Law Firms Do Not Like Remote Work Arrangements

Among all professional groups, one of the most resistant to remote work is the legal profession. This attitude has forced law firms of all sizes to develop new policies on how many days their attorneys and staff must be in their offices and how to plan for their future office space needs.

CBRE recently surveyed its law firm clients and practice group content subscribers to find out how they are addressing these challenges. In all, 65 law firms from across the country participated, including 30 ranked among the nation’s largest and most profitable by Am Law 100 and 200, as well as 35 smaller firms, some with only one office. Almost one-third of the largest firms had over 500 attorneys, while 22% had fewer than 50. Multinational firms represented 28% of the total.

Only 11% of all law firms did not support hybrid work now or in the future. Most concede that hybrid work is a permanent phenomenon. Nevertheless, 83% of the biggest law firms and 73% of the smaller ones said they would prefer more in-office working, though only one-third have a universal, firm-wide approach.

The report found that law firms believe remote work lessens the opportunity for colleagues to network and socialize, as well as to take advantage of professional opportunities. National and regional firms also fear that remote work could harm firm culture.

“The intangibles such as mentorship, new employee onboarding, developing relationships and collaborating on substantive work are unequivocally better supported in the office,” the report found.

Among the 83% of firms that have an established hybrid work schedule, 46% allow attorneys and – in some cases — staff to decide which days they wish to be in the office to fill the minimum requirement – generally three days or more per week. In 54% of firms, leadership determines which days they must work. Most law firms report office space utilization exceeding 50%. Am Law firms tend to allow flexible solutions that balance remote and in-office work, while smaller firms set policies expecting more in-office work.

To make this approach more palatable, law firms have increased the events and social programming they provide, improved communication on policy, beefed up their food and beverage offerings, and asked partners to serve as role models.

Translating these approaches into each law firm’s real estate requirements can be challenging. Almost all firms, both large and small, said one of their top real estate priorities is to attract and retain top talent and to improve the workplace experience. However, other priorities may differ. “Am Law 100 & 200 firms are more concerned with portfolio optimization compared with regional and boutique firms, which typically have smaller portfolios with fewer opportunities to optimize,” the report stated.

“Only 17% of law firms plan to expand their real estate portfolio significantly, and the majority plan to accommodate growth within a smaller footprint.” Of the largest law firms, 47% plan to retain their office footprint with less than a 10% reduction or increase – though 40% plan moderate cutbacks. Among smaller firms, 37% plan to stay the same but 20% expect to expand their footprints by 10% to 30% and 6% plan to go even bigger.

Law firms are also adopting various strategies to make space go further as they adapt to hybrid work, doing more with less. These include making offices for all attorneys the same size, desk sharing for attorneys and professional staff, smaller offices and workstations, and updating their meeting room audio and video capabilities. There has already been an 18% decrease in the average amount of rentable square footage per attorney from 925 SF before the pandemic. In addition, some law firms are considering subletting underutilized space and reconfiguring existing space design or renovating. Almost half plan to accommodate headcount growth in their existing portfolio.

“The future legal work environment needs to balance flexibility, privacy, collaboration and socialization to support productivity and relationships. It should be a place where professionals want to spend their time,” CBRE stated.