Lawyer Monthly - October 2021 Edition

36 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | OCT 2021 THE LEGAL SECTOR’S WORKPLACE EVOLUTION The legal workplace is on the cusp of a major transformation, with COVID-19 forcing even the most traditional of firms to reevaluate their ways of working. The legal sector has always favoured the traditional workplace and has previously struggled to consider remote working as an option. Now, however, there is an acknowledgement that work can be done outside a physical workspace. In fact, a recent Unispace survey of some of the world’s largest employers found that more than half of employees (52%) expect their teams to return to the office by Q3 2021, but critically, not full-time. In line with this thinking, firms are making changes. Freshfields and Linklaters have recently announced new agile working policies that will allow staff to work remotely up to 50% of the time, and Herbert Smith Freehills has announced that colleagues can work from home up to 40% of the time, even if all restrictions are eased. But like any other sector, law firms must adapt and become more agile to address the ever-evolving needs of their teams and their clients. While many found themselves facing the challenge of working virtually over the past 18 months, new questions have now arisen surrounding the legal workplace of the future and ensuring that it is prime for the hybrid working world. Mobility, collaboration, and flexibility Though a physical working space will still be a priority, the future legal workplace will need to balance competing desires for mobility, collaboration, and flexibility. With this in mind, it is not only the physical workspace that needs to adapt, but rather the entire legal sector ecosystem, and this boils down to the tools and processes that firms use. For example, many of the traditional paper- based processes used by law firms are going through a digital transformation, meaning that there is less need to be surrounded by paper resources like case files at all times. Electronic signatures and document management systems are also supporting the move tomore digital practices. As a result, the spaces once occupied by legal libraries are being repurposed for more casual lounge areas and other staff amenities. The perceptions surrounding work and how it is carried out are also changing in the sector. The pre-pandemic status quo The Legal Sector’s Workplace Evolution Stuart Finnie Regional Principal of Design, EMEA Unispace Devon House, 58-60 St Katharine's Way, St Katharine Docks, London E1W 1JP Tel: +44 020 8125 4600 www.unispace.com With major law firms such as Linklaters and Freshfields making the shift to a hybrid working model, the post-COVID law office is likely to look very different from before. Workplace design expert Stuart Finnie delves into the current trends in the legal sector’s office priorities and offers his thoughts on how law firms may operate in years to come. Stuart Finnie is a skilled architect and interior designer responsible for managing design operations across the EMEA region with global workplace creation experts Unispace.