P2P

9 I L T A N E T . O R G N o one thought this would happen—the embrace of hybrid operations. Prior to the pandemic, a little over a third (37%) of attorneys wanted to work from home 1 . Today, that number has more than doubled to 86%. 2 When Morgan Stanley wrote its now infamous open letter to law firms demanding lawyers come back to the office, law firms bristled, but delayed mandating official RTO dates until September of 2022—which, too, has now passed. There are many persuasive reasons for firms to listen to their attorneys, but here are a few: (1) the two years when firms doors were shuttered were two of the most profitable years on record 3 , and (2) record levels of attrition and lateral moves show a labor market adjusting itself to new opportunities for how lawyers work, and (3) of the firms that do try to mandate specific RTO schedules, compliance is low, below 50%. Even when they try, firms can't get their lawyers back into the office. But what do we even mean when we say 'hybrid'? It turns out, many things. Hybrid comes along a spectrum. For some firms, hybrid means one day a week mandated in the office; for some, it means four. For some firms, hybrid doesn't come with a mandate; in this case, hybrid means 'Come in whenever you want. Your office is still your office.' Let's call this Hybrid 0. At the other end of the spectrum, hybrid means hoteling, i.e. intentionally creating an office environment that has fewer desks than people and no one has a personal office. Let's call this Hybrid 5. Most firms are somewhere in the middle. To make hybrid even more complex, some larger firms implement a mixture of approaches from office to office at the same firm. Offices in large cities, for instance, may implement one of many hoteling models as the culture demands relaxation of longer commuting times. Offices in less congested cities with ample parking and easy commutes may opt for a hybrid model that more resembles a traditional office with private offices and a 'suggested' schedule. Some firms will be motivated by the potential cost savings of real estate reduction, some will not. The only thing that is certain is that the attorneys have spoken, and they're not coming back. So now the question becomes, how do we make hybrid—in all of its various and complex forms—work? What Are the Challenges to a Successful Hybrid? First, let's look at the challenges. For firms to make hybrid work, they must focus on intentionally cultivating experiences attorneys cannot get at home. Two of these 'only in the office' experiences are: (1) collaboration/ networking/mentorship activities and (2) culture. The worst-case scenario for hybrid is when an attorney comes into the office – but the office is a ghost town. Nothing will demotivate RTO faster than just one ineffectual, lonely workday. Firms must figure out how to cluster attorney time to ensure in-office time has the vibrancy, collaboration and networking only an office can offer. 1. 2020 Georgetown Law State of the Legal Market 2. 2022 Georgetown Law State of the Legal Market 3. American Lawyer Am Law 100/200 rankings 2022

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