Legal tech companies are busy, but at the moment their U.S. and international offices most likely resemble a ghost town. Despite phased reopenings happening across the U.S., legal tech companies say it's too risky to reopen their offices.

"At some point we will probably have a change in mind about it, but now with the virus active in so many places, and to create comfort with our employees, we will continue to let them choose to stay home if they want," said Aderant President Deane Price of the company's four U.S. offices and five international locations.

Only Aderant's Auckland, New Zealand, office has reopened, she said. After conducting a survey of its New Zealand employees' willingness to return to the office, and after the country lifted a tight shutdown, the company decided to go forward with its local reopening on June 15. The Auckland office now stocks more hand sanitizer and is cleaned more frequently, Price said. A notable exception to what may become a short-term norm in U.S. offices is that government officials don't require social distancing in New Zealand offices, Price added.

Still, while New Zealand employees were ready to return, a survey conducted of Aderant's Atlanta employees found only 20% wanted to come back to the office, Price said.

Despite Georgia being one of the first states to loosen its COVID-19 lockdown, Price said the employees in its headquarters aren't yet comfortable with returning. Aderant is set to survey all of its U.S. employees the first week of July, but Price said they won't require any employee to return back to the office.

Similarly, Mitratech finance vice president Jamie Hunter said spikes in COVID-19 infections are partially why the company hasn't reopened any of its offices yet. By September, the company is set to announce which offices will reopen, after Mitratech's COVID-19 task force evaluates its Texas, San Francisco and four international offices, Hunter said.

The task force evaluates what requirements employers need to abide by when reopening, such as requiring masks, hand sanitizer, temperature checks, occupancy limits, etc. Additionally, Mitratech will also gauge which employees want to return to the office and if there are local spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Mitratech's process for determining to reopen offices mirrors decision-making described by other legal tech companies.

Hunter also noted that even if a state gives the OK to reopen offices, employees' health and reports of COVID-19 spikes are also crucial points to consider before making a decision.

"[It's] a mix of when employees feel comfortable, when we feel comfortable and when the statistics show us it's right," she said.

"If the statistics are still rising, we won't be coming back, and if we're going back and there's a spike, we will return back to a remote workforce in hours," she added.

To be sure, planned reopenings for legal tech companies can also be stymied by a flare-up of COVID-19 cases. 

DISCO human resources vice president Aaron Trull said the e-discovery company originally set June 15 as the start of letting some employees who wanted a quieter work environment to return to its Texas office. However, that plan was nixed after COVID-19 upticks and suggestions from local government to limit business operations.

"I think the tone and tenor of the company is a conservative and cautious approach," Trull said.  He added that currently none of its offices are open.

Intapp is also fielding concerns from staff that need a quieter environment to work. Instead of allowing some staff back into the office, the company is providing ergonomic chairs, flexible work shifts and new computer monitors, said Intapp chief strategy officer Mark Holman.

"Folks in New York, New Jersey and London, no one wants to get on the subway and so even the idea of opening the office selectively for people to have a quiet place to work, the journey to get there is not something employees want to take," Holman said.

The company won't decide which offices to reopen until Labor Day, but Holman noted the social-distancing best practices that require restructuring collaborative spaces and wearing masks may strip the office of its usual colloquial feel, and could push some toward continued remote work. 

"The conclusion we've come to is the requirements to keep your employees safe and healthy make for an unattractive office space," he said. In turn, the company is focusing on improving employees' work-from-home experience, specifically, "how do we make the home environment more workable for folks until we get a vaccine."