
How Law Firms Can Stay Productive & Balanced During the Holiday Season
The festive season is traditionally a time for celebration and rest. But for many legal teams, it’s also one of the busiest periods of the year. Between contract deadlines, client check-ins, and annual compliance, maintaining productivity during the holidays while allowing for team rest is a balancing act.
In 2025, smart law firms are embracing remote legal talent and automation to ensure smooth workflows without burning out their in-house teams. Here’s how your firm can do the same, while staying aligned with client needs and team well-being.
Why December Is More Critical Than You Think
Legal departments often face a spike in work during December. According to the American Bar Association and Clio’s 2023 Legal Trends Report, end-of-year tasks such as trust account reconciliations, financial settlements, and policy renewals often cause last-minute bottlenecks.
What’s more, 68% of legal professionals surveyed in the Clio report admitted to working through the holidays, citing "unavoidable client deadlines."
This makes holiday planning in law firms not just good practice, but essential.
Enter Remote Legal Support
Firms that embrace remote paralegal support and outsourced legal assistants during the festive season can keep operations running smoothly even when internal teams are on leave. Providers like Teams Squared enable firms to onboard legal talent from regions like Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Latin America, offering round-the-clock support and significant cost savings.
In fact, law firms using offshore legal staffing models have been shown to reduce admin and clerical workloads by up to 50%, according to a report from Legal Operators.
Common Holiday Legal Scenarios and How to Solve Them
Year-End Contract Rush
Q4 often brings urgent contract reviews. Use tools like Harvey AI or CoCounsel to automate first-draft generation, and delegate final checks to a vetted offshore lawyer for faster turnarounds.
Staff Shortages
Plan PTO well in advance and supplement local staff with offshore paralegals working flexible time zones. The ABA recommends this model as a "layer of resilience" during staff absences.
Client Gifting & Communications
Remote teams can help design and distribute holiday email campaigns or personalised greetings using platforms like Smokeball or Clio Grow, while keeping your tone compliant and client-appropriate.
Why AI Is a Holiday Hero
The use of generative AI in legal workflows has skyrocketed, especially for drafting and document summarization. Firms using RelativityOne or Spellbook report significant time savings on client correspondence and regulatory updates.
Combine these tools with remote teams who can validate AI-generated content and you’ve got a holiday workflow that doesn’t miss a beat.
For example, Fenwick & West uses AI-assisted drafting with support from remote lawyers in Asia to manage December workloads, as highlighted in the Financial Times’ legal innovation feature.
Holiday Readiness Checklist for Legal Teams
Before you switch on your out-of-office, make sure to:
✔️ Assign responsibility for active matters during staff leave
✔️ Schedule remote legal assistants for coverage gaps
✔️ Use automation for bulk client messaging
✔️ Set expectations with clients via newsletters or online updates
✔️ Update shared calendars with key court/registry closure dates
✔️ Align with your outsourced legal staffing company for handovers
Holiday stress in the legal world doesn’t have to be inevitable. By combining offshore legal recruitment with AI tools and strong internal processes, your firm can stay efficient, client-centric, and resilient, without sacrificing holiday downtime.
The takeaway? Smart firms use the festive period not only to deliver, but also to plan. With remote support and scalable workflows, you can turn the holidays into a strategic advantage and enter the new year one step ahead.
We’re building a legal ecosystem where borders don’t limit potential.


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