The COVID-19 pandemic forced many of us out of our offices and into our homes while we waited for a once-in-a-century global pandemic to pass. A year and a half later, some of us have returned to our offices, some of us have not, and others utilize a hybrid schedule working in the office some days and remotely on others. Even if COVID significantly improves, it appears that remote work or hybrid models are here to stay for some attorneys at least some of the time. There are plenty of benefits to remote work, such as saving your commute time; however, the impact it has on all attorneys, especially young attorneys new to the practice or new to a firm, cannot be understated.

Young attorneys, or even attorneys new to a firm or office, benefit greatly from the ability to ask questions or run legal issues by others in person. Many firms and lawyers boast "open-door" policies for a good reason—it's helpful for young or new attorneys to have a safety valve should they get stuck on an assignment or run into a difficult issue on a case. While certain questions can be asked in any medium, like email or on the telephone, others are simply better suited for an in-person discussion. As someone who has been practicing for over five years but changed firms during the pandemic, I, like many others, have felt the impact COVID and remote work can have on connecting with colleagues. Those connections naturally thrive in in-person settings. Of course, there are some practices that young or new attorneys can employ to recapture the so very crucial aspects of an in-person work environment even while working remotely.