Communicating During the COVID-19 Crisis

One area that has been especially hit hard is the communications function. Why is that? A few reasons:

• In-person meetings and events are impossible — now and for the foreseeable future. That means that for lawyers to stay connected with their clients, they need to communicate more often.
• COVID-19 presents myriad legal issues for companies, from human resources policies to data security, so lawyers have myriad opportunities for creating content to educate and advise. Some lawyers also may have some time on their hands, as certain practice areas area slower due to the pandemic than others — so that gives those lawyers more time to write and publish. That means law firm communications professionals have more to manage and help with.
• Things are changing so quickly during this pandemic that if you aren't "first to market" with your piece of content or analysis, you get lost in all the other law firm communications. You have to react fast, write fast and get it out fast.

The Bigger Picture

Since most firms have their attorneys and staff working remotely, that presents a plethora of challenges — especially for those involved in communications. Not only are the processes of how we write now more convoluted and complex but the volume of communications as increased — both externally and internally. At my firm, Sheppard Mullin, our lawyers are blogging significantly more than they have before and our Chair routinely sends out an email internally updating the entire firm with the latest news about returning to the office, how the firm is managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and how the firm is faring financially.