The Future of Remote Work

There's been lots of talk about whether the office as we know it is over. The obvious benefits are the enhanced flexibility, in particular for some lawyers raising young families, and avoiding the time and frustration of commuting. But there may be a bigger, better reason: it's profitable.

2020 saw significantly higher profits for firms, in part due to cost-cutting, and has caused many firms to ask how much of those cost-cuts can be made permanent. Expenses like office space, staffing, and travel have provided the greatest savings. Firms will have to decide what degree of pre-pandemic normality is best for attorney satisfaction and the bottom line.

Crucial to that decision is understanding the difference between situations where everyone has to stay at home and where anyone can stay at home. Only in the latter case will we be able to determine whether there's a benefit to being in the office by comparing the group more often in the office with the group less often in the office, and whether there's a difference in whatever metric a firm chooses to measure.