Legal professionals appear to be returning to the office at a higher rate than others, according to the January 2022 edition of Legal Management, a magazine produced by the Association of Legal Administrators. This publication claims that law firms reported an occupancy rate of 56% in August 2021, compared with only 34% of other companies. 

With a return to work becoming the norm in the legal sector, it’s time to start thinking about how you can adapt your workspace to the changing hybrid needs of your staff. 

Ways to Reimagine Your Law Firm

As the landscape of office space changes, there’s plenty you can do to reimagine your law firm and make it more flexible for your employees and their workstyle preference. More than ever, employees are valuing remote work and Legal Management estimates that only 28% of law firms will return to pre-pandemic levels of office work. With flexible work schedules here to stay, here are a few things you can do to bring your office space up to par:

1. Incorporate Break Areas

Burnout is becoming an epidemic. During the pandemic, employees reported stunning levels of burnout, affecting everything from turnover rate to client satisfaction. We recommend considering burnout as you plan your law firm’s space.

Incorporate break areas where team members can take a few minutes to relax in a quiet space. Having a space to unplug can go a long way toward boosting employee productivity in the long run. This can be done with comfortable furniture and private spaces such as phone booths for support staff if they don’t have an office.

2. Mix Privacy with Collaboration

Collaboration is often key when it comes to legal work. Attorneys work with paralegals and administrators every day to ensure that their clients are taken care of. But privacy is also a big deal in the legal field, especially since lawyers often handle confidential information. 

The team at Relocation Strategies can help you combine the best of both worlds, creating a comfortable collaboration space and plenty of areas where employees can get some privacy to make calls, jump on a Zoom, or just enjoy the quiet.

3. Introduce Flexible Work Hours 

Maintaining a flexible work schedule is crucial for many people. Some of your team members may be responsible for child care, and others may have a long commute to the office. 

To keep your employees satisfied and engaged, it’s important to take their needs into account. Try implementing hybrid schedules where your team members can choose to work from home part of the week while also hotel booking desks. With this setup, you can also save on office space and furniture since you’ll need to accommodate fewer office staff at any given time. 

Look to Relocation Strategies for More Tips 

While general tips are certainly helpful for reimaging a legal office, most approaches don’t work for everyone. That’s where Relocation Strategies comes in. We’ve worked with several law firms in the Indianapolis metro area and kept downtime to a minimum when alterations were made to the space or moving to a new space. Are you needing to reinvent & refresh your space for the post-pandemic world? Our team will listen to your unique needs and devise a plan of action to ensure that your office space is efficient and productive for attorneys, staff, and clients. Reach out to us for customized tips on welcoming employees back to your law firm.