The survey of 50 in-house lawyers and legal operations leaders by contract automation platform company Juro found that 48% of respondents are inclined to continue working primarily remotely even once it is safe to return to the office. Those respondents said they would like to spend one or two days in the office.
Juro co-founder and CEO Richard Mabey told Law360 that although different industries have adopted some form of remote work, the company found that particular statistic to be quite high.
"In terms of why we think that's interesting, I think in the context of the changing nature of in-house legal as a function, it will certainly have a marked impact on the way in which lawyers work together and collaborate," Mabey said.
Overall, 70% of respondents said they would prefer to work remotely for at least half the time. The findings also indicate that 98% of those surveyed are currently working remotely, and 88% expect to continue doing so six months from now.
Mabey said that the attorneys surveyed reported that working from home has allowed them to better control their workflow.
"Just the shift from being in an office, where people come to your desk and ask you questions all the time, to a more structured workflow where that isn't possible and you can filter and prioritize better the task, and people are proactive [rather] than reactive, that certainly seemed to be one theme that came across," Mabey said.
Several other recent surveys have likewise shown that attorneys are hoping to have the opportunity to keep working from home in a post-pandemic future.
Design firm Gensler said in its U.S. Workplace Survey 2020, which surveyed more than 200 attorneys in July and August, that respondents reported working from home did not affect their productivity, but has had a pronounced impact on their social lives. A majority of those respondents — 56% — said their ideal post-pandemic work setup would involve spending a few days of the week in the office and a few days working from home.
--Additional reporting by Emily Lever. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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