What You Need to Know:

  • As the first Am Law 100 firm to establish a standalone virtual office in July 2020, Husch Blackwell's The Link is now the firm's largest office, with more than 600 employees working around the country.
  • Husch Blackwell's Future of Work initiative has changed the way the firm uses its resources and delivers services to clients, enhanced its DE&I efforts, and expanded its geographic reach while reducing its office space cost.
  • With its innovative use of technology, Husch Blackwell has created a workplace geared for business growth as well as employee well-being and professional development.

While most Am Law 100 firms have started to mandate their workforces return to brick-and-mortar offices, Husch Blackwell, a national law firm with 21 offices and nearly a 1,000 lawyers, decided to double down on the hybrid/flexible work strategy. In March 2022, the firm launched its Future of Work initiative, offering all its lawyers and professional staff a choice to work however they see fit, whether in a fully remote setting, a hybrid set-up, or an in-office environment.

"This is truly the future of work, where anyone can work anywhere and everywhere, depending on their professional and personal needs," said J.Y. Miller, managing partner of The Link, the first fully virtual office for an Am Law 100 firm and Husch Blackwell's 21st standalone office.

When The Link opened its virtual doors three years ago, Miller had been nominally based in St. Louis. But like most of Husch Blackwell's Link lawyers, Miller was able to seamlessly transition his practice to a virtual one by fully embracing what he called a "work-from-anywhere" model.

"We don't see this as work-from-home. We see this as work-from-anywhere," Miller said. "It's very liberating. You don't have to live near a physical office location or in a city where there is a physical office. You have the freedom to live where you want to be."

Since its founding in July 2020, The Link has grown to become Husch Blackwell's largest office  with 200 lawyers and nearly 400 business professionals spanning 41 states and Washington, D.C.

"Work-From-Anywhere" Model: Good for Business

The Future of Work initiative is a key component of the firm's strategic plan developed more than 10 years ago, according to Husch Blackwell CEO Paul J. Eberle.

"I think, initially, people thought The Link was a pandemic-related measure. After all, we launched it shortly after the onset of Covid," Eberle said. "But we already had plans on the drawing board for a couple of years for a virtual office. The pandemic merely accelerated those plans and gave us evidence that our people are productive regardless of where they work. By committing to a hybrid workforce, we've expanded the talent pool we can hire from and afforded our employees more flexibility."

A Talent Magnet and Diversity Advantage

The combination of fully remote, hybrid, and in-office work has not only been good for the bottom line but it has also become a key component in the firm's talent acquisition, retention and DE&I initiatives, according to Amanda Garcia-Williams, Husch Blackwell's Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer.

"We are creating work environments where employees can bring their best selves to work and know that they have a path for career development and advancement," she said.

She adds that the option to work remotely, even just a few days a week, allows employees of diverse backgrounds to participate in advancing the business of the firm without making inequitable sacrifices.

Magda Patitas, who resides outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, well outside of Husch Blackwell's physical office footprint, is one of those diverse candidates who joined the firm in 2021 because of its progressive view on flexible work environment.

"I wanted to maintain a Big Law practice but did not want to commute to or live in the metro areas where large firms tend to be located," Patitas said. "And true to the firm's word, being a Link member has not had any negative impact on my career growth trajectory at the firm. I made partner this year and have been included in a number of initiatives just like any attorney in a physical office."

In 2023, the firm elected a record number of new attorneys to the partnership. It was also one of the most diverse classes in the firm's history, composed of 41% women, 24% racial and ethnic minorities, and 7% LGBTQ+.

A Firm Culture Built and Supported by Innovation

Bret Chapman, Husch Blackwell's Chief Administrative Officer and former head of the firm's IT department, attributes the success of the firm's Future of Work initiative to the strategic plan hatched nearly a decade ago.

In 2012, the firm reconfigured the way its lawyers provide services to clients, from practice-based groups to industry-based business units. The change, he said, gave the firm a leg up on the competition and enabled it to weather the challenges brought on by Covid.

"We do not have a center of gravity like London or New York, and we were already used to working across multiple offices," said Chapman. "The industry-based business units have increased the collaboration required across offices and across legal disciplines, all of which needed enabling technology. When the pandemic struck, we had already made the cloud-based tech investments necessary for remote work because of our operating culture and structure."

Today, Husch Blackwell's IT department is pushing the boundaries of how technology can be deployed to enhance not just the practice of law but the business of law.

In March 2020, Husch Blackwell became the first Am Law 100 firm to launch an in-house AI and data science team. The team has data science capabilities that rival, and exceed, those of Fortune 500 companies and is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the explosion of generative AI and large language models, according to Husch Blackwell's Chief Information Officer Blake Rooney.

"Our data capabilities have changed the way we work, right down to the level of detail we now capture and the things we measure," said Rooney. "For instance, we are providing our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team with a robust set of data regarding the hiring, development and promotion of diverse attorneys and staff — including how matters are staffed across all industry groups and practice areas. We can identify trends and tendencies and address them at a high level before they exert a negative impact."

The team partners with clients to build applications to automate tasks related to client matters, including commercial contract review, assessing risk in large portfolios of tort litigation, and zeroing in on the infringement of clients' intellectual property.

Eberle believes Husch Blackwell's Future of Work initiative along with its strategic plan have positioned the firm well to take advantage of all opportunities there are to grow.

"One of our most important strategic priorities is to grow the firm in the areas where our clients need us, both from a geographic and practice perspective," Eberle said. "We have built a strong and attractive platform, and we are always looking for firms that share our vision and commitment to making our clients successful."