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The rise of legal technology and new ways of working following the pandemic are driving change with the legal sector as companies experience a shake up to the working norms for law firms. Technology has streamlined workflows and enhanced performance during the lockdowns since 2020 and now legal professionals are expected to carry these learnings through into their future workplaces.
Research from 2021 led by Thomson Reuters captured data from 2,500 legal professionals to learn more about the preferences around flexibility at work. The study found that 63% of lawyers are now requesting flexible working arrangements compared with just 22% before the pandemic. With flexibility easier to attain than ever before, thanks in part to technology as well as refreshed views on workplace expectations, law firms are leading the revolution. However, despite the demands of the employees, their workplaces need to transform before they are ready to manage the ‘connected revolution.’
The changes that law firms are currently dealing with come in a variety of forms, as hybrid working, new working patterns and renewed expectations from staff mean that there is a need for a progressive change to deliver tangible results. Tech-enabled collaboration has been one of the significant changes within the legal sector in recent years experts believe that the legal sector can start to learn from the actions taken by the big tech companies.
However, with so much change happening at once, law firms need to understand and prioritise the changes they want to make to their office design. It is an exciting time for innovation and progression within the workplace but for the legal sector, now feels like the moment that companies need to be in touch with the employees’ needs to be prepared for the future workplace. Here are some of the important considerations for how law firms can get ready for the connectivity revolution.
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Hybrid working is driving legal tech
As it has for many sectors, hybrid working has challenged the norms and expectations of the standard working practices. With the reality of legal companies returning to the office under the hybrid model in full flow, the concept of working remotely as well as from the office needs to be embraced.
With the workforce becoming more mobile and splitting themselves across separate locations, the legal sector has already begun implementing the lessons from the pandemic. The MyCase Legal Industry Report 2021 highlighted that 60% of law firm profitability remained stable or increased – with 73% of survey respondents saying that adopting legal remote working tech improved their productivity. With the lessons learned from the pandemic, law firms are keen to continue what has already started with their investment in technology.
The pandemic served as a trial period for law firms and this transition to a tech dependence shows promise for the long term. Hybrid working has helped to challenge the more traditional values of the sector and adopt new ways of working that are now accessible due to the available tech.
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Legal companies like Withers & Rogers, who specialise in intellectual property law, have seen the benefits of hybrid working and took the decision to transform their workplace to accommodate these changes. Increased connectivity and improved collaboration facilities has enabled them to become more agile and adapt to the emerging needs of their workforce. Where the legal sector was once irrefutably office-based 5 days per week, the provision of new document management software, video calling technology and E-signature platforms has pushed law firms to realise the potential of hybrid working.
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Designing balanced offices for law firms
A challenge that has emerged for businesses across all sectors is the lack of clarity about the ‘final form’ of hybrid working. Despite so many companies adopting it, there is still a long road of trial, implementation and recalibration ahead for businesses that adopt hybrid working. Technology, flexibility and office design are all things to consider when planning changes to a legal office and getting hybrid right is where law firms can ensure they put objectives in place that will help them transform their workplaces.
With more staff doing hybrid working, Teams and Zoom calls are likely to become a daily occurrence for most staff, so that must influence the design of the office. Creating private areas for calls allows staff to move away from desks if they need to but that isn’t always a practical solution. Installing sound-masking and acoustic dividers can help reduce noise transfer across the office without having to compromise on essential meeting space or individual offices.
Some of the technology which is helping transform the way law firms work is the inclusion of smart boardrooms. This boardroom tech is focused on making collaboration between remote and office-based workers more seamless. Implementing this technology into existing spaces like the boardroom, or indeed any other meeting rooms, is an intelligent way of gearing up for new ways of working without losing out on existing workplace requirements like meeting space. These kinds of technology are designed to improve the user experience in meetings and give people access to features like whiteboards and other collaboration tools to make meetings more interactive.
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The proposed shift will be helped along by hybrid working but before it can become operational, changes will need to be made to the working environment. Some of the major changes to retain balance in law firms’ offices are starting with greater diversity of work setting and a recalculation of spaces. Focus and concentration spaces would usually be the dominant features of a legal workplace, with a disproportionate inclusion of social and collaboration spaces. By looking at workspaces with better functionality, which can be used interchangeably by both clients and employees, there is a chance to swap a percentage of fixed desks for informal workspaces and business lounge environments.
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Flexibility and collaboration in the legal sector
Flexibility is a common requirement in the workplace and it has become synonymous with an improved work/life balance as well as a way of enhancing productivity. While the benefits of embracing agility and flexibility are vast, the rewards will vary from firm to firm. The legal sector has embraced flexibility in the workplace and law firms work more collaboratively than the stigma of traditional, cellular office space might suggest.
Following their office relocation from Bedford Row to Queen Victoria Street, law firm Wedlake Bell changed their ways of working to embrace more collaboration in the office. Operating from a single open plan floor, their office space is designed to support and encourage different types of working which allows staff to be more agile through the office floor.
Creating an environment with flexibility built into it helps the office to become more engaging and helps to bring teams together. Building flexibility into the open plan can help support legal companies in their shift to new ways of working. There is still lots to learn in the application of hybrid working but for staff splitting their time between home and the office, there is a need for better collaboration and increased connectivity.
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“The direction of travel seems obvious and inexorable. Those that are prepared to embrace it may just find that they have found that elusive goal – a competitive advantage.”
Wedlake Bell
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The future workplace for the legal sector
While there is undoubtedly a connectivity revolution underway, law firms should be approaching changes to their workplace in a considered way rather than jumping headfirst into a tech-led workplace. The idea of a revolution is symbolic of the speed at which change has come about but for any changes to become long-term, then there must be an evolution of the workplaces to make sure the changes are sustainable.
Most importantly, the primary functions of any business must be supported by the office. In the case of the law firms, professionalism, formality and confidentiality will need to be reflected in their offices but these are not the only functions. Agility and collaboration are emerging as in-demand features of the office and it is likely that these needs will begin to dictate the look and feel of the environment to spark a change in the layout of legal offices.
The legal sector is not exempt from change anymore, especially with the new generation of millennial lawyers entering the workforce. The pandemic was a superior testing ground for modern technology and apps which have now proven themselves as an asset to workers. The office will remain as the core of operations for law firms but as workers move into hybrid working models, the requirement for a connected workplace that is designed for new ways of working will grow.
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The Legal Lookbook
If you’re looking to refresh your workplace or need inspiration for what to consider in your new legal office, our Legal Lookbook features the workplaces we have delivered for leading law firms.
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