Since its inception in September 2019, Scocco Law always functioned as a remote law office. I worked from home and met with clients at a shared office space in downtown Toronto. It was comfortable because I still had an impressive office for in-person meetings, while at all other times I could be productive while working from home.
Since March 2020, this dynamic changed. The pandemic was declared, and in-person meetings became seemingly a thing of the past. Further still, many law firms have transitioned into a remote style practice. Some firms already functioning as paperless were able to readily adapt to this. Other firms heavily dependant upon paper records, usually required lawyers and staff to attend at the office.
When I started my practice, I would always fantasize about having that flashy office, maybe I even had the ambition (or imagination) to picture myself owning an entire floor in a tower on Bay Street. We would have had all of the creature comforts of a millennial owned office space: comfy couches, high end coffee machines, and pop-up bar for Friday happy hours. I loved the idea of being one of those firms that knew how to work hard, but also have a little fun when the work was done (not that it ever is done). Now, these lofty dreams have been set aside, and I have no plans of revisiting them.
My firm now consists of myself, an associate and three staffers. We all work completely remote. Some, I have not even met in person! I want to say that it seemed weird at first, but it really didn’t. I performed all of my hiring interviews over videoconference. Our team meetings are done over videoconference as well, though lately we do not use the cameras, which I find is actually more relaxing than having to worry about what awkward facial expressions I am making on camera. In short, I have come to the conclusion that working remote may actually be the superior option over working together in a brick-and-mortar office. For the remainder of this article, I will try and highlight some of the reasons why in-person office work may seem superior and provide some remarks to the contrary.
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