Most
of
us
within
the
legal
profession
remember
when
many
law
firms
permitted
attorneys
and
staff
to
work
from
home
during
the
COVID-19
era. For
the
most
part,
working
from
home
did
not
impact
law
firm
operations,
and
indeed,
many
law
firms
realized
record
profits
during
the
pandemic.
In
recent
years,
many
law
firms
have
mandated
that
employees
return
to
offices,
perhaps
due
to
old-school
notions
of
collaborations,
or
perhaps
since
they
don’t
want
their
expensive
office
spaces
to
go
unused. However,
even
though
managers
may
think
office
time
is
more
productive
than
working
from
home,
in
many
situations,
working
from
home
is
far
more
efficient.
Many
people
need
to
commute
significant
distances
to
travel
to
and
from
work. Sometimes,
even
though
an
office
is
not
located
far
away,
it
might
take
considerable
time
to
commute
to
and
from
the
workplace. When
I
was
working
as
an
associate
at
several
law
firms,
I
always
worked
within
10
miles
of
the
office,
but
it
usually
took
an
hour
or
more
to
commute
each
way. When
someone
works
from
home,
their
“commute”
is
as
easy
as
transitioning
from
their
bed
to
a
couch
or
home
office. Accordingly,
working
from
home
can
free
up
several
hours
each
day
that
attorneys
can
use
on
client
work
or
personal
tasks.
Moreover,
when
people
work
in
an
office,
significant
time
is
often
spent
socializing
around
the
workplace. This
is
usually
a
good
thing,
since
socializing
with
co-workers
is
a
great
way
to
increase
team
cohesion
and
promote
the
culture
of
an
office. However,
socializing
with
can
also
take
time
away
from
being
productive.
I
worked
at
several
law
firms
in
my
career
in
which
people
spent
an
hour
or
more
a
day
chatting
with
people
around
the
office. It
is
very
difficult
for
managers
to
cut
down
on
such
unproductive
behavior
since
they
have
tasks
of
their
own,
and
it
can
be
unclear
which
conversations
are
work-related
and
which
are
not. When
someone
works
from
home,
they
generally
do
not
devote
too
much
time
for
socializing,
since
they
are
not
in
the
same
physical
space
as
co-workers,
thus
freeing
up
time
which
can
be
used
on
other,
more
useful
tasks.
Another
inefficient
part
of
working
in
an
office
is
the
wasted
time
needed
to
grab
lunch
and
eat
it
back
at
an
office. Some
people
bring
their
lunches
to
work,
which
is
a
great
way
to
save
money
and
can
lead
to
more
productivity
in
an
office,
however,
I
never
brought
my
lunch,
even
when
I
was
living
on
a
shoestring
budget
to
pay
off
my
student
loans. I
loved
to
break
up
my
office
day
by
going
outside,
picking
up
lunch,
and
eating
with
my
co-workers.
This
entire
process
usually
“ate”
up
about
an
hour
of
my
workday. First,
I
would
need
to
gather
my
co-workers
to
make
an
outing
to
pick
up
lunch,
and
then
we
would
need
to
travel
to
and
from
the
place
where
we
wanted
to
grab
lunch. Usually,
the
popular
lunch
places
were
packed
with
other
professionals
looking
to
grab
lunch
in
the
middle
of
the
day. Then,
we
would
typically
eat
lunch
back
at
the
office
and
sit
around
talking
after
we
had
finished
our
food. While
working
from
home,
people
usually
have
easy
access
to
food
in
their
own
refrigerators
and
do
not
need
to
spend
too
much
time
procuring
something
to
eat.
For
many
reasons,
attorneys
should
be
permitted
to
work
from
home,
since
this
arrangement
allows
lawyers
to
better
manage
their
personal
and
work
affairs. However,
managers
should
also
keep
in
mind
that
working
from
home
often
allows
attorneys
to
devote
more
time
to
billing
hours.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at jordan@rothman.law.