“Law firm leaders are going to be judged on how they respond and react to moments like this for the next decade,” one attorney said.
By Melea VanOstrand Real Estate Reporter | June 14, 2021
As attorneys and staff are returning to the office amid the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, many companies are implementing proactive and flexible approaches to better navigate the new work environment, such as a hybrid work model whereby most people come into the office just a few days a week.
It comes in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently announced that fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks or social distance, except when local government or businesses require it. That’s prompted South Florida office managers to ask: What would make employees feel most comfortable?
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Etan Mark, a founding partner of Mark Migdal & Hayden, a boutique law firm headquartered in Miami, shared his firm’s strategy for navigating the CDC’s mask guidelines when returning to the office.
“Our rules are: if you’ve been vaccinated, you don’t need to wear a mask, and if you haven’t you do need to,” Mark said. “We have a fairly flexible work policy as far as a physical location that is in the office or at home. People have been coming in and out over the last few months in particular. So far, it’s been working fairly well.”
The hybrid model is believed by many, including Mark, to be long term since employees can still be productive.
“We’re in the service industry, and we have to service our clients,” Mark said. “What’s most important is, can you continue servicing our clients with work as good as or better than you can do in the office? If the answer to that is yes, then I don’t see why people should not be able to continue some type of flexible arrangements.”
Although he likes the hybrid model, Mark said it’s imperative to be in the office at some point as there are many benefits.
“I think it’s important for culture, I think it’s good for collaboration to have people in the office at least sometimes,” Mark said. “For that reason, we don’t have everybody that’s entirely remote. We do try to create opportunities for in-person engagement on a very regular basis.”
For firms or businesses with a mix of employees who are vaccinated and unvaccinated, Mark thinks best practices would be to listen to the needs of others.
“Law firm leaders are going to be judged on how they respond and react to moments like this for the next decade,” Mark said. “I think to introduce rigid policies without taking into account personal issues and preferences I think is a mistake and short-sighted. I think it’s simple and perhaps more easily implemented, but at the end of the day what everyone went through over the past 18 months is deeply personal.”
