Between 100-hour workweeks and all-nighters at the office, young lawyers climbing the partner track have long been expected to put in copious amounts of face time.
But the Covid-19 pandemic is changing that, in ways that may be permanent, many in the industry say.
The legal sector has been among the fastest to race back to the office this year. Amid a rise in vaccinations, occupancy rates for law firms are back up to 56%, compared with 34% of sectors nationwide, according to data from Kastle Systems.
Yet the industry is facing an unlikely revolt. Many associates have grown accustomed to working from home. They say they’ve been just as productive, if not more so, claimed back time for themselves and their families, and want to choose how they work.
“It’s just kind of making the dinosaur evolve,” says Ernessa McKie, an Atlanta-based associate at Baker & Hostetler LLP.