DEEP DIVE I LE DOSSIER I EL INFORME
Lawyers Working From Home: A Technological and Social Experiment Michael LEGG Le télétravail est devenu une nécessité en réponse à la pandémie de Covid-19 et a donné lieu à une expérience mondiale dans la conduite de la pratique juridique. Le télétravail est considéré comme une évolution prometteuse qui apporte aux avocats une plus grande flexibilité et qui suscite de nouveaux business models. Il offre également une nouvelle façon de s’engager auprès des clients et de répondre aux besoins de la communauté. Pour autant, le télétravail soulève des préoccupations quant à son impact néfaste sur la santé mentale, la diversité et les possibilités de développement professionnel.
El teletrabajo se convirtió en una necesidad en respuesta a la pandemia de Covid-19 que dio lugar a un experimento global en la conducción de la práctica legal. El teletrabajo se ha considerado un desarrollo prometedor que brinda a los abogados una mayor flexibilidad y respalda nuevos modelos comerciales. También proporciona una nueva forma de interactuar con los clientes y satisfacer las necesidades de la comunidad. Del mismo modo, el teletrabajo genera preocupaciones sobre su impacto perjudicial en la salud mental, la diversidad y las oportunidades de desarrollo profesional.
Introduction
Remote Working
Moving our desks from the office to home has rapidly changed the way the legal profession works, not just during Covid-19, but potentially, for the future.
In the past decade a multitude of approaches to offering legal services have developed, including “New Law” or virtual law firms. A common theme in relation to many of those models was remote working. In a Covid-19 world this has been fully embraced, by necessity for the most part, through the move to working from home.
Prior to the pandemic, lawyers meeting clients and appearing More hours can be in court from home would have devoted to doing been considered absurd, even productive work rather fanciful, with rare exception. But, with an estimated 2.6 than sitting in a car, bus billion people – or a third of or train. the world’s population – living under some kind of lockdown or quarantine beginning in March 2020,1 and for over a year thereafter, the absurd became reality. However, Working From Home (WFH) is still a technological and social experiment for lawyers and society in general. It offers advantages in terms of flexibility, upskilling and cost reduction, but it also raises concerns, such as fairness in judicial hearings and undermining wellbeing and diversity, that need careful attention.
1. Mia Jankowicz, “More People Are Now in ‘Lockdown’ than Were Alive During World War II”, Business Insider, March 25, 2020, 25.
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Remote working is prized for the flexibility it affords lawyers, its ability to cut or end travel time, to reduce office overheads and end the “tyranny of distance”. Lawyers can choose when and where they work, subject of course to employer and client needs. More hours can be devoted to doing productive work rather than sitting in a car, bus or train. Alternatively, those time savings can allow for time with family or for recreation. Commercial office space can be replaced or downsized. It also means that the client can be anywhere. Depending on the type of law practiced and having the necessary bar admissions a lawyer could offer their services in multiple jurisdictions without needing to be physically there. These advantages were experienced by the many, rather than the previous few, engendering greater discussion about how a lawyer could practice. WFH did not just change the physical view, it prompted a change of point of view.
