It’s a little slow, but it’s good to see firms starting to get it.
“The legal industry has been slow to embrace the trend due to compliance issues, heavy regulation and concerns over client data protection. That is changing, however, with the steady rollout of new technologies, improved security capabilities and wider connectivity.
Turnover is another motivating factor. Talent retention is top of mind for many firms and offering remote work benefits can be a competitive hiring advantage. A recent Gallup poll confirmed that work-from-home policies are sought after by job seekers and beneficial when it comes to employee retention. Plus, some degree of work schedule flexibility has nearly become a norm — the same report showed that 43 percent of employed Americans already work remotely at least partially each week.”
I talked last year about the difficulty small to mid-sized firms face when it comes to the competition for talent, especially in areas like technology and marketing, when the way work gets done in a law firm is so antithetical to providing flexibility and career growth. Providing some flexibility here would help. The technology is available, in fact, the lawyers in many firms use it all the time. There’s no reason everyone else can’t as well.
Of course, if the only increase in law firms allowing remote work is for attorneys, and not staff, then they’ll still be at the same disadvantage. Let’s hope they get that as well.