Recalibrating In-House Legal Teams in the Time of Covid-19

By Jennifer B. Wills
Director Of Business Development at Paragon Legal

With the seemingly endless barrage of negative news about the economy and the impact of Covid-19 on people as well as businesses, there are some positive lessons that we should take away: people are fundamentally compassionate and empathetic; people are adaptable; and people are resilient. So are businesses. Even the traditionally adaptationally-challenged legal industry has been propelled into new territory. Law firms and legal departments have historically been reticent to adopt and embrace new workflows and technologies, but are now left without any other options other than to get on board.

The broad shelter in place orders have forced the legal profession to adjust to this new normal. Remote workers and the use of technology to connect are no longer simply options, but requirements in order to move forward. Universally, corporate legal departments now must find new ways to maintain productivity and consistent workflow without compromising the overall quality of the work or taxing an already lean workforce. On top of that tall order, they are tasked with doing so in a cost-effective way. The extent of the upheaval and the lack of visibility as to when things could return to normal, and how we will define “normal,” means that these changes are likely not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Enter, Paragon Legal Group. While interim legal services and secondments are certainly not new concepts, the benefits of these services are magnified in this time of uncertainty and trepidation around budget and headcount. For 15 years Paragon has helped clients manage both their costs and their ever-evolving legal needs with best in class flexible resources. And now, due to the lack of economic and corporate visibility resulting from this pandemic, clients are increasingly relying on Paragon to provide cost effective solutions to:

• Maintain adequate staffing to cover workflow without having to ask for or commit to additional full time headcount.
• Manage budget by shifting away from more expensive options, such as use of outside counsel.
• Allow for staff to balance additional demands, such as homeschooling, Covid-19 related tasks, etc., without compromising the quality of the work product.
• Retain key staff by transitioning them from full time employees to secondments through Paragon.
• Continue to adequately address changing/fluid corporate risk management issues as they present.

Paragon Legal provides companies with access to a highly skilled, well vetted network of legal professionals with diverse backgrounds who can be placed quickly and are equally immediate in their ability to contribute to the team. Companies have the ability to select the attorneys that have the best and most applicable skillset, and also fit into the overall culture of the company and team. In fact, Paragon attorneys can enable companies to upskill their legal departments without making significant hiring or financial commitments at a time when leadership may be reluctant to do so.

Leveraging interim legal talent provides businesses with the flexibility and agility to adjust with the inevitable ebbs and flows of work in real time. Businesses can continue to grow and scale and not have to defer work simply because of the generally unstable economic environment.

While the utility of Paragon’s model is particularly relevant during this period, our client- and attorney-centric approach has always been and will always be a cornerstone of Paragon. Transparency, communication, compassion, and a focus on ensuring that our clients and attorneys feel heard and have access to the tools and support that they need to be successful are fundamentals on which Paragon was built.

We are here for you now to help you navigate these strange waters, and we will be here when this is over to continue to help your businesses and careers grow and thrive. We recognize that these are challenging times for everyone, but we also know that together we will persevere.