Working during coronavirus times means videoconferencing. Lots of videoconferencing. And so, perhaps unsurprisingly, many in-house lawyers have warmed up to the idea of talking to a screen. 

The Association of Corporate Counsel's latest flash poll of 249 members showed that 32% of respondents were uncomfortable using videoconferencing before COVID-19 upended the world.

Now, about 93% of those same in-house counsel are OK with the technology: More than 70% said they were "very comfortable" with videoconferencing and another 23% were "somewhat comfortable." 

"Some of the most non-technical people that I know are now using Zoom and [Microsoft] Teams very comfortably," ACC vice president and chief legal officer Susanna McDonald said Monday in an interview. 

"I would say, as in-house counsel, I do not have any more security concerns with Zoom than I did with any vendor that we use for data and privacy," McDonald added. "All internet systems have a certain amount of risk. You have to use them appropriately and thoughtfully and mitigate those risks like any other system." 

More than 94% of respondents reported an increase in the use of videoconferencing. And nearly 70% of the survey participants were using Microsoft Teams. Zoom was the second most popular app, followed by Skype for Business and Cisco Webex. 

Some in-house counsel participants recommended using videoconferencing to maintain work relationships, which can be weakened when employees are working remotely. They suggested having short "water cooler conversations" over video, rather than phone calls, to check in with colleagues and build camaraderie. 

Nearly all respondents reported that the remote working policy at their company had changed in response to the pandemic. But there was a nearly even split among in-house counsel who said the changes would be permanent and those who said their companies would revert to the old policy in a post-COVID-19 world. 

"They're just being much more flexible with how they manage their work-from-home policies than they have in the past," McDonald said. She noted, for instance, that employers might allow employees to have more flexible hours so they can look after their children during the day. 

Finally, about 41% of respondents said their organizations were rethinking office needs by reducing space or using flexible, co-working spaces. But more than 37% said they simply didn't know what might happen next with their office spaces. 

"I think we all really don't know," McDonald said. "We're guessing. But we are never really going to go back to where we were before." 

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