Professionals (Esp. Attorneys) -- Have Office Space/Clients Changed For Good?

[ReadySetMillionaire]

Just two short years ago, when I was starting my solo law practice, I hardly questioned whether I needed an office space.  My experience with clients was that they wanted to come to your office, meet you, look you in the eye, etc.

Fast forward to now.  I have had three in-person meetings at my office since March. My client relations are still fine, and I am acquiring new clients without ever meeting them or even seeing them. We do everything by phone. I send them a fee agreement via my client management system, they sign and pay a retainer. Boom, done.

I am now questioning whether the office is worth it. I have 3+ years left on my lease but I could probably find my way out of it.

I have a great home office. It would be an ideal setup. I could do mostly remote, but if people wanted to meet, I could do house calls/meet at their business.

My only hesitation is whether the current trends will stick. Will clients continue to be so amenable to remote relationships? Has the COVID experience permanently altered their expectations? Or is it just temporary? Will the old rules come back into play if/when we get back to normal?

I'm wondering if others' experiences are similar to mine, and whether they think the office space/client dynamic have changed for good.

[Sibley]

Too soon to say. We're still in pandemic times, who knows what will happen post pandemic? Face to face meetings are valuable. Just because people are happy to skip them now, during a pandemic, doesn't mean they will in the future.

[Queen Frugal]

I have been working from home as an attorney for 10+ years. I have my name on the door of a nice office building, clients can drop things off for me, I get a mailing address, and use of the conference room. It costs me about $100 per month.

Pre-COVID, I was up front with my clients at the first meeting that I meet clients by appointment at the building but I don't have an office - preferring to work from home - so they can't just stop by and find my assistant. People didn't seem to mind.

Post-COVID maybe I won't have to explain my arrangement.

I will NEVER go back to wasting money for office space.

[Metalcat]

Too soon to say. We're still in pandemic times, who knows what will happen post pandemic? Face to face meetings are valuable. Just because people are happy to skip them now, during a pandemic, doesn't mean they will in the future.

And on the flip side, there are a lot of very busy people out there who would love nothing more than to never ever go to any face to face meetings.

I have dealt with a good half dozen lawyers over the past few years and have never done any business with them in person.

It will be hard to say, but I think there will definitely be an ongoing demand for this type of service, it's just a matter of seeing how much demand.

[intellectsucks]

I have been working from home as an attorney for 10+ years. I have my name on the door of a nice office building, clients can drop things off for me, I get a mailing address, and use of the conference room. It costs me about $100 per month.

Pre-COVID, I was up front with my clients at the first meeting that I meet clients by appointment at the building but I don't have an office - preferring to work from home - so they can't just stop by and find my assistant. People didn't seem to mind.

Post-COVID maybe I won't have to explain my arrangement.

I will NEVER go back to wasting money for office space.

This will likely be the wave of the future for a lot of client facing professionals.  Office space is expensive and a longer term commitment.  I was in the market for a commercial space a while back and looked at three properties where the previous tenant was closing the business due to health issues, getting socked with big fees for breaking the lease.  Why incur a huge expense and additional risk when you could have the type of setup you describe for a fraction of the cost while still getting pretty much all of the benefits of a face to face office?

[MayDay]

Engineering here.

I think people want SOME in person, but no need for full offices. 

[Paul der Krake]

Why not just get a the lowest membership tier in a coworking space that allows you to book a conference room every now and then?

[ebella]

I'm an attorney and I agree that office space is going to be irrelevant for most solo folks but it depends on your practice.  Even before Covid folks in BigLaw WFH alot of the time and that is just becoming the norm.  Now depositions, mediations, and court proceedings are via zoom.  Even federal judges are WFH.  If you work with professional or corporate clients (in larger transactional or litigation matters) this will become the norm.  The only area of law where that might might hold true is for clients in criminal law, personal injury, some lower-wage employment law (worker's comp etc), maybe divorce or bankruptcy where clients are not as tech-savvy.  But if I was a solo and not using my office much/in court much since Covid I'd get rid of my lease.

[legalstache]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

[Linea_Norway]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

This just shows that you don't have a good undisturbed office space at your home. In that case an external office is a good idea.

[ReadySetMillionaire]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

This just shows that you don't have a good undisturbed office space at your home. In that case an external office is a good idea.

The current office is downstairs, adjacent to my livingroom and within earshot of the kitchen/dining room.

The idea would be to move this office upstairs to the far bedroom, which is very far away from everything. I'd also look to get some nice noise cancelling headphones, which is of course a luxury purchase but is far, far cheaper than paying rent.

[Metalcat]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

That's not cold at all, it's the opposite.

It would be cold to say "when I'm in work mode, it doesn't matter if my child is screaming, I don't flinch"

[ChpBstrd]

I would hate to own office property right now. After a 2 decade resurgence, downtowns are about to cycle back to being the hollowed out no-man’s-land of the 1980’s.

Nobody who has a choice is going back to the era of paying tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of commuting.

[Metalcat]

I would hate to own office property right now. After a 2 decade resurgence, downtowns are about to cycle back to being the hollowed out no-man’s-land of the 1980’s.

Nobody who has a choice is going back to the era of paying tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of commuting.

I know a few people heavily invested in commercial office buildings. They're shitting themselves right now.

[legalstache]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

This just shows that you don't have a good undisturbed office space at your home. In that case an external office is a good idea.

The current office is downstairs, adjacent to my livingroom and within earshot of the kitchen/dining room.

The idea would be to move this office upstairs to the far bedroom, which is very far away from everything. I'd also look to get some nice noise cancelling headphones, which is of course a luxury purchase but is far, far cheaper than paying rent.

My wife and small child are also at home, and my biggest worry about WFH long-term is also the distraction from them (usually it's a good distraction, but still). Our house isn't very big and although I have a separate bedroom I work in, it's adjacent to the playroom, so I've used earplugs at times.

For now I'm balancing my desire to WFH with my need for a break by going into the office 2x a week in the morning. Long-term, if the future is truly remote work, I think I'd need a separate space to go to at least a couple times a week.

[seattlecyclone]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

This just shows that you don't have a good undisturbed office space at your home. In that case an external office is a good idea.

The current office is downstairs, adjacent to my livingroom and within earshot of the kitchen/dining room.

The idea would be to move this office upstairs to the far bedroom, which is very far away from everything. I'd also look to get some nice noise cancelling headphones, which is of course a luxury purchase but is far, far cheaper than paying rent.

Right. I get lots of comments from childless folks about how great this WFH setup is. The parents I know, especially those who don't have big enough homes for a separate enclosed office space, are having a rough time of it. I've transformed a remote corner of my basement into a pretty cozy office nook. Between the location and the noise-cancelling headphones I can get away from the kid chaos.

[intellectsucks]

I’ve been mostly WFH since March too (our office is semi-open). I’ve met with maybe 2 clients in person since March. I’m not solo but at a small firm. Frankly this experience has shown me that 95% of client interactions can be done by phone/email/zoom. I do think there’s still some value to having a space where you can meet clients, but if I was a solo I’d be looking at a shared office/co-working type space.

Bottom line though, do what makes the most sense for you professionally and personally. I know some lawyers that insist on being in the office every day. That’s not for me (hopefully ever again), but it seems like everyone is different.

The biggest worry for me would be having that physical space from my wife/kids. My separate office is just two miles from home but gives me space. Conversely, if I can hear my 19 month old son having a hard time, and he's within earshot, it's hard for me to not go and help out. Being at my office removes that sense of guilt and thus the distraction.

A cold way to put it but it's an accurate description of my biggest concern about working from home.

This just shows that you don't have a good undisturbed office space at your home. In that case an external office is a good idea.

The current office is downstairs, adjacent to my livingroom and within earshot of the kitchen/dining room.

The idea would be to move this office upstairs to the far bedroom, which is very far away from everything. I'd also look to get some nice noise cancelling headphones, which is of course a luxury purchase but is far, far cheaper than paying rent.

Right. I get lots of comments from childless folks about how great this WFH setup is. The parents I know, especially those who don't have big enough homes for a separate enclosed office space, are having a rough time of it. I've transformed a remote corner of my basement into a pretty cozy office nook. Between the location and the noise-cancelling headphones I can get away from the kid chaos.

Yeah this is key.  Some people are in situations where working from home is nothing but distraction and difficulty, so having a place to go to focus on work is big for them.  I think it will also bleed into the real estate market: homes that have a ready made office space will be able to price higher.

[ChpBstrd]

So the consensus is that kids are the only downside of WFH?

That means when schools reopen, physical offices will have no remaining rationales.

[Metalcat]

So the consensus is that kids are the only downside of WFH?

That means when schools reopen, physical offices will have no remaining rationales.

It's not the only downside, many people dislike working from home. However, many more would happily do it in a heartbeat to avoid commuting, and even more workplaces will mandate it and workers won't have a choice.

DH isn't going to have the option to go back to the office for a few years, if ever.

[seattlecyclone]

So the consensus is that kids are the only downside of WFH?

That means when schools reopen, physical offices will have no remaining rationales.

I wouldn't say that. There's definite value in face-to-face meetings. Nobody has to say "hey you're muted" when you're all in a room together. There are of course tradeoffs (cost of space, commute times), but I don't expect offices to die out forever. Plus even with schools lots of kids who aren't old enough for school are cared for at home even in normal times, and school hours for the older kids tend to be less than working hours for a typical professional.