This article appeared in Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication covering all financial aspects of managing law firms, including: building a law firm budget; rates and rate arrangements with clients; coordinating benefits for law firm partners; and the newest strategies to grow your firm and your career.

When the pandemic of 2020 hit, our firm, like most others, vacated our flagship mid-town Manhattan office along with our other domestic locations and, began the process of working and collaborating from home. Initially it was chaotic, but we learned to Zoom, work remotely, and the billable hours which decreased initially, came back and we ended up close to budget. Payments from clients were slow through 2020 but rebounded in 2021.

About 80% of the attorneys and staff at our New York location elected not to return to the office on a full-time basis, and about 50% of the attorneys and staff at our other locations decided the same.