Case Study: A Talk with North Shore Law

Com Pro:

Thank you for joining me today, Elana. Let’s begin. Tell me about your background and maybe a little bit about North Shore Law.

Elana:

Sure. I have a Bachelor of Arts, and then went into a legal assistant role. From there I transitioned into a paralegal role working in family law. I came over to North Shore Law about eight years ago as a family law paralegal, and just became more interested in the administration side of things. When our previous administrator Kathy retired in 2020, I took over. So, I’ve been in this role for almost two years.

Com Pro:

And what’s your official title?

Elana:

Administrator.

Com Pro:

Okay. And tell me a little bit about North Shore Law. Give me the background. What do you guys specialize in?

Elana:

We are actually turning 50, next year.

Com Pro:

Oh, wow. Congratulations!

Elana:

Yeah, the firm was founded in 1973. And we’re a broad firm. We have 22 lawyers right now, nine of whom are partners, and a variety of practice areas: solicitors work, litigation, personal injury, defense work, real estate, and a large family law department.

Com Pro:

Cool. Now, what specific problem were you trying to solve, from an organizational perspective, before working with Com Pro?

Elana:

Well, when I was first employed with the firm, we were working with Syncronet. And as long as I’ve known North Shore Law, that was their go-to for IT. And then Syncronet transitioned into Com Pro, so we’ve just continued our relationship. In the last two years since I’ve been in this position, the biggest challenge that Com Pro has helped manage, and made successful for us, was our transition to work from home and remote working. Com Pro was really a huge factor in getting us up and running as quickly as possible, back in March of 2020.

Com Pro:

Let’s talk about that just quickly. During the pandemic, what percentage of staff had to then be working at home?

Elana:

For the first few months, until the summer of 2020, it was pretty much the majority of staff — about 80% of staff were working from home for about two to three months. Then slowly people started coming back and rotating in. Some people really preferred to be in the office, so it was a good chunk. And then since that past summer we’ve gone in waves. We’ve instituted work from home again when COVID has spiked, and right now we’re pretty much back at the office; but I don’t want to say full capacity. We’ve instituted an if you want to work from home policy. You just have to okay it through the firm, and we can make that happen. But, otherwise, everyone’s welcome to work from the office again right now.

Com Pro:

What’s the total number of staff?

Elana:

Staff wise, we’re at 33.

Com Pro:

Okay. So, because Com Pro has been working with you for a number of years now, what is it about their service offerings, or level of service, that allows you to continue working with them?

Elana:

Because we’ve had such a longstanding relationship, they know our systems inside and out. Especially during my transition to a new administrator, it was pretty seamless because I did not have any kind of tech background coming into this job. I’ve had to learn a lot more than I thought I would, but they were really instrumental in making that part of this as smooth as possible. Just having them know our systems, know how different software we use integrates with our network.

Because we have a wide variety of practice areas, we’re using different software. They know, and can help integrate that, which just makes it seamless. We’ve always had really good onsite service. Don always comes onsite once every two weeks. He’s great! We’ve always had a really good relationship with whoever’s come to our office. They’re always more than willing to help, and to go that extra step to make things easier for me.

Com Pro:

Now, two other questions related to that. Do you use Com Pro for your print management as well?

Elana:

No, we don’t.

Com Pro:

Okay. So, do you lease or buy your printers yourselves?

Elana:

About half and a half. Our printers are owned, and our copiers are leased.

Com Pro:

Okay. And does Com Pro have anything to do with that at all in terms of the network?

Elana:

Yes, setting up our print drivers and all that stuff. They’re always helpful with that. Definitely something to look for. It’s just the way our leases fell that we don’t have print managed services with them; but definitely we’ll absolutely look into that next time when our leases are up.

Com Pro:

Now you mentioned that Com Pro has a good knowledge of the software that you use. What specific software are you using that Com Pro has good knowledge of?

Elana:

We’re using Worlddox as our document management system, PCLaw for our accounting and client data, and ACL for our insurance defense practice. And then there’s smaller stuff. We use DivorceMate, and they have a feel for that too.

Com Pro:

Cool. I think that’s pretty important, isn’t it?

What challenges might others find along the way that they should be mindful of, based on your experience, or your predecessors experience? What kind of things would you say, “Hey, if you’re going to be considering bringing on a managed IT service provider, this is what you should be thinking of?

Elana:

I think just having that wide scope of knowledge. Everyone that I’ve always come across at Com Pro, knows a little bit about something. Like the guy we work closest with, Don. I think he has a background in telephones, and so when we had a problem with our telephone system, he really helped get that up and going and spent a lot of time with us. Com Pro just really covers it all. They are able to help you integrate everything together. Even if they’re not directly managing that, they’ll help with all the aspects of the technology in the office.

Com Pro:

Great. Is there anything that happens on an annual basis to plan for the year? Or is it really just an ad-hoc service? How would you describe what we provide for you?

Elana:

Usually, a couple times through the year, maybe even quarterly, I chat with Phil. Phil’s our Account Manager. We just touch base with what’s to come for the year. We have our longer conversation in January, about what we have coming up, what equipment’s aging out, and which license renewals need to be done for the coming year. So, we always touch base in January; but he’s very good at just checking in about every quarter – I get a call with him. This year, about half of our workstations had to be replaced; just old. So, we chatted about that in January. Then we’re always in contact about getting good prices, getting installations, etc.

Com Pro:

Elana, you mentioned that we helped your organization during COVID to enable working from home. Obviously, there was a technology aspect to that; but, what about the policy aspect? Did you have specific policies that you needed to put in place for your employees, and if so, did we help with that?

Elana:

No, we actually don’t really have any formal work from home policies. It was more ad-hoc as we went.

Com Pro:

Okay. What types of things would employees be able to have access to from home?

Elana:

They require a connection through VPN into their computer at the office.

Com Pro:

Okay, great. Now, as a result of working with us (and this may be a challenging question because you replaced somebody else) were there any cost savings, process changes, or efficiencies that improved your bottom line?

Elana:

Yes! Since Com Pro knows our system so well and has such a good grasp on so many aspects of our business, that is a cost savings in itself. It doesn’t take you too long to figure out the resolution to any issue. I think if we went to someone else — I don’t know for sure because I’ve never had to do the research — they might be lacking in background knowledge. Com Pro has grown with us as a firm.

Com Pro:

Okay. Are there any last final comments that you’d like to make about the working relationship with Com Pro? Anything that stands out in the day-to-day interaction with us?

Elana:

I just think that you’re really responsive. Whenever there’s more than just a small one-workstation issue — if it’s more of a network problem like a network outage, or something’s not connecting and it’s really hampering productivity in the office — you’re always really quick to respond and always helpful. If necessary, you’ll always send someone out, boots on the ground, to get the job done. Yeah. So, it’s always been more than I can ask in terms of responsiveness.

Com Pro:

Happy to hear that. So, just to wrap up, Com Pro’s tagline and philosophy has the word care in it. When you work with Com Pro, does it feel like they care?

Elana:

Yeah, it does! We had some network problems earlier this year and I had multiple people reaching out, just checking with me, making sure everyone’s okay, that everything is up and running, that everything is working. You check in, and I feel very comfortable just reaching out with any kind of problem.

Com Pro:

Great to know. Thanks for your time, Elana.