Any business owner will tell you that time equals money, and this is certainly the case in law firms!  When the COVID-19 pandemic began to result in lockdowns throughout the world, it became imperative for businesses to quickly and effectively enable their staff to work remotely. 

It will be interesting to see how the pandemic will change the shape of remote working – and the legal industry’s view of the practice – in years to come.   According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics February 2021 Household Impacts of COVID-19 Survey “two in five people with a job (41 per cent) worked from home at least once a week in February 2021, compared with 24 per cent at least once a week before March 2020.” 

Concurrently, 2020 was the year of the Video Meeting. Initially, mostly used to connect people face to face who were located a great distance apart, we now see businesses using video meeting platforms in replacement of meetings that they may have previously stepped out of the office to attend nearby.

Video meetings are no new concept to law firms, especially when it comes to managing communications on an international deal. But could using video meeting software for domestic/local meetings save the practice valuable time, therefore save the firm money?

Presenting ideas on efficiency and cost saving measures is a great way to add value and be noticed in your career. When it comes to working with the latest VC platforms, we’ve taken the leg work out of the research for you and have presented five platforms all under $20/month.

1. Microsoft Teams  – BEST FOR GLOBAL NETWORKS

• One application enabling video and auto meetings one on one or in a team as well as presentations with up to 10,000 participants
• Full integration with Microsoft 365 making it user friendly for inter-organisation and external contacts all over the world
• A wide range of features including chat, screen sharing, and call recording.

2.  ClickMeeting – BEST FOR CLIENT-FACING BUSINESSES

• An impressive array of features for hosting group meetings and presentations
• Live polls to encourage audience participation as well as automated follow ups
• Integrates with data and marketing tools as well as business apps

3. Zoom – MOST BUDGET FRIENDLY

• Quick and easy to set up with a basic package that is free of cost!
• Cloud based platform which allows you to save meetings with transcripts that have searchable text
• Excellent tools including screen sharing, a searchable meeting history with a ten year archive, meeting scheduler with Google or Outlook calendars

4. Google Meet – MOST ACCESSIBLE

• Part of the Google Workspace suite that can work with external conference hardware
• No software to download and a dedicated dial-in number
• Easy data collection from other Google Workspace applications for easier scheduling and analytics

5. GoToMeeting – EASIEST TO USE

• Mobile friendly
• One tap invites to join meetings and chats
• Generous basic and business plans