Read on Twitter
Having thought about this for some time, a bit of a thread on remote working:
As many will know already, I am a huge advocate of the use of technology to improve the quality of what we offer and the way we work. I’ve been a #paperless practitioner for 10 years, longer than... 1/
As many will know already, I am a huge advocate of the use of technology to improve the quality of what we offer and the way we work. I’ve been a #paperless practitioner for 10 years, longer than... 1/
... anyone else I know, and I’ve been able to lead the transition of the whole of @CoramFamilyLaw IT to the cloud over recent years. The ability to work digitally makes a massive difference, principally to my work-life balance, and thus to the standard of work I do. 2/
It is also amazing that we can continue to operate, albeit on a reduced basis, at the moment via remote communication methods. Teams / Zoom / etc have changed the landscape very quickly and it’s easy to forget that even 5 years ago such use of tech was nowhere near as ... 3/
... widely available. What a remarkable thing to have at a time of crisis.
That being said, remote communications technology is not now, nor will it ever be, a comparable replacement for our usual way of dealing with clients & hearings - in person. 4/
That being said, remote communications technology is not now, nor will it ever be, a comparable replacement for our usual way of dealing with clients & hearings - in person. 4/
As my HoC @CoramFamilyLaw, Martha Cover, has said before, a huge part of the magic & value of what we family law professions do is to be in a room, with a person, and to listen, understand, and give advice on the most human of matters - family - whilst looking them in the eye. 5/
This human connection is a vital part of what we do and is not something that can be readily replaced with technology. Empathy is vital in areas such as family law, and an empathetic connection comes in ‘real life’, so to speak. 6/
To say that a huge amount of communication is non-verbal is a cliche, yes, but it’s a cliche because it’s true.
The tech is there to make other aspects of the process better, and to help us prepare and deliver the rest of our professional offering, so that what we do ... 7/
The tech is there to make other aspects of the process better, and to help us prepare and deliver the rest of our professional offering, so that what we do ... 7/
... in that room with that person is the best it can be. I am better at my job because of the technology I use, but the best work I do is in person, in real life, not on my computer. 8/
I will challenge those who suggest that we have now seen the future of working and who suggest that we can do far less work in person with clients and with ‘the other side’. Remote communication is a temporary fix, and is there to assist on the exceptional occasions ... 9/
when ‘real life’ working is not available. But it is not the new normal. I look forward to sitting once more with my clients and my solicitors, with litigants and with judges, to do this job the way it should be done. 10/10
