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Changing office layouts, making hallways one-way, requiring masks, disinfecting the fridge, agonizing over whether to keep the communal coffee machine running: When it comes to Big Law's eventual return to the office, nearly everything is on the table.

"This is all trial and error—taking risks, making definitive decisions, and being agile enough to change them if it's not working, all while being transparent and communicate what's working and what isn't," said Gina Rubel, who works with law firms as CEO of Furia Rubel Communications.

State and regional moves to reopen economies mean white-collar workers may soon be congregating again. Rubel said she's been fielding nonstop questions from law firm leaders about how to keep everyone safe while slowly moving back to some semblance of normal.

"The challenge is that we're talking about a global industry that is running on state-by-state and country-by-country mandates," she said. "It's like a child with no manual—except unlike in real life, where other people can help you when you get home from the hospital, no one guides you here because they don't know what they're doing, either."

Law firms in Georgia, Texas and other green-lit states say they're taking a gradual and voluntary approach to return lawyers and staff to the office, instituting rotating schedules, requirements to wear masks and new policies that limit visitors.

In states that remain on pause indefinitely, such as New York and California, firms and bar associates have outlined best practices but have not created concrete plans for returning to in-person work, instead waiting on guidance from other states' experience to help with their plans.

Across the board, Big Law is taking a cautious approach to repopulating their offices and keeping remote work—which has gone relatively smoothly for most—the status quo for now. At the same time, firms say they are shoring up the health and safety measures in their offices so that when people decide to come back, there will be as little health risk as possible.

"Right now, remote work is mandatory, and our offices are in a condition of 'limited access,' which is pretty restrictive," said Tammy Baldwin, chief of business operations at Perkins Coie. Aside from a few staff members handling essential functions—such as mail, technology support and procurement—and the rare, court-mandated trial, she said the firm has been working from home since mid-March and will stay remote, at lawyers' discretion, through July.

In the meantime, Baldwin and Dennis Dore, Perkins Coie's director of business resilience, said they've been building up health and safety measures and documented plans to comply with new regulations and physical distancing best practices, including reducing the number of people allowed in the office, keeping workspaces at least six feet apart, adding floor markings to create a coffee-maker queue, requiring masks in public areas and limiting restroom occupancy.

"We're tailoring the rules for each office, but we have a set foundation of protocols, including face coverings and not allowing more than six people in any given room," Dore said. "We're keeping up with local ordinances, how they're differing, and how we can raise the bar so each office has continuity in its safety measures."

"The main goal is making it feel comfy if people want to come in, but realizing everyone is in a different and unique situation, so they can make the choice and not feel any pressure," he added.

That kind of flexibility will also help firms use the next few months to rework office layouts and iron out new policies.

"The safety of our employees, clients and communities is our top priority," Fenwick & West chair Richard Dickson said in an email. "Fenwick is fortunate that we have been able to work from home and successfully serve our clients and stay connected to one another with minimal disruption. When we do phase back, we will do so in a way that keeps our community safe and protects public health."

At Katten Muchin Rosenman, chief administrative officer Daphne Pendleton said the firm was accounting for different realities at different locations, including concerns about commutes and public transportation and when physical office presence was actually necessary.

"With that in mind, we established local teams of attorneys and business professionals in addition to our firm-wide task force to explore how best to prepare for the new normal," she said in an email. "Our planning will take into account the fact that re-entering the workplace will require both physical and mental adjustments."

As Perkins Coie's Baldwin emphasized, those adjustments will involve both firms and their employees, and may vary greatly from office to office—and person to person,

"Some people can't wait to come back," she said. "While others are like, 'See you in 2021.'"

Lizzy McLellan contributed to this report.

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