Coker Law has transitioned its attorneys and staff to work remotely and it's working for the firm's clients.
“Everybody is extremely productive. It's different, but it's our new normal,” said Kim Moody, the firm's legal administrator.
Planning for the transition began days before Mayor Lenny Curry issued the order for everyone who can work remotely to do so.
“We evaluated everybody's computer at home to make sure we met the security standards to access to our server from home,” Moody said.
Attorney Stefano Portigliatti said he worked from home before COVID-19 forced people to implement social distancing.
“I have a cellphone dedicated to client communication and I work out of the office quite a bit,” he said.
Moody said some staff members who process mail and deliver documents still are coming to the firm Downtown at East Bay and Newnan streets, but on a limited basis and with what she called a “scattered schedule.”
“We only have a few people in the office at one time,” Moody said.
Videoconferencing and the internet are allowing his cases to continue to progress, Portigliatti said.
“When we saw the handwriting on the wall with stay-at-home orders in New York and Miami, we got everybody laptops and software licenses,” he said.
Portigliatti is appearing at hearings and conducting depositions with video. Working at home last week meant he didn't have to travel to depose a witness.
“I would have had to travel to Milwaukee for a one-hour deposition. That would have been wasteful,” he said.
Portigliatti says the mandatory work-at-home experience might cause law firms and other companies to change how they do business.
“At the end of all this, I think society will incorporate a lot of things we learn,” he said.
“We're doing what we have to do to take care of our clients and maintain business as usual.”
