Law firms aren't known as the most tech-embracing industry, but prior IT investments seemed to have paid off. A new survey conducted by Loeb Leadership found that the industry's transition to remote working has been relatively smooth.

The "Law Firm's Adaption to Remote Working" report released last week surveyed 136 lawyers, business services staff and leaders in Am Law 100 and Am Law 200 firms. The report explored the shift to working at home and the challenges it brings. However, tech wasn't a significant hurdle for most respondents.

"We did not hear a large volume of complaints about technology," said Loeb director of strategic partnerships and executive leadership coach David Sarnoff. "Where [dissatisfaction with the shift] seemed to pick up was when people never worked remotely before."

Despite 98% of respondents saying they had at least a moderate amount of success moving staffers to remotely working, Sarnoff said secretaries were more likely to have challenges setting tech up at home and adjusting their workflow to highlight their contributions.

Still, previous IT investments also resolved any "access to tool" challenges, which only 9% of respondents said they faced, Sarnoff said.

Likewise, only 4% of respondents said they faced internet hurdles. However, Loeb Leadership COO Gordon Loeb noted in "some households there was a bandwidth issue" as lawyers' and staffers' children and spouses also worked from home and vied for bandwidth.

To be sure, attorneys' top problem when switching to remotely working was related to mental health. According to the survey, 28% of respondents reported general anxiety was their biggest single challenge they faced working remotely.

Loeb explained that while working remotely isn't new in the legal industry, the circumstances of the sudden shift was unprecedented. COVID-19 introduced massive stay-at-home mandates across the country as well as economic uncertainty, he noted.

The report also found social isolation (20%), keeping the team engaged, communication with colleagues and keeping regular schedule (all at 18%) were the other leading challenges faced by respondents working remotely.

Sarnoff explained isolation stems from respondents missing interacting with their colleagues in-person. What's more, "the adjustment of being home and not being in physical contact with their colleagues definitely weighed on them."

Engagement and effective communication are significant hurdles amplified when managers aren't experienced with leveraging technology for meetings, Sarnoff noted. Add in staffers being preoccupied with different levels of personal stress, and law firms are facing a unique balancing act of emotional intelligence and timing, Loeb added.

Lawyers and law firm staff are also receiving a crash course in virtual communication during the shift to remote working, and they are struggling to foster engagement, according to the survey.

Virtual communication was the top (19%) soft skill respondents said they now need to succeed in the remote environment. Virtual communication, however, isn't just mastering video conferencing platforms, but also understanding social cues expressed through digital platforms.

"I think people are struggling with how to strike the right balance with how they're communicating and getting the right tone and message across," Sarnoff said. "It's difficult to do in-person, and it's elevated when you have to do it in remote circumstances."

Loeb added, "When people are taken from their comfort zone, it becomes more important to have self-awareness and [understand] how they can relate more and flex their style."

Sarnoff noted good virtual communication skills create engagement that can help prevent  workplace conflicts.

"People communicating through Zoom or Microsoft Teams want to be engaged and give the people speaking their attention, and not checking texts on your phone because that will raise the level of conflict on your team," he explained.

To be sure, few respondents (1%) said they needed conflict management skills during the rushed transition to remote working. Loeb and Sarnoff said they were surprised, but noted COVID-19 sparked collaborations to quickly shift firms' workflows to the home setting.

"Because this was such a unique situation, a lot of people felt it was a state of crisis," Sarnoff said. "There was a shared mission [and] culture, and a lot of people collaborated and worked together to get their law firm working remotely. I think that reduced conflict."

Read more – Minds Over Matters: An Examination of Mental Health in the Legal Profession