How Practitioners Can Find Their Silver Lining in the Uncertainty

They say every cloud has a silver lining; it’s something I have witnessed and taken pride over in the past few days. The cancellation of the Australian Gran Prix was but one of many casualties amidst the COVID-19 uncertainty. My husband, Exec Chef for one of their major caterers, would find himself with food for around 16,000 people and no one to feed.

Instinctively, he called food charities SecondBite and The Salvation Army, which unsurprisingly were thrilled to receive tons of much needed supplies. An absolute silver lining.

This has led me to wonder about my conveyancing colleagues. We are already beginning to see a downturn in the number of properties being sold and can expect to have less work in the coming weeks and months.

So, where could the silver lining be in all of this?

Transition your files from paper to digital

I know many firms have thought about it but for most its rather daunting. With more time on your hands you could convert your current, active files so that your new day-to-day activities move paperless first. With some simple paperless processes then in place such as common naming conventions etc. the transition will be simpler as new files come in.

Here’s a great resource from Xero on moving to a paperless office.

Focus on security

With the necessary move to working from home, there has been a greater reliance on using technology. This of course means that as a firm, you will need to educate yourself and staff on best security practices and implement procedures for future protection.

Check out our blog post on combating cyber-security threats during the current climate.

Stay on top legislative and industry changes

Take some time to read up on proposed changes to the Model Participation Rules. Get across recent legislative or industry changes such as the recent updates to VOI requirements.

There are also some important industry changes directly relating to COVID-19 you should be aware of. State law societies and respective AIC divisions have produced some useful resources which you can lean on for advice. Check out the following publications:

Earn CPD points online

Although a raft of state-based conferences and CPD events have been postponed indefinitely, you can still use this time to attain CPD points online.

There are a great range of educational webinars from industry providers which can help you during his time:

There are some tough times ahead for sure; but as we look for the silver linings on the dark clouds, we’re sure to find some ways of making the most of the uncertainty.

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