Culhane Meadows’ co-founder and managing partner, Kelly Culhane, was recently interviewed by Dan Packel at Law.com, for an article which explores the cloud-based infrastructures of virtual law firms. 

Here are some key excerpts from the article:

Two years ago, when law firm technology officers were scrambling to prepare for a virtual interlude that few anticipated would become the future, one set of firms had many fewer worries.

The distributed law firms that first started showing up on the map in the previous decade had already started solving the question of how to build a cloud-based infrastructure for attorneys working remotely. 

But even with that head start, their needs aren’t stagnant. I reached out to leaders from several of these firms to learn about their evolving requirements and how these compare to their traditional rivals. In reality, their demands are not that different: both groups need to keep client data safe, and they need to be able to keep their attorneys working together. 

…

On the collaboration side, Culhane Meadows has been relying on Microsoft’s combination of 365 and Teams for a number of years–with managing partner Kelly Rittenberry Culhane detecting a lag in quality in the spring of 2020 when so many other businesses suddenly became reliant on the technology. 

She said that Teams has transformed how firms’ attorneys interact. They prioritize the service over email for internal communication. It serves as a virtual watercooler, with its applications extending even to hosting the store for firm swag. But this isn’t accidental.

“We’ve led by example as a management team and forced people to use this. Partners say, ‘Can we move this conversation to Teams?” Culhane said. “You’ve got to enforce its use.”

“You can buy whatever you want but if you don’t integrate it, use it, encourage your partners and staff to use it, it’s just talking into a vacuum,” she continued. “It’s like the treadmill that’s upstairs. If you don’t get on it, it doesn’t work.”

Here’s a reminder that personnel are essential in ensuring that these systems get off the ground. Culhane is effusive in talking about the work that Culhane Meadows founder and managing partner Heather Haughian did to migrate the firm’s systems onto Teams, alongside Haughian’s practice on technology transactions and IP. While Haughian focuses on the big picture, she also outsources the day-to-day to a couple of trusted consultants. 

“We pay a fairly big nut to two companies, both for document management and help with 365 and Teams,” Culhane said.

Download PDF of this article HERE.

About Culhane Meadows – Big Law for the New Economy®
The largest woman-owned national full-service business law firm in the U.S., Culhane Meadows fields over 70 partners in ten major markets across the country. Uniquely structured, the firm’s Disruptive Law® business model gives attorneys greater work-life flexibility while delivering outstanding, partner-level legal services to major corporations and emerging companies across industry sectors more efficiently and cost-effectively than conventional law firms. Clients enjoy exceptional and highly-efficient legal services provided exclusively by partner-level attorneys with significant experience and training from large law firms or in-house legal departments of respected corporations. U.S. News & World Report has named Culhane Meadows among the country’s “Best Law Firms” in its 2014 through 2022 rankings and many of the firm’s partners are regularly recognized in Chambers, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers and Martindale-Hubbell Peer Reviews.

The foregoing content is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Federal, state, and local laws can change rapidly and, therefore, this content may become obsolete or outdated. Please consult with an attorney of your choice to ensure you obtain the most current and accurate counsel about your particular situation.