What You Need to Know

• Due to labor market dynamics and job functions, many law firms are implementing stricter standards for staff to come in to the office than attorneys.
• Some firm leaders say the are concerned about the morale problems this could cause among staff.
• Even though lawyers may not have official mandates to be in, several incentives are pushing them back to the office.

When law firms adopted remote work after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders praised employees for the productivity they exhibited from home, without the oversight and accountability that naturally comes from working in an office environment.

Cut to 2023 when—record scratch—many firms have begun pressuring legal teams, whether through official mandates or unofficial encouragement, to come back into the office on the basis of cultural cohesion and mentorship.

But in this new paradigm of hybrid work, not all office attendance expectations are equal. Expectations that secretarial and support staff spend the bulk of their time in the office contrast with those for their attorney colleagues, who tend to have more flexibility to determine their workplace habits for themselves. Some firm leaders, cognizant of this disparity, even worry about the morale of staff members.

Michael Schmidt, vice chair of Cozen O’Connor’s labor and employment department, said his own firm asks administrative assistants and receptionists to be in the office three to four days per week, depending on the week,...

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