Small Law Firms

Remote Work Helps Law Firms Recruit And Retain Talent

Even attorneys who have worked in the legal profession for years or decades may not wish to apply for a job with strict in-person work expectations.

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I recently spoke with a former colleague who has become a more senior attorney at a well-regarded midsize firm in my area. This colleague told me that she was part of recruitment efforts at the firm, and related that her shop, like many other law firms, is competing heavily for talented associates, counsel, and partners. My friend told me that many applicants are asking about remote work policies at the shop, and she believes that if law firms do not embrace remote work, they might have a more difficult time recruiting and retaining talent. This was intriguing to me since remote work was a perk that few of us thought of several years ago, and now it may be the defining make-or-break characteristic of a prospective employer.

Of course, remote work is not new, and law firms have traditionally had fluid work arrangements for some attorneys. When I began working as an associate at a Biglaw shop around a decade ago, I remember thumbing through the employees’ manual and noticing a section about nontraditional work schedules. The manual related that the firm would consider reducing an associates’ billable hour expectations if the associate also received less annual pay. The manual also related that employees could request a flexible work arrangement under which they were only in the office certain days of the week, and they could complete their work remotely the rest of the time.

Most of the law firms I worked at had the tools for remote work in place for years. Indeed, most shops with which I have experience issued attorneys work laptops so that they can complete work remotely and had cloud-based systems so attorneys can access work materials from anywhere. In addition, many colleagues and I used to rely on text chains, Gchat, and other methods to communicate to each other outside of the office.

Working remotely, fully or mostly, has been a long time coming in the legal profession, but COVID-19 really brought this progress to the forefront of the legal industry. For months, and even years, law firms shuttered offices during the pandemic in order to promote social distancing and keep everyone safe. Even though virtual work had a difficult beginning at many shops, most law firms found that they were just as productive with remote work than they were when people were in the office.

Because of the pandemic, an entire generation of lawyers have gotten used to remote work. Many summer associates in the past few summers completed much of their work remotely, and associates who started their careers in the past few years may view remote work as the norm. In fact, many attorneys even interviewed for their jobs remotely, and have rarely, if ever, met everyone with whom they work on projects.

For a variety of reasons, law firms seem poised to reopen offices in the coming weeks and months. Although law firms are mostly just as productive with remote work as in-person work, old-school law firm managers may believe that there are some benefits to having people interact and collaborate in person. In addition, many law firms have long-term leases, and they may be frustrated with having to pay rent month after month even though the firm is doing decently well with remote work.

My friend told me that law firms that adopt more rigid return-to-the-office policies may have a difficult time attracting young talent. Any legal professionals who began their careers during the COVID era may not see in-person work as the norm and may not appreciate needing to commute to an office to perform their work when they can mostly complete tasks remotely. People may think it is undesirable to spend time and money commuting to an office where they most likely have to interact with a boss and cannot have too much control over a schedule when other firms offer remote work policies.

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Even attorneys who have worked in the legal profession for years or decades may not wish to apply for a job with strict in-person work expectations. Work-from-home policies have not only helped legal professionals stay safe, they have also let people juggle all of the personal and work tasks they need to complete in a given day. If someone needs to go to an office, it can be difficult to deal with childcare, car problems, or any of the other personal issues all of us need to contend with in our daily lives. Established legal professionals may not want to give up this freedom they have enjoy over the past few years to work for a firm that is requiring them to travel to an office.

All told, law firms likely believe that in-person work policies will increase productivity and impact their bottom line. However, law firms with stricter in-person work policies may have trouble recruiting and retaining talent, and law firms need to consider this when deciding on continuing remote work policies.

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

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