Beginning in 2020, remote and hybrid workplaces became more acceptable in most office cultures. Advancements in modern technology have enabled collaboration between teammates regardless of their geographic locations. Over the past three years, the use of technology to facilitate remote or hybrid work has continued to accelerate.

Many law firms in the legal industry have followed suit, embracing modern technology to provide more flexible options for remote work. Advancements in cloud-based legal technology have enabled legal professionals to manage minute books and conduct client meetings from the convenience of any location.

Modern legal technology reduced the need for office space

This isn’t a trend that’s unique to the legal community. Global companies are downsizing their corporate offices as they accept that remote and hybrid work is the new norm.

However, let’s consolidate the global embrace of remote or hybrid work and analyze how the legal industry has adopted these trends.

Frequency that law office space was used in 2019

The 2022 Clio Legal Trends Report looks specifically at how modern technology has impacted the way legal teams use their law firm office spaces. The Clio research team used data from their own customers to compare how many legal professionals worked from the same IP address in 2019, 2020, 2021, and finally 2022.

The numbers from 2019 were used as a baseline for comparison. According to those numbers, professional lawyers spent an average of 13 days per month in their firm’s office space in 2019. Additionally, 40% of lawyers and 70% of non-lawyers — paralegals, clerks, and administrative assistants — worked exclusively in their firm’s offices.

Frequency that law office space was used in 2022

Fast forward to 2022, and those in-office numbers have changed, though, in some cases, the change is negligible. In 2022, lawyers worked in the office for an average of 12 days per month, more or less consistent with in-office usage from 2019. What has changed is the number of lawyers who work exclusively out of the office. That number declined to 23% in 2022, a sizable difference from the average rate three years prior.

Interestingly, the biggest change in how law firm offices are used lies with the non-lawyer side of the workforce. In 2019, paralegals, clerks, and administrative assistants worked out of law firm offices for an average of 17 days per month. Three years later, that number has declined to 13 days per month, a much bigger rate of change than amongst their lawyer counterparts.

An even bigger change was identified in the number of non-lawyers who work exclusively out of the office. Paralegals, clerks, and administrative assistants now work exclusively in the office about 50% of the time, a dramatic decrease from the 70% exclusivity rate in 2019.

How cloud-based legal software increased remote work rates

Part of this shift towards remote or hybrid work has been permissible thanks to advancements in cloud-based legal entity management technology. As cloud-based platforms, legal entity management technology enables lawyers, paralegals, and administrative assistants to manage minute book records for clients from virtual settings.

Paralegals, clerks, and administrative assistants are the principal beneficiaries of cloud-based legal entity management software. These platforms are built to automate clerical and administrative work, streamlining workflows and making entity management a more efficient process. The platforms are also protected by advanced security parameters, including biometric and hardware key authentication that restricts access to the accounts to an exclusive group.

Since the platform hosts all client data securely within the cloud, your legal clients can view their records from a location of their own choosing. This allows your paralegals and legal counterparts to conduct client meetings and minute book record reviews virtually anywhere.

Cloud-based legal entity management software eliminates the taxing financial and time management challenges to coordinate meetings amongst multiple stakeholders for minute book record reviews. Every legal stakeholder’s life is made easier by cloud-based legal entity management technology!

How to use legal technology as a talent acquisition competitive advantage

Industry-wide research supports the notion that millions of legal professionals are embracing remote or hybrid work models. If your firm wants to attract and retain the best legal talent in the industry, you need to give legal professionals a reason to join your firm.

The fact is that today’s legal professionals embrace innovation as an exciting shift in their industry. Both lawyers and paralegals want to work for innovative firms that fully embrace the competitive advantages of cloud-based legal entity management technology.

Invest in these platforms and give your firm a competitive advantage in the battle to acquire today’s top legal talent. Demonstrate to prospective hires that your firm encourages flexible work so that they feel empowered to set their own schedules. Show paralegals and clerks how you’ll save valuable hours in their days by onboarding them to use entity management software.

Cloud-based legal entity management technology is a valuable resource to streamline workflows and modernize minute book management. But it’s equally a valuable resource to acquire the top talent in the industry and expand the capabilities of your firm.

Give your firm a stronger edge in the competitive battle for the best legal talent in the industry. Use entity management software like MinuteBox and help your firm become one of the leading innovators in the legal industry.