After 18 long months of working from home, many law firms are returning to the office. Despite the pandemic bringing about new remote working models, some firms envision a return to business as usual.
In small law, new data from UUÂãÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s Bellwether Report 2021 show the majority of lawyers expect hybrid working to stay. Most firms expect workers to be in the office between two and four days a week.
However, the future is far from flexible. A sizeable 42% of small and SME firms expect staff to return to the office full time.
Smaller firms are also more likely to hold on to traditional ways of working, as 54% of small firms expect staff back in the office full time. In comparison, only 32% of SME firms share this expectation.
As such, the vast majority of firms have no plans to change the size of their office space. A partner from one such firm notes: “We are creatures of habit, particularly in this profession. People like working in a certain way, having files and paper surrounding them and so on. People like their own desk.â€
This trend isn’t necessarily representative of the wider legal industry. While of junior lawyers expect to work from the office full time, many large firms are offering flexible working.
A flurry of top 100 firms, including magic circle members Clifford Chance, Freshfields and Linklaters, have announced long-term hybrid working. Such policies allow staff to work remotely around 50% of the time, with some setting a weekly minimum number of office days.
However, some firms have taken a different route. Morrison & Foerster at the end of August it will require staff to be fully vaccinated to return to its London office. While many firms in the US have introduced similar mandates, UK-based firms have generally been hesitant to take such action.
Beyond the legal sector, workers in the UK want hybrid working to stay. Research from Aviva in July found seven in ten workers expect it to be the standard, but people aren’t united on how many days they want to be in the office.
While the most popular option was being in the office three days a week, workers were split across generational and gender lines. Men were more likely to want more office time than women and older workers showed a stronger preference for home working.
Luckily, companies still have some time to confirm their plans. Recent data from the Centre for Cities show of workers were back in offices in August.
Some companies have also put off their office return to the new year. Tech giants Apple and Google have moved their reopenings to January 2022, with Googlers having their return delayed for the third time.
As workers are unsure about what they want out of flexible working, law firms need to be clear and purposeful about their plans. For the full picture, read
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