This 85-page study presents detailed data from a representative survey of 211 lawyers at major law firms in the United States, about their policies, and evaluation of working at home. The study helps its readers to answer questions such as: what are the policies of major law firms regarding work from home? What percentage of total attorney billable hours and overall work hours are logged at home? How productive is work from home? How do colleagues view their peers who work from home frequently? How are law firm policies and practices evolving in this area? Do attorneys want to work from home more? How have libraries, information technology services and other law firm service centers adjusted to work from home? Who has work from home privileges and what are they? How do the opinions of associates differ from those of shareholders? Men from women? Older from younger attorneys? What future does work from home have for the nation’s major law firms?
Just a few of the study’s many finding are that:
· By a margin of nearly 2 to 1, men felt that they were less productive when working at home. However, by a ratio of 8:7 women felt that they were more productive when working from home.
· The larger the law firm in the sample, the greater the percentage of billable hours logged at home.
· 37.5% of lawyers in firms with between 25 and 49 lawyers say that they would like to work more at home even if at these firms work from home is viewed dimly by many of their colleagues.
· By margin more partners felt encouraging work from home would lead to a more profitable law firm than thought it would lead to a less profitable law firm; 29.45% for the former verses 23.97% for the latter.