COVID-19 and its Effect on Workspace

By John Mervilde, Meils Thompson Dietz & Berish

My colleagues and I have been discussing how to assess our workspace needs going forward. We had been thinking about these issues anyway, and the pandemic has seemed to pull us in two directions at once. On one hand, working from home and having staff work from home as well has us wondering how much square footage we need.

This article from design firm Gensler speculates that the trends such as mobile working and "dynamic seating" that have become part of the corporate world may become more common at law firms large and small. But as this article from the New York Law Journal notes that so long as the virus is with us, any return to office work will require social distancing and increased barriers.

Our firm's remote work has gone smoothly, but in large part because nearly all of our attorneys and staff have worked together for years. Interviewing, hiring and training new staff while they work remotely could present a particular challenge for small firms, given that these tasks fall to attorneys.

If you would like to submit content or write an article for the IndyBar, please email Kara Sikorski at ksikorski@indybar.org.