using an internet connection, rather than over the traditional telephone network. Given that the legacy PSTN (public switched telephone network) is soon to be resigned to the telecom’s history books, now is the perfect time to embrace VoIP and the host of benefits which come hand in hand with this all-digital communications solution.
VoIP technology enables hybrid working for law firms, allowing for a more flexible form of communication that can be accessed from any location with an internet connection thanks to it being available across multiple portable devices such as mobile, tablet and laptop.
How does VoIP facilitate hybrid working for law firms?
A VoIP phone system works by taking analogue voice signals, digitalising the sound, compressing it to make voice packets smaller, then breaking it up and sending it as data over an IP network to both desktop and mobile devices. VoIP for business enables VoIP call routing to take place via a secure internet connected data centre rather than through hardware installed on your business premises.
Internet-based means the technology is easy to install, there are no upfront connection costs, it’s easy to maintain and upgrade, plus it’s brilliantly agile – meaning the system grows with your business together with delivering an impressive repertoire of powerful call management features.
Hybrid law working practices are based on effective communication and critical is critical to its success. It’s key to information flow, customer service, team working, knowledge building and project management A cloud based phone system enables total flexibility, reliability and agility, whilst allowing you to stay connected with your customers anytime and from anywhere.
Benefits of the Horizon VoIP for system for law firms
Our VoIP Horizon phone system is, by far, the hosted telephony solution of choice for hybrid legal working, giving users endless call management features including:
- Voicemail to email
- On-demand call recording and conferencing capabilities
- Call analytics and reporting
- Options to upgrade to Horizon Collaborate and CRM integration
- Scalability – the system grows with your business
- Cost effective – only pay for what you need!
Horizon can also be integrated with Microsoft Teams to enhance your Microsoft products for law firm hybrid working, transforming your existing Teams platform into a powerful, business-grade PBX phone system . Bringing a powerful voice to Teams, it’s a brilliantly agile telephony solution which will enable your law business to make and receive voice and video calls directly in Microsoft Teams, all in a single application. Highly capable, feature-rich and hosted in the cloud, Horizon for Teams will deliver a unified communications solution that’s designed for hybrid working and fit for the future.
Cyber security for law firm hybrid working
It’s reported there was an attempted cyber-attack every 46 seconds on businesses across the UK in 2020, the chilling result of a 20% rise in security threats. Cyber-crime soared as result of the global pandemic and the exponential rise in remote workforces, connected and operating through cloud-based platforms.
It’s reported there was an attempted cyber-attack every 46 seconds on businesses across the UK in 2020, the chilling result of a 20% rise in security threats. Cyber-crime soared as result of the global pandemic and the exponential rise in remote workforces, connected and operating through cloud-based platforms.
So, it’s essential that a move to a hybrid law workforce is fully supported by a full assessment of any weaknesses in your network to ensure your resilience against cyber-crime. Security awareness and training for all employees will also ensure vigilance across your business. Our cyber security experts are here to help, just give us a shout.
Related content
> Resilient solutions for legal
> Phone systems for legal industry
> Seven steps for flexible working anywhere
> The future of business technology
Keep you law firm connected and secure
Hybrid working for law firms relies on secure, reliable network connectivity wherever you may be working, in order to keep your business firing on all cylinders. So, should you need to boost your Connectivity, guess what? We’ll take care of that too! Working closely with leading technology partners, we’ll future-proof your law firm, deliver competitive pricing, pave the way for increased productivity and we’ll be by your side to ensure you stay connected, securely. At all times.
The future is hybrid law. Is your law firm ready?
It seems hybrid working (a happy mix of remote and office working) is here to stay. So, safeguard your business and make sure your legal team are in the best hands when it comes to communication, connectivity and cyber security.
Our business technology specialists are on hand to future-proof your law firm and ensure that regardless of location or device, your employees are working smarter and faster. We’ll deliver a hassle-free hybrid working solution to the exacting requirements of your business. And with all upgrades and maintenance taken care of and conducted in the cloud, there’s no interruption and zero downtime!
Sonia Older
Brand & Campaign Manager
Sonia Older is the Campaign Manager at Focus Group and a highly experienced copywriter. She boasts over 20 years of experience in content marketing and PR across multiple industries, and is the key driver of content and PR for Focus Group across all UK offices. Away from work, Sonia usually swaps keyboard strokes for ski slopes in the Alps with her family.
