By: Jay Feldman

When the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the US, the business sector embarked on what the Bureau of Labor Statistics describes as “a massive experiment in full-time remote work.” Before the pandemic, only 6.5 percent of employees were working from home. As a result of the pandemic, that percentage increased significantly.

For the legal industry, the impact of the work-from-home experiment was profound. Remote work opportunities for attorneys were extremely rare prior to COVID, primarily because of the type of work those in the legal industry are typically expected to perform.

“The flexibility that remote work affords is something that some attorneys have always wanted, but it was very hard to find roles that would allow it,” says Michelle Foster, Managing Partner at The Foster Group. “With attorneys, FaceTime is key. Their normal routine keeps them in the office for long stretches of the day, often extending into the night.”

The Foster Group is a full-service legal recruiting firm that assists partners, counsel, and associates in finding appropriate placements. Top law firms and corporations also rely on The Foster Group’s decades of experience to help them find legal talent that can provide quality service to clients and support strategic growth. In recent years, The Foster Group has played a key role in helping both firms and attorneys navigate the recruiting and retention challenges brought about by the shift to remote work.

As the concerns that initially drove the growth of remote work opportunities have lessened, Michelle and her team have observed that many law firms are removing or restricting remote work arrangements. In many smaller firms, full-time in-office work has once again become the norm. With some of the larger firms, attorneys are being asked to spend four days in the office, with compliance often linked to bonus potential.

But while many are scaling back, others are adjusting to the change. They’ve come to understand how much flexibility matters to attorneys and are using remote opportunities as a potential recruitment and retention tool.

“Some firms have seen that there are notable upsides to the model,” shares Foster. “They are adapting to the model and recruiting in major cities where they don’t have a physical presence. By allowing attorneys to work from cities and areas where they don’t have offices, they are expanding their talent pool options and gaining new hiring capabilities.”

Firms embracing the wave, however, must navigate operational challenges that are unique to remote work or a hybrid model. The following are some of the key challenges those embracing a distributed workforce may need to contend with.

Workplace Communication Requires New Protocols

Prior to COVID, face-to-face communication was the standard in the legal industry. Attorneys needing to connect would meet over a conference table rather than exchange messages via Slack.

“Being in the same office made it easier to track someone down when you needed their help with an urgent issue,” Foster says. “You could get a client team together in a conference room when a meeting was needed. You could have an Associate come into your office to walk through a memo they had just drafted. Training, mentorship, and meetings with a prospective client are all easily facilitated when your workforce isn’t distributed.”

To keep communication effective with remote work, strategies may need to shift. Defining expectations is a critical part of effective communication in distributed firms. Attorneys should know how quickly they should respond to a text or email message.

Outlining the steps needed to ensure clarity is an essential part of the communication process. With face-to-face exchanges, nonverbal components make messages clearer. With remote exchanges, additional steps might be required to ensure clarity. Providing lawyers with the right communication tools, such as project management platforms that facilitate direct messaging and document sharing, can also support effective communication.

Fostering Culture Requires More Intentionality

Culture is a critical component of any law firm’s success. It creates cohesion, drives engagement, and serves as a powerful tool for attracting and retaining talent. Firms that fail to foster a strong culture may struggle to stay productive and profitable.

As firms embrace a remote work model, they must consider how the shift will impact their efforts to maintain a strong culture. A strong culture is still achievable with a distributed workforce, but it will generally take a higher degree of intentionality.

“Meeting colleagues is an example of a practice that becomes more challenging with remote work,” Foster shares. “Historically, an attorney making a lateral move to a new position would meet everyone in the office during their first week. With remote work, it’s a much different experience. Firms embracing remote work can’t trust that this will happen by chance. They need to put steps in place — manager-led team welcome calls or ‘virtual coffee breaks’ — that create avenues for connection.”

Some firms that have embraced remote work models are investing in culture by creating roles that focus on promoting connections between their attorneys. Am Law 100 firm Akerman, for example, announced in April 2025 the hiring of a director of connections who would be responsible for promoting connectivity and engagement among its distributed workforce.

The remote work experiment kicked off by COVID has undoubtedly reshaped attorney expectations. Firms that meet those expectations may gain an advantage, but they also take on the challenge of supporting a distributed workforce. To meet that challenge, firms must prioritize practices that support clear communications and continue to foster a strong culture.