There will be no way around a return. Eventually firms will force it to happen, and even if they didn’t, we might end up with some kind of double culture—where there are people who want to go into the office and people who would prefer not to.
You’re going to have to go back. Unless permanent remote positions start being offered, and it becomes more common in the legal industry. And if that happened, I think the firms who offer those positions will have a huge recruitment advantage.
— an anonymous fifth-year associate at an Am Law 200 firm, offering his thoughts on the reopening of law firms and a return to office life in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. For what it’s worth, this associate does not want to return to the office. “I simply do my best work at home,” he said. “I don’t feel my contribution is limited by my lack of presence in the office—in fact, I think it is heightened.”
Learning After Law School
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.