“The nature of the area of law means that our clients are based overseas, in different time zones or in corporations who do not have time to call the office or send back and forth emails every time they need something,” she said.

As such, she said, it is incumbent upon practitioners in this space to be exploring new and better ways of working – namely those offered by NewLaw thinking.

“NewLaw methodologies that allow for online bookings and meetings that meet their schedule, clear fixed costs with easy payments allowing multiple currencies, automatic receipt, client portals and models that work for everyone’s schedules are the only way forward in migration law,” she said.

Hannan Tew partner Mihan Hannan agreed: “The concept of NewLaw is pertinent in any area of the law today, but I think migration law lends itself particularly to the concept with the early normalisation of fixed fees, its transactional nature leading to opportunities for automation, and perhaps more importantly, the fragmented industry which means that smaller firms can enter the space and quickly innovate.”

“We also compete with non-lawyer agents with various training/educational backgrounds. Their different perspective is really useful, because they don’t look at services with a traditional legal eye and can offer innovative solutions that lawyers would normally not be aware of,” the Melbourne-based lawyer outlined.

“Lastly, a large component of our work is with individual clients rather than B2B, meaning that the industry is very price sensitive and service centric, driving law firms to be more competitive, efficient and ultimately provide a more comprehensive service.”

Implementing NewLaw methodologies can change the way that migration lawyers practise, Ms Lewis opined, noting it can boost productivity and satisfaction in the workplace.

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“At the end of the day, being a lawyer means we deal with clients who may in 2021 expect things to be done in certain ways which may not be offered by traditional firms. Clients’ needs and way of dealings are evolving and if lawyers do not innovate the way they do things, it will only be a matter of years before these old school practices will be left behind,” said the Sydney-based principal.

Pandemic-inspired acceleration

In conversation with Lawyers Weekly, the pair outlined how their own firms have been evolving their approaches to daily legal practice so as to bolster their service delivery in an ever-changing market and coronavirus-hit landscape.

Such changes, they insist, are especially pertinent in the wake of COVID-19, with Ms Lewis calling the pandemic a “tipping point” for migration lawyers.

“Most migration law firms are traditional in the way of thinking and practicing. A lot resisted the work from home model or even had all their files on their server rather than the cloud. COVID-19 pushed traditional models to become more flexible and fast track new ways of conducting business in the office and beyond,” she said. 

Mr Hannan supported this saying that in the midst of the pandemic, migration lawyers have “been able to demonstrate to clients that uploading documents securely is preferred to posting them, automation means we can draft files promptly without paralegal staff, and effective CRMs and file management systems mean that we can deliver more effective client services than firms that bill by the hour”.

“If there is a silver lining from COVID-19, clients have opened up to many of the innovations that they were historically cautious of (how secure is online document transfer or adoption of video calls?). Their experience with innovation and what I think is a better service is here to stay,” he surmised.

What’s working so far

Mr Hannan’s firm takes the expansive notion of NewLaw to heart, he reflected, aiming to be seen as trusted advisers as opposed to lawyers.

“We have stripped out paralegals so our lawyers communicate directly with clients, incorporated fixed fee billing so clients aren’t afraid to speak to us for fear of the dreaded 6-minute increment, and have been completely flexible in terms of how clients prefer their services to be delivered (do they want an in-house counsel, a monthly retainer, or a fixed fee cost per matter?),” he outlined.

“It’s also worth noting the mentality shift within our organisation. Our staff have access not only to our fantastic office at a co-working space but are provided with home office set ups, a policy that can permit staff to travel and work if they feel it’s appropriate and won’t hamper their work, and access to online training on any subject areas (not just law).”

Proving that such approaches are working for his firm, Mr Hannan added that he responded to Lawyers Weekly’s questions from northern Iraq, where he and his fiancée are currently based. Such flexibility, he said, “makes our staff more well-rounded, happier, and I think, ultimately better lawyers”.

When Ms Lewis opened her firm, she intended for it to be predominantly online/flexible and remote, paperless and reliant on technology and automation as standard way of practice.

She has implemented this, she said, “in every aspect of the client experience from online scheduling platforms that offer easy access to calendar and bookings, to easy receipts, e-signed retainers and internal forms, automated and online payment portals that are easy to follow from anywhere, and a portal for clients to access their files from anywhere and anytime”.

Ms Lewis has also, she continued, explored different pricing packages to allow for DIY checks and specific packages for corporates/certain critical sectors and “productisation” of offerings by way of online and educational courses for those who wish to lodge their own applications but need some guidance.

“This is revolutionary, as it will mean getting legal information at a fraction of the cost of engaging a lawyer or a migration agent to do the whole file,” she proclaimed.

“This area of law can be difficult with competing with non-lawyers migration agents who may have lower fees with lower quality service so it is our obligation to educate our clients on what the difference is whilst finding innovative ways to get ahead of the curve.”

Other strategies

When asked how other migration law practitioners can look to adapt their practices, Mr Hannan said that this practice area is “ripe for the lower-hanging fruit” of NewLaw thinking and tech innovation. 

“As our clients begin adapting to technology in their respective fields they aren’t going to settle for mediocre, or bland legal services anymore. Companies who can adapt to innovation will win not only the price war, but the creative presentation of data can open up a new value-added service,” he detailed.

“As a minimum, I think all firms need to be adopting efficient CRMs and simplified processes to handle the large volume of transactions. Migration is ultimately a people centric service, and managing client relationships is a critical investment.”

Ms Lewis made a similar point: “Not every client can wait for business hours to check the progress of their matter or to book an appointment. Another main thing is being a high stress area of law some firms may get distracted looking after their clients and ignore the wellbeing of their employees or even themselves. With border closures, COVID-19 craziness since 2020 and the deregulation of lawyers from migration agents, some firms may have lost perspective on those priorities.”

The future

For both emerging leaders, the post-pandemic landscape – whenever that arrives – offers much excitement in terms of the work that will arise but also how daily practice will shift.

“Migration law will boom after COVID-19 and once the borders re-opens with many seeking to reunite with their families or migrate to our beautiful and relatively safe country which will stimulate the economy and fill some skills shortages,” Ms Lewis predicted.

Mr Hannan said: “In the short-term I’m excited about the drive from the government to use the migration program to effectively address the tech shortage. In the much longer term, I’m really excited to see how governments adapt to digitising the immigration system.

“It’s not far-fetched to imagine a world with digital passports which contain more data. People’s immigration records can be stored via blockchain, such that the visas between certain countries may be unnecessary (similar to the Electronic Travel Authority for certain countries).

“Obviously, the privacy and security considerations mean that this is something for far in the future, but I do believe the value of the transactional case worker will be diminished, and the trusted adviser with exceptional people skills is the way of the future.”