This lesson begins a new series on a topic on which everyone will have an opinion — the multi-generational office. For every story we run, a whole spectrum of attitudes comes out in feedback. Oftentimes, these opinions divide on generational lines. So, in this mini-series we’ll examine the different generational approaches to four burning issues in our profession.

This week we start with work from home, or WFH as we’ve all learned to call it. Then we’ll move on to different generational perspectives around talent wars, then working wellness and finally we’ll wrap up with law firm culture.

Work from home is an obvious place to start this conversation. Until COVID, this wasn’t a thing, far less a debate. Sure, attorneys could work on the road and would spend the occasional summer Friday working from the beach house porch. No one noticed or cared. But there were no WFH policies in place and it was the kind of thing that would have young associates staring out of the office window thinking, “must be nice.” 

Now WFH is becoming a tug-of-war. Young associates want to work from home and law firm leaders want to see greater attendance levels. Many firms mandate three days a week, and some are moving to four.

Like all good debates, all sides have fair points to make. Young lawyers want the flexibility and work-life balance that WFH brings. Those who were thrown into a hybrid work model because of the COVID pandemic, adjusted their schedules to accommodate spouses, partners, children, aging parents, and the need for their own mental health. And, frankly, they got used to it and see no reason why they should give up their 9:30 am yoga class just to spend time commuting to a likely half-empty office.  

But young lawyers also need to be involved in law firm activities and receive 1-on-1 mentoring. Law firms, who shelled out significant dollars for young talent during the COVID and post-COVID talent wars, want to see some ROI on that investment, and many law firm leaders see in-office presence as part of getting it. As much as we may want to dismiss “face time” as an antiquated law firm idiom, it’s not only a thing, it’s an important one.

We have dissected this at Lean Adviser, and our take is that the task should dictate the location. If your task is to sweat a pile of documents, then we’d say work from home, start early and dive in, preferably uninterrupted. But if it’s scoping, planning, issue spotting or creative work, then you need an in-person setting. And if it’s client alignment and understanding expectations, again in-person, go see your client. 

Once law firms and attorneys start to tackle this from a client problem-solving standpoint, it all becomes a lot clearer. Like everything in lean Legal Project Management, the cues are all to be found in lean manufacturing. What are the tasks? What is the optimum sequence? Who should be assigned to each task? What waste can be eliminated? Where’s the end-user (or client) in this plan? Then, for each task ask, identify the right location for efficiency, effectiveness and matter profitability?

Do this, and at a stroke you can resolve many of the challenges associated with WFH. Like, how do young associates learn when they’re not in the office? Or they are but the partners are not? They don’t. But collaborative planning and sound Legal Project Management addresses all this.