We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tiffany Travillion a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Tiffany, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear your thoughts about making remote work effective.

COVID forced us to all to figure out how to operate from the living room, or our makeshift offices, in the most effective and efficient way. My law practice serves all of Los Angeles County. Prior to COVID it was common for me to travel 3-4 times a week to various courts throughout the county. The LA Superior Court system, the largest and busiest in the country, shut down until they were able to figure out how to serve the hundreds of litigants remotely. The court spent thousands of dollars to put in place a remote system that allowed attorneys and litigants to essentially appear in court from anywhere. This re-vamping of how we attorneys practice law prompted me to transform my business to be completely remote.

My office has always had a strong internet presence and an automated system that allowed clients to have direct control over scheduling consultations and accessing their case file through a secure client portal. Meeting with clients via Zoom has also been available for those clients that like to have face to face interaction. However, going completely remote forced us to explore more sophisticated systems that would allow for various channels of communication with our clients that was trustworthy and would maintain the personal interaction people look for when dealing with their attorney. So, the goal was to create a structure that would be viewed as an enhanced client experience rather than a temporary fix to deal with the health concerns brought on by COVID.

The biggest transition was setting up systems that would allow my paralegal and assistant to operate from home efficiently while still meeting the day to day demands of interfacing with clients. This transition took some trial and error in terms of setting up an effective communication network between myself and support staff so that we can respond timely and still provide superb customer service. I believe we have found our remote “sweet spot” so to speak in terms of our communication systems and client access. My paralegal and legal assistant are now fully remote and the feedback we receive from our clients has been positive.

One of the unexpected benefits of being a remote office is that it allows for the client to have more immediate access to their case information. Going remote encouraged us to take advantage of leading software that allows me to communicate with clients quicker and send them case updates in real time. It has also lowered client costs, which is an added benefit and in line with our business model of offering efficient legal services. Because clients can access their case information directly, it keeps billing costs low as there is less of a need to contact legal staff for updates.

Tiffany, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have been practicing law for the last 15 years, and in private business for the past 13 years. My law firm focuses primarily on real estate and business litigation. I enjoy the personal interaction I can provide to my clients given that we are boutique firm. My clients can trust that they will receive timely communications from me and that they won’t be handed off to a paralegal or assistant when they have questions or concerns about their case. I am able to provide this one-on-one care on each of my cases and I believe this is what most clients want, and ultimately deserve. I started out my career working in larger firms and lack of timely communication was one of the biggest client complaints. I wanted to offer my clients a different experience with my firm.

I think most of my clients would agree that the attention they receive assures them that I take their case seriously and that I am committed to seeing them through to a positive result. It is my goal to not just guide my clients through their legal issue, but also offer them strategies and advice that translate to their overall success, personally and professionally. Many of my clients have become like family. It is important that they know their case is not just a billable invoice, but that they truly have an attorney that cares about the outcome. Fostering this type of attorney-client relationship can only been done through effective communication, and I believe we are above the rest when it comes to this.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

By far, referrals from past clients. Despite not having a large marketing/advertising budget, our office is flooded with leads and we often have to turn down cases. Most of my clientele includes loyal customers that trust us to exclusively handle all of their real estate/business needs and those who were referred to us from past or current clients.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Our reputation for effective and efficient legal services has been consistent for the past 10 years that we have been in business. Bottom line is, when you retain my office to represent you, I’m going to go the distance to get the most favorable results. You don’t build a positive reputation without winning cases, and when I step in the courtroom I’m there to win!

I am grateful for not only my loyal clients, but colleagues as well who also refer clients to my office. I think one of the greatest professional compliments I’ve received is when opposing counsel refers clients to my office, which has happened in several instances.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.travlawgroup.com
• Instagram: @tifftravillion
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-travillion-2800b236/
• Other: https://www.avvo.com/attorneys/authorized/91505-ca-tiffany-travillion-3334430

Image Credits
Aaron Martin