HCBA Lawyer Magazine No. 33, Issue 2 | Page 54

lawyerinGonTheroad : q & awiThchrisTiearkovichofchrisTied . arkovich , P . a .
Solo / Small Firm Section Chairs : ­Mandi­Clay­ – Three­Thirteen­Law , ­PLLC ; ­Charlotte­Kelly­ – ­Fernee­Kelly­Law­ & ­Chelsie­Lamie­ – ­Law­Office­of­Chelsie­M . ­Lamie , ­P . A .
“ iwasonaconsultation zoomwithapotential studentloanclientatthe timethemoosewalked pastouropendoor .”
What gave you the idea to practice law from an RV ?
We left Florida mid-summer 2020 to go to the georgia mountains for two weeks . The goal was to see if I could successfully work on the road . Even though we owned a camper pre-pandemic , I would fly out to meet my husband to minimize my time away . It turned out so well , we didn ’ t return to Florida for five whole months !
What was your biggest challenge ?
Pay attention to time zones . Our office calendar is set to EST and I have an Apple watch that tells me all the time zones .
Do you have staff , and if so , what are two important practices for working together remotely ?
One funny thing that occurred while I was working in Yellowstone national Park . Our bankruptcy paralegal asked if she could move to Scotland and work remotely . Since I had been practicing from the road for several months , I couldn ’ t very well say no , and instead responded , “ Sure , let ’ s give it a go and see how it works .” We found that a weekly team meeting for our six team members helps us to focus on our problem areas as well as goals . We also couldn ’ t live without our cloud
server and practice management software so we could work our files and see what others are doing on the file as well .
What did you do with your office space ?
We realized that we , like most lawyers now , would need the office and its services some of the time , but not all of the time . So , we renovated the office , threw away all the paper , scrapped the file cabinets and now offer our space to our colleagues as South Tampa Workspaces . The idea is that we , or anyone really , can go into the office as needed , at minimal expense . But , we still have the office address for google My Business , reception services , a high-speed scanner , onsite shredder , video conference room , and widescreen monitors .
Basically , all the things we now only need some of the time . Best memory so far while on the road ?
My best memory was when I saw a mama moose and her baby walk through our campsite in grand Lake , Colorado while I was inside our camper tapping away on my laptop with the door open . I was on a consultation zoom with a potential student loan client as the moose walked past our open door .
Any advice for an attorney considering an
RV work / lifestyle ? I feel very fortunate to have discovered the ability to work from anywhere . It has helped that my partner handles the hearings , but she ’ s also been working remote for two years , since all of our court appearances have been remote . My best advice for anyone considering a nomad lifestyle , is to have multiple internet providers . We also generally choose campgrounds right outside of national Parks where the internet service is usually better . n
Author : Charlotte Fernee Kelly – Fernee Kelly Law
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