October 23, 2023
As workers migrate back to the office, it begs the question: is the “new normal” already a relic of the past? Older law partners and supervisors frequently favor in-person work to promote collaboration and boost morale or to assure productivity.
The reality is the return to work is upon us. The company that helped foment workplace disruption, Zoom, has even brought some employees back to the office. Summer associates and full-time associates are gearing up for more social opportunities, happy hours, live feedback, and opportunities to observe in-person litigation. But the daily grind comes with the price of less free time, less sleep, an exhausting commute, and a $20 hole in your pocket for lunch at Sweetgreen.
We can see that the legal workforce is returning to the office, mirroring the general trend in Philadelphia. Law firms have largely embraced a hybrid work model with attorneys in-office a few days per week. Junior attorneys might receive a flexible hybrid schedule but often feel pressure to be in the office more to mirror and appease partners.
Philadelphia Business Trends
Center City’s business activity has rebounded to 79% of its pre-pandemic level and three times the amount in April 2020. According to a May, 2023 report of the Center City District, Non-resident workers in Center City swelled 14% higher in April 2023 than the previous year. Many of Philadelphia’s largest employers have returned workers to the office. For instance, Comcast’s nearly 8,000 corporate employees returned to work at its 1701 John F. Kennedy Boulevard and 1800 Arch Street locations.
Among all Center City businesses, Tuesday through Thursday are the most popular days for in office work. The Center City District report revealed 76% of surveyed organizations said employees were back at the office three days or more per week. Many companies are enticing employees to return with free food, happy hours, and events.
Philadelphia Legal Trends
Philadelphia area legal employers are increasingly embracing a hybrid in-person and work from home model. City attorneys such as the District Attorney’s office and the Defender Association have returned to in-person five days per week. By contrast, the Philadelphia Law Department, including the City Solicitor’s office, requires at least two days in-person.
The area’s large law firms have also embraced a hybrid work model. Troutman Pepper currently does not have a firmwide mandate, but employees report that attorneys are typically in-person one to three days per week. Dechert, Ballard Spahr, and Morgan Lewis & Bockius requires Tuesday through Thursday in-person and allows for flexibility to work from home Monday and Friday. Attorneys at other larger Philadelphia area law firms, including White and Williams, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, Kline & Specter, and Post & Schnell, typically are in office three days per week. Large plaintiff’s personal injury firm Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky requires four to five days in office.
A poll of Temple Law’s class of 2024 revealed that all the respondents’ employers from this past summer required or requested in-office work at least a few days per week. The average amount of days in-office for polled Temple Law students was 3.75 days, though many noted that attorneys have more flexibility in deciding in-office days.
Why Return to Office?
Whether there is a mandate or not, junior attorneys often feel pressure to be in-office when supervisors and partners are. Often the hybrid policy is set by a particular practice group.
The chairman of McDermott Will & Emery, one of the largest law firms in the country, stated that the firm tracks each attorney’s office attendance. He elaborated that “high performers” were frequently in-office. These attorneys benefit from facetime with partners. Firm chair of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel believes in the long-term use of hybrid work arrangements but predicts that employers will require in-office work if the economy “tightens.”
Firm supervisors and partners see in-person work as indispensable in developing young attorneys. In-person work allows more time to speak with partners, participate in their work, ask questions, and limit distractions. Concerns around limiting distractions might have some merit as a recent study of employees in Chennai, India saw an 18% decrease in productivity in employees assigned to work from home. The disparity increased to 27% when looking at employees who preferred to work from home.
Conversely, the ability to balance personal and work life and meet deadlines is perceived as the most significant upsides of working from home, per Pew Research Center. Employees prefer flexible schedules, especially those with child or elder care responsibilities. What is clear is that employees are returning to the office, but it is yet to be seen what kind of hybrid work will be the new normal.
Workers also struggle with transportation as an impediment to returning to the office. For Philadelphia workers, SEPTA’s unreliability is a hindrance. Current SEPTA ridership stands at 65% of pre-Covid numbers. SEPTA is facing a large budget deficit in 2024 and remains understaffed. Busses, trolleys, subways, and the Norristown High-Speed Line operate at 90% of pre-Covid numbers, with Regional Rail at 77%.
The “new normal” for legal employees is a hybrid in-person and work from home model. Many Philadelphia workers are returning to the office. Despite the flexibility hybrid work offers, junior attorneys face obstacles emerging from the pandemic, like childcare, elder care, and transportation. But whether actualized or self-imposed, junior attorneys feel pressured to be in the office for their reputation among partners. Currently, a fully pre-pandemic in-office return seems unlikely but possible for many attorneys.
Landon Farnsworth (LAW ’24) is a Content Editor for the Temple 10-Q.