Reopening the Law Office in the Age of Covid-19

COVID-19 has ushered in work from home (WFH).  Firms that once were reluctant to allow WFH were forced overnight in March 2020 to embrace it.

As firms reopen their offices, they should ask the “Big WHY.”  What is the reason for reopening?  Are clients clamoring for this?  What do attorneys and staff want?  Is productivity down because of WFH or is it down due to client needs?

Face-to-face collaboration has benefits over video meetings and telephone calls.  Conversations go in unexpected directions that lead to brainstorming.   However, this will be limited because everyone will not be in the office at the same time.   Social distancing and offices with closed doors also work against it.  Nonetheless, some attorneys may feel isolated at home and want to come back to the office.

Mentoring and training also are more effective in person.  The informal nature of these activities will be limited, but individual conversations, reviews of briefs, etc., and cups of coffee can be scheduled.

Firms should try collaborating by a hybrid of in-person and video meetings.  Regular practice groups, administration and firm-wide video meetings should continue.  Informal video happy hours, lunches, coffees and events play an important role too.  Encourage people to talk about more than their jobs or functions.  Use breakout rooms in video meetings of more than 10 participants.  Firms that implement these steps can create video collaboration.

There are clients who are not pushing to meet in person and there are attorneys and staff who want to work remotely.  Keep the work that must be done in person -- such as witness and hardcopy document preparation -- to a minimum.  

Throughout the NYC area, mass transit is a huge problem.  Some (perhaps most) people will be reluctant to come to the office until there is both the perception and reality that it is safe.

This creates both an opportunity and need for firms to review their practice groups and consider which ones to beef up and which ones to reduce. 

All of this impacts the size, type, location and cost of office space.  Plan at least two years before your lease expires, unless you can negotiate with your landlord faster.  Do you need and want as big an office?  If you are in Manhattan, how important is that to impress people?  Can you do with just a shared Manhattan address?

Do not be surprised if people who want a different schedule from what the firm wants suddenly leave.  On the other hand, be ready to recruit attorneys who like your firm’s schedule and dislike their current firm’s schedule.  Be flexible in designing schedules.  These policies are now key for recruiting and retention.  

The firms that prosper in 2021 and beyond are the firms who put the requirements of their clients and personnel first and who design their vision for offices, WFH and practice groups around them.

- Paul N. Mendelsohn, CPA, provides Fractional CFO services to law firms.  Contact Paul at pnm.cpa@gmail.com