“A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn.” – Helen Keller

After almost a year and a half of remote work arrangements, BigLaw is increasingly setting attendance goals and deadlines for their attorneys physically returning to the office over the next few months. Naturally, this is causing anxiety for many who have adjusted to a remote lifestyle – including those who are genuinely concerned about getting sick/catching Covid-19. Of course, not all firms are requiring their lawyers to physically return, but rather offering flexible or permanently remote arrangements, and not all attorneys actually want to work remotely. Whatever the case, change to our current situation is eminent and we all may be forced to embrace some sort of “new normal” in the short-term. A few items to consider as we are on the cusp of these upcoming changes are:

1 – Are you happy in your current remote work arrangement? Are you more productive working from home? Is videoconferencing meeting your/your clients/team needs?

2 – Should you ask for an exception to remain remote? If your firm is requiring attorneys to return to the office, but that is no longer ideal for you, are you prepared to have that conversation with your employer?

3 – Are you experiencing burnout, and if so would the burnout improve if you changed your work situation? As legal search consultants, we embrace change and believe it’s healthy, but how is it affecting you? If you are experiencing burnout from remote work, would your situation improve if you at least temporarily returned to the office?

4 – What happens if you ask to work remotely and are told “no”? Are you prepared to move to a firm that offers more flexible working arrangements? Would you consider moving to a smaller firm or in-house?

5 – Is it time to start looking for another role? Now is certainly the time to reflect on the past year and a half and consider if changing employers is the right move for you.

If you are mulling over any of these thoughts and would like career advice from legal search consultants who are experts in dealing with uncertainty in the workplace, please feel free to contact us at The Partners Group. We are here to help!

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – R. Buckminster Fuller