Founding Partner, Michelle Foster, Interviewed by Law.com on Heading Back to the Office: Q&A
/Heading Back to the Office: A Q&A with The Foster Group’s Michelle Foster
Will they or won’t they? Reopening law firms for attorneys and staff to return to work has suddenly become contentious again, and ever since the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus entered the stage, nobody is sure about what to do.
In a recent story by Mike Muskat, Michelle Mahony and Corey Devine, partners at Muskat, Mahony & Devine, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outlined the agency’s new updated guidance for employers to avoid the spread of the delta variant. Unfortunately, the updated recommendations left many employers with lingering questions.
Indeed, the failure to get the delta variant under control caused many law firms to issue their own mandates requiring a vaccination before lawyers and staff would be allowed to return to their offices. Here’s a list of Am Law 200 firms and others that have announced vaccine mandates.
Meanwhile, many attorneys have adjusted to working remotely for the past year and a half and now they’re unsure if they want to go back to the office that are opening. Texas Lawyer spoke recently with Michelle Foster, managing partner of legal recruiting firm, The Foster Group, about the conundrum of reopening law firms during a pandemic.
How are law firms and in-house employers responding to the desire to continue working remotely and is there a divide by age or any other characteristics?
Michelle Foster: In our experience, there’s been a lot of thought given to flexible work arrangements going forward. As we head to Labor Day, the law firms are implementing processes to have their attorneys start to return to the office on what I would call a flexible hybrid work arrangement, typically two or three days per week. I think that most employers, while encouraging a return to work in order to build their company culture and cohesion, nonetheless recognize that flexible work arrangements are here to stay. There is a recognition that it is important to maintain flexibility in order to recruit and retain top talent.
For the law firms, they’ve had the challenge of how to train their junior associates who historically were trained elbow to elbow in the office. They’ve had to train their junior employees virtually, which is harder to do effectively because there’s less collaboration and face-to-face contact. They’ve had to do this through Zoom, lectures or virtual simulations. They’ve had to develop online learning tools and “how-to” resources. So I think for law firms, there’s been an increased emphasis on knowledge management tools and knowledge management teams to produce and provide the resources and materials to train their attorneys.
What do virtual lawsuits look like now and are they here to stay?
When the courts reopened, many activities which had previously been done in the courtroom setting, such as court conferences and oral arguments, were handled virtually. It is hard to know if that will be a lasting change, but certainly, a lot of time and expense was saved on travel back and forth.
Why are attorneys wanting a better work-life balance after being at home during the pandemic?
After a year and a half at home, many attorneys do want more flexibility than they had pre-pandemic. I believe law firms have found that they’re able to still be productive and profitable while being more flexible. Consequently, I do think that a hybrid work arrangement is here to stay. I think law firms across the board are giving a lot of thought as to how to accommodate many attorneys’ desire for greater flexibility and for a hybrid work model while simultaneously effectively training their attorneys and maintaining their culture. Finding the right balance has become a priority for most firms.
Attorneys are required to bill a certain amount of hours annually (typically 1,900, but can reach upwards of 2,800) and perform highly complex/technical work, within high-pressure settings. They are usually juggling numerous assignments and working to meet strict deadlines. Working from home has cut down on the hours spent commuting (which in metro areas can be two-plus hours round trip) and allowed attorneys to log in more readily and handle their assignments from their home office, while also managing their household and personal commitments. We’ve heard from numerous attorneys that they are actually getting more work done and enjoy handling the work in a home office setting. The ability to work from home and to have a better work-life balance is incredibly significant.
Is there any truth to the rumor of a supposed “mass exodus” of lawyers from their current jobs if their employer doesn’t permit remote work?
Yes, this is already happening. The No. 1 question we get asked by lawyers when discussing law firm opportunities is about the firm’s work arrangement. For many attorneys, firms that do not have a flexible work policy are a non-starter. There are firms that currently have their attorneys coming into the office four to five workdays—that is an example of a policy that does not go far enough to address attorneys’ desires for greater work-life balance.
Those firms that have not accommodated a more flexible work arrangement are seeing defections. We have absolutely had attorneys come to us and ask us to help them identify new opportunities because their firm is not affording them the flexibility they would like. I think that firms would be wise to develop flexible policies and hybrid work arrangements for those attorneys that desire it because if they don’t it will impact them negatively in terms of attracting talent and retaining talent. For those firms that require their attorneys to come back to the office five days a week, I think they will see an exodus of talent.
Are there other things lawyers like about the pandemic’s effect on the legal industry?
Attorney teams are more virtual now and, therefore, attorneys are working with a broader cross-section of their colleagues, across offices. It’s been enjoyable for them to work with other teams and offices, and get exposure to matters they may not have been looped into before the pandemic.