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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced lawyers and staff out of their offices and into their homes, where they now juggle their legal work with child care, household management and plenty of other obligations.

But law firms are insisting—at least publicly—that lawyers in spare bedrooms, kitchen islands and basement offices are still delivering their money's worth. And amid the stresses of a global health and economic crisis, there may be a silver lining for lawyers looking to break their office bonds: Proving their productivity now could make their firms more open to remote work when the emergency is over.

"From a technology aspect, most firms adapted quickly," said Lisa Smith, a consultant at Fairfax Associates. "People have been pleasantly surprised by a great remote work experience and how reasonably well it has gone so far.

She said that in some cases, tools like videoconferencing are allowing lawyers to be in contact with one another even more frequently than if everyone had been in the office.

"This is reducing some of the concerns that people may have had that remote work could have a poor impact on teamwork," she said. "It remains to be seen whether people are able to maintain the same level of productivity. But what we're seeing is a lot more openness to the idea of [remote work]."

Jena Valdetero, co-leader of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner's data privacy and security team, said that even with all of the disruption the COVID-19 pandemic has brought, her currently remote team was delivering to clients at top capacity.

"We have been going gangbusters here, and we still are really busy—being a team of people working privacy and security issues, we're working full time remotely," she said last month. "There's been a shift in recent years where more and more of our clients are also working remotely and dealing with child care issues. It can be a bonding experience, especially right now. I'm really hoping what will come out of this situation is more normalizing of remote working experiences."

Even as some states move to reopen their economies, law firm leaders say they're currently in no hurry to reopen their offices' doors, and that their remote work situations are sufficient.

Still, in the long run, Kent Zimmermann, a consultant at Zeughauser Group, said the nature and degree of each firm's transformation after the crisis will depend on the values and culture they had in place before the pandemic hit.

"I have the sense that face time and being in the office is more culturally important in some firms than in others, and I'm not confident that this crisis is likely to make firms do a U-turn on their culture in that regard," he said. "On the other hand, firms that were already moving in the direction of increased flexibility say this crisis—and the ease with which their teams have worked remotely—has caused their thinking to evolve. They feel this could be the right time to accelerate their remote-work plans and use less office space over time."

Indeed, Smith pointed out that some law firms could be more open to remote work in the future to cut down on office square footage, which has already been trending downward in recent years.

"Thinking about it in terms of space and occupancy, there are a number of firms thinking about this in terms of how they can reduce their footprints," she said.

"One of the obvious plusses is decreasing real estate expenses, which is helpful in a highly competitive environment where enhanced financial performances give firms a leg up in recruiting," Zimmermann said, adding that more flexible work options can attract lawyers looking to balance high performance at work with a more balanced lifestyle.

That's not to say there aren't limitations to the value of remote work, even for those whose practices allow it—or outright drawbacks. More limited mentorship opportunities are one factor.

"The perception among some is that when people are less often in the office together, in the same place, it can be an impediment to mentoring and training opportunities for up and coming talent," said Zimmermann. "There are questions about the extent to which not being in the same place for a prolonged period can affect collaboration, both in serving clients as well as doing business together."

Gretta Rusanow, head of advisory services at Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group, said recent surveys from her team have addressed some of these concerns with managing partners, who have been focusing on maintaining a sense of community and mission in the industry's new, remote reality.

Some of the solutions firms the firms are adopting—including increased communication and transparency from management, more emphasis on mentoring and one-on-one checkups, and even group workout classes—could provide a blueprint for how firms could keep remote lawyers engaged even in normal times.

"This whole experience has proved you can continue a business without traveling to every meeting, without doing every meeting in person, or without having everyone in the office at the same time," Rusanow said. "The tools we're using in increased capacity now, such as videoconferencing, are not new. I think what we're all learning through this is while it is preferable to do things face to face, these tools have enabled everyone to continue working."

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