Hartford Business Journal

23 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 6, 2021 FOCUS: LAW Last Modified Art Director 1" = 1" CT Commercial Lending Print Layout None Project Bleed Project # Document Name 21-LBB-0045_FY21_CL_HBJ_10x6.75_M1_V1.indd 21-LBB-0045 Version # M1_V1 BB NB Colors In-Use Fonts and Linked Graphics Forma DJR Deck Regular DIN Condensed Light Cyan Magenta User Printer Output Date 7-15-2021 7:57 AM Becky Bowman None 7-15-2021 7:57 AM Mech Scale M1_V1 For nearly 200 years, Liberty Bank has been behind companies that think big. We provide commercial loans, mortgages, and working capital lines of credit that can be tailored to meet your business's current needs and those in the future. Loans for $1,000,000 and up. Scan the QR code to call a Commercial Lending Officer today or visit liberty-bank.com/ct-commercial-lending to find a local lender. Loans, lines of credit, owner-occupied and investment mortgages up to $50 million. All loans are subject to credit and underwriting approval. Member FDIC Equal Housing Lender Seven-figure business loans for million-dollar ideas. Liberty Bank was part of a multi-bank fi nancing deal behind Goodwin University's acquisition of the University of Bridgeport in May 2021. CP26054_21-LBB-0045_FY21_CL_HBJ_10x6.75_M1_V1.indd 1 CP26054_21-LBB-0045_FY21_CL_HBJ_10x6.75_M1_V1.indd 1 7/16/21 5:06 PM 7/16/21 5:06 PM without growing pains. Kermit Wallace, chief information officer of law firm Day Pitney, said the pandemic accelerated technology adoption while also presenting new challenges. "When people moved from the 13 offices to one of now 550 offices, because everybody went home, we had to essentially become paperless," said Wallace, whose firm has five Connecticut locations, including one in downtown Hartford at 242 Trumbull St. Wallace said cybersecurity was a point of emphasis. Firewalls were upgraded and training was paramount. Day Pitney also had to deal with the challenges of security in people's homes. In the office, there are certain restrictions about shredding documents or using virtual assistants like Google Home. Those rules are harder to enforce when people are working remotely, Wallace said. Another challenge was training. Wallace noted the transition to online and paperless offices meant everyone had to get up to speed. "Maybe the person in your ... quad of cubicles was just notorious for being really good at Excel and you relied on them," he said. "Or there were those serendipitous moments where you go, 'Is anybody else having a problem with X' or, 'oh, man, I have to get this out. Can we split this up?' " Shipman & Goodwin's Dolphin said technology has been more of a focus for her firm since the pandemic began. "We're looking at our videoconferencing because that's where most of the meetings are happening," Dolphin said. "We're looking to make sure that we are having cybersecurity at the highest level." While most of the pandemic has operated in the unknown, some firms were ahead of the technology curve. Cantor Colburn LLP, which currently occupies 64,103 square feet at 20 Church St. in downtown Hartford, went paperless before the pandemic. Co-Managing Partner Michael Cantor said he began to see staples of the pandemic even before March 2020. "I would go down to some of my offices and there'd be hardly any lawyers there," Cantor said. "That is precisely because we went paperless and they could work from wherever they want." Cantor said making sure everyone has their own monitors and other technology to effectively work at home has allowed the company to operate with much less space. Cantor says that while the firm enjoys its Hartford location, it wants to reduce its square footage by 25%. He said the next big challenge is fostering relationships with both clients and workers. Cantor said he hopes that traveling to meet with clients returns. He also thinks that office culture has changed forever as people have become comfortable working from home. As a result, Cantor said offices will likely look very different in the years ahead, especially as current leases expire. For Cantor Colburn, that might mean a mixed approach. "For those lawyers who come in on a regular basis and those staff members, they need their place and we got plenty of room right now, so they're all going to have their regular place," Cantor said. "But certainly we're also going to set up cubicles and offices that will be for those who are visiting on an irregular basis. We're not going to go to something like an open office [floor plan], because I've also found out that people don't really love that either." Shipman & Goodwin co-Managing Partner Leander Dolphin said components of the legal industry's work can be done remotely, but having an office "anchor point" is important to build a firm's culture. HBJ FILE PHOTO

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