By: Alex Crowley
It is no secret that many law firms have historically stymied work-life balance for attorneys. By imposing significant billable hour requirements, these firms instill constant pressure to work long office hours in an effort to bolster profits and determine which attorneys are dedicated to career development. A 2018 legal trends study by Clio revealed that 75% of lawyers frequently or always work outside of business hours, and 39% of lawyers say those extended hours have taken a toll on their personal lives. Unfortunately, this trend has been the norm for years. Many attorneys have accepted that legal work simply entails sacrificing work-life balance.
The dynamics of this pressure changed dramatically in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world. The pandemic forced firms to adapt to new work-from-home norms while also maintaining high levels of productivity and legal representation. In order to adapt, firms adopted remote technology. Cloud-computing, cloud-based business apps, mobile tools, unified communications through centralized video conferencing platforms, and project management tools helped firms enhance productivity while also remaining safe during the height of the pandemic. In recent months, as vaccines have become more prevalent and a sense of normalcy has returned, law firms have attempted to lure attorneys back into the office. This strategy has failed.
The numbers show that both partners and associates are much more hesitant to return to full-time office work. A recent survey by the recruiting firm, Major, Lindsey, & Africa, which analyzed responses from over 1,800 partners, found that over two-thirds of partners want the option to work remotely. On top of this, partners and associates are willing to lateral to different firms for more generous remote-work options. In a survey by the American Bar Association (“ABA”), 44% of lawyers with 10 years or less of experience say they would leave their current job for one that offers more freedom for remote work. When discussing the ABA report, Roberta Liebenberg, one of its co-authors, stated that, “[f]irms have been trying for months to increase office attendance, but it appears that these efforts have not resulted in lawyers flocking back to the office.” She went on to say, “I don’t envision lawyers returning to the pre-pandemic norm of five days a week in the office, and instead three days in the office will probably remain the norm for a large percentage of lawyers.”
Why is this? Why are attorneys so willing to rebuke traditional practices? The answer lies in the personal and professional benefits of working remotely. At home, attorneys enjoy increased flexibility in a comfortable environment and gain back time formerly spent commuting to the office. As a result, they have more time to run errands and partake in enjoyable activities. They also cut down on commuting costs. While working from home involves downsides as well, including potential distractions, lack of organization-wide communication and connectedness, decreased in-person training options, and security issues, attorneys generally find the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
Instead of fighting attorneys’ resistance to full-time office work, I believe that firms should embrace a hybrid program involving time spent working from home and from the office. Not only would attorneys enjoy the benefits of an office culture while also having the flexibility of working from home, but firms would benefit as well. These benefits include reduced office space requirements resulting in lower rent and thus lower monthly overhead costs, increased firm appeal resulting in a more voluminous applicant pool, lower attrition rates for established attorneys, and even elevated profits.
The recent success of fully virtual law firms and hybrid law firms reinforces these arguments. Michael Moradzadeh, the founding partner of Rimon, P.C., a firm that has embraced the hybrid work approach, recently stated that the firm has grown revenue by 50% for two consecutive years and has enjoyed a recruiting boost with headcount growing about 30% a year since 2020. Moradzadeh went on to say, “[w]e’ve done so well financially, we’re now in a position to invest in further growth…” FisherBroyles, the largest fully virtual law firm, has also seen exponential growth over the past two years. The firm broke into the 200 largest law firms by revenue in 2020 and grew revenue by nearly 30% last year to $136 million.
Even traditional law firms have begun to embrace a virtual model. Philadelphia-based firm Cozen O’Connor recently hired several attorneys based in the Boston area, even though the firm does not currently have a Boston office. Michael Heller, Cozen’s executive chairman and CEO, said “Cozen expects its Boston office to be ‘full-service’ over the next three to five years with practice areas like business litigation, labor and employment, and intellectual property.” This move allows the firm to break into the Boston market, likely attracting a new base of clients and elevated profits.
The current generation of attorneys has spoken, and it is time for firms to embrace a new reality. Lower monthly overhead costs, increased firm appeal resulting in a more voluminous applicant pool, lower attrition rates for established attorneys, and elevated profits all justify moving to a hybrid work system. Hesitant firms determined to maintain the old way of doing things need only look at the recent success of hybrid law firms, fully virtual law firms, and even other traditional law firms who have embraced this new reality.
Student Bio: Alex Crowley is a second-year day student at Suffolk University Law School. He is a staff writer on the Journal of High Technology Law. Alex received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Stonehill College in 2017.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are the views of the author alone and do not represent the views of JHTL or Suffolk University Law School.
