Customer PortalChallenge
Vollertsen, Britt & Gorsline, P.C. is a 130-year-old law firm that provides estate planning, corporate entity planning and management, real estate, closing services, and Iowa abstracting and Illinois title services. Monique Gorsline and her husband, Michael, are attorneys and partners at the firm.
Minutes before arriving at the airport on March 14, Monique canceled a family vacation due to the increasingly serious reports of COVID-19. She understood that the pandemic was worsening, and she needed to make a plan quickly to keep the firm operating smoothly. Wanting to take the lead before the emergency began to impact businesses, as soon as they were back home, Monica immediately called Network Engineer Evan Furniss at Twin State Technical Services.
Objective
Monique tried to anticipate what the law firm would need: she knew the firm was classified as an essential business and wanted to ensure it would be able to provide important services during the emergency. If the office had to close, she wanted to explore the options and have a protocol in place so personnel could work from home.
Monique wanted a smooth and secure transition, and she wanted to make sure their clients and workflow would not be negatively impacted by the move to working outside the office. Even though laptops were becoming scarce, Monique needed an additional one so she and her husband could work remotely from any location. In an uncertain environment, she did not want to incur unexpected expenses.
Progress
Monique knew who to turn to for advice. A few years earlier, the firm requested help from Twin State Technical Services to audit and update its technology. “It was quite a project to move off the old system to the new, and we got one that was great!” Monique said. Since the firm had an established relationship, she did not hesitate to call Evan.
Evan located one of the last available laptops at a retail store and immediately acquired it. Using the firm’s existing equipment, he implemented a full work-from-home solution without additional hardware. Evan had the staff bring in their laptops to clean and update them. He also set up VPNs for remote access to files. He loaded printers, enabled wireless connections, etc. He ensured that the working environment was safe and secure.
Over the course of just a few days, Evan had the staff fully prepared to work remotely, and he was able to provide on-going guidance. “They were amazing. Evan had everyone who could work from home doing so…they knew if they ran into trouble, he was available, which is awesome.”
Result
In a very short amount of time, we had the law firm fully prepared to work remotely from home. With systems upgraded and security measures installed, Vollertsen, Britt & Gorsline was able to continue their business with no interruption – and provide the timely services their clients required. Monique was happy: “I am extremely pleased. It was comforting to know that no matter how this went, we had options. That’s worth its weight in gold.”
Monique felt the expenses to implement the plan were minor compared to what would have been spent without a viable contingency plan. “I like to be prepared. I wasn’t looking to spend any extra money at this time, but this was a super, great investment!”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to creatively rethink and retool how to conduct day-to-day business – which affects families as well. While Monique’s family originally was disappointed that their vacation was canceled, she said that having them at home has been a wonderful experience: “It’s a huge blessing.”
Vollertsen, Britt & Gorsline did not miss a step when transitioning to remote working during the pandemic emergency. We are proud to continue the journey with them.