If you`re doing a full remote operation, it`s more than reasonable for employees to decide to move somewhere else where they like it best. Your job as an employer is to develop a relocation strategy and decide if total compensation is bundled with an employee`s location. You might also start thinking about international contracts and compliance. Is it for now or is it forever? If you are setting up a home-based law practice, you need to be clear about who the policy applies to and when the policy applies. Allowing compensatory hours while working from home can also allow some employees to be more productive. During COVID-19, when many families are at home with their families and without childcare. Important: Make sure all lawyers and staff are trained in the communication tools you choose, as they are your firm`s lifeline. This sample policy can be the beginning of a valid, legally compliant remote work agreement. By now you should know the details, all you have to do is implement it. Good luck! For example, it is important to document the policy underlying relocations and compensation plans in these cases. People need to adhere to security measures to ensure that internal data doesn`t leak, and the organization behind intellectual property when someone works from home without strict hours should also be regulated. Not all remote jobs are the same.
You need to be clear about what is expected of your newly transferred remote workers and where the line is. For example, while you used to use time tracking to track work hours, this is no longer possible when working from home. After all, sometimes it`s hard to draw the line between work and life, and things start to flow through each other. From independent lawyers to large law firms and everyone in between, the benefits of accepting credit cards are undeniable. Now you can accept loans. If you`re moving from the desktop to remote work, you may already have several policies in place that interfere with your shift to remote work. For example, a common guideline is attendance time. If you previously had a policy that employees must be in the office between certain hours of a workday, this is no longer possible. The same goes for certain perks or dress codes. 8. Reed Smith. Founded in 1877, Reed Smith is an international law firm that employs more than 1,700 lawyers in 27 offices on three continents.
According to an article on Bloomberg Law`s Big Law business blog, « about 10 percent of the firm`s lawyers have some sort of alternative schedule — whether remotely, at reduced hours, or sharing an office. » The company`s largest office in London recently introduced an « agile work policy » designed to provide employees with « an ad hoc approach to changing their working hours and/or location ». How do you make sure your business processes are as good as possible? Discover eight ways your business can improve its processes. In addition, many existing employment contracts cover the performance of the work and the protection of intellectual and physical property only in the office. For all these cases, it is necessary to also add the exception of remote work as a possible means. 3. Sad Greenberg. Greenberg Traurig employs 2,000 lawyers and has offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. Hilarie Bass, co-chair of the cabinet and president-elect of the American Bar Association, set the tone in a Miami Herald article, noting that she « intends to work from anywhere. » In another Herald article, Bass states, « The challenge is to find a way to maximize employee productivity without losing the important benefits of mentoring, training, teamwork and customer service that require physical presence. » She added that a « limited pilot program for telework » is underway. One rule applies first and foremost to team members who work from home: keep it safe.
Once your team leaves the firm, they also leave the digital security provided by your law firm. Data security best practices for remote work should be addressed in your work-from-home policy. Also, especially during the pandemic, you may want to switch to remote work for a while. You may want to specify that people can work completely remotely during the summer to avoid the hot office where there is no air conditioning. There are no limits to the possible configurations you can follow. Melanie Leonard is the founder of streamlined.legal, where she helps law firms get the most out of their practice management software. A former law firm owner and practicing lawyer turned Clio Gold certified consultant, Melanie offers efficiency and security to law firm owners looking to grow their businesses. In keeping with company expectations for information security for employees working in the office, remote workers must ensure the protection of proprietary company and customer information accessible from their home office. Steps include using locked filing cabinets and desktops, regular password maintenance, and any other measures appropriate to the work and environment. Undoubtedly, there are other law firms of all sizes that are debating whether to increase flexible options or have already fully embraced them. For managers in other industries, what happens in the legal sector – one of the most established sectors on the market – can be an educational model.
Technology and workforce demands, the key people who run flexible law firms, will continue to exert their influence on the evolution of the flexible workforce. Nevertheless, there are barriers for law firms that accept flexible working. The Diversity and Flexibility Alliance`s most recent annual law firm flexibility survey found that while 26 of the 28 large law firms surveyed have formalized their flexible working policies, less than 9% of lawyers use flexible options such as job sharing and alternative hours. Although generally underrepresented in the legal profession, women lawyers make up the majority of workers who use flexible benefits, according to the survey. Discover new tips and tools for remote work, 10 steps to successful remote work, and what to do if you still need to meet with clients in person. 4. Linklaters. Founded in 1838, Linklaters is headquartered in the UK and employs more than 2,000 lawyers in 20 countries. To test work flexibility, Linklaters is running a pilot program in its German offices to offer employees a better work-life balance. The deal: work less, earn less. In return for a reduction in weekly working time of 40 hours, employees must also accept a corresponding pay reduction.
The idea is that reliable working hours allow participants to achieve a better balance outside of their careers. Telecommuting can be informal, such as working from home for a short-term project or on the road during business trips, or a formal, set schedule to work outside the office, as described below. An employee or supervisor may suggest telework as a possible work arrangement. We strongly recommend that you document the following tools in your flexible working policy. These will help foster a sense of teamwork and connection. Are you curious to see what such a remote work policy might look like? Let us help you. This policy outlines staff responsibilities during remote work, the situations in which a remote work agreement can be approved, and the terms and conditions of remote work. What is driving this trend? Some factors have an impact. As the ABA article notes, female lawyers who have faced skepticism and stigma in the past when seeking flexible work opportunities are calling for better work-life integration (as do some of their male counterparts).
Most in the legal industry might perceive this as an adjustment. However, working from home is a trend that Solos and major law firms had already embraced. For example, Jackson Lewis employs more than 800 lawyers nationwide and offers remote work options « as needed » and formalizes an existing policy that has been in place for some time. There are dozens of variations of remote work. You can have a mixed model where people spend a few days a week at home. You may have a work-from-home policy that allows people to take a certain number of home office days. They could be partially remote, with a few people in the office and another remote group, or finally, you could be completely away, no office at all. Other names for the document: Remote Work Policy, Effective Work from Home Policy, Work from Home Policy, Work from Home Policy, Law Firm Remote Work Policy for Staff A reasonable level of communication between the teleworker and supervisor will be agreed upon as part of the discussion process and will be more formal during the probationary period. Once the probationary period is over, the manager and teleworkers communicate at a level that corresponds to the employees in the office, or in a manner and frequency appropriate to the work and the people involved. For more details on each team member`s availability when working from home, tools like Slack or Google Hangouts can be used not only to keep team members in touch with your internal team, but also to allow those who work from home to set a status to keep others informed. when they take a break or leave their workspace.
