Law Firms in Australia Begin Opening Offices, but Remote Working May Win Out

Law firms in Australia are taking a cautious approach to asking their employees to return to the office, even as the prime minister urges people to go back to work.

Even in Western Australia, which has led the way in relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, many firms are holding back.

Holman Fenwick Willan returned to normal operations in Perth, the state’s capital, May 4, but other firms have been slower to move.

Ashurst encouraged staff to return to the Perth office beginning this week, but as of Wednesday only about half of the workforce had returned to that office.

Distancing measures in Ashurst’s Perth office include flexible office hours to allow staff to avoid traveling on public transport during peak times; continued use of virtual meetings; minimal use of meeting rooms and cleaning between meetings; and limits on the number of people in enclosed spaces, including offices and elevators.

Ashurst is planning similar phased returns to the office in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra over the next couple of months, but dates are not fixed, the firm said.

“No one is being forced to return to the office. Many people will continue to work from home or work in other flexible ways (for example with staggered starts or only coming in on some days) if they want to,” the firm said in a statement.

DLA Piper said in a statement that the “vast majority” of its staff continue to work remotely, but it is planning a phased return to work.

Staff will be able to begin a gradual, phased return to the Perth office at the end of the month, and staff in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will likely start returning to the office starting in mid-June.

“We anticipate most people will transition back to the office for a few days a week and continue to work from home for the rest of their working week for the foreseeable future,” the firm said.

It will stagger staff working hours to reduce the risk of crowding for those using public transport and delays caused by building entry rules.

Top-tier Australian corporate firm Corrs said it will continue to operate primarily on a remote basis, as it has been since March 18.

“Our remote working arrangements have proven to be very effective, and we intend to take a conservative approach to the use of our offices,” the firm said.

The firm said it wants to iron out some practicalities, such as restrictions on the use of elevators and the impact that may have on efficient working arrangements, before more staff return to the office.

Baker McKenzie said its planning is “well-advanced for a return to our offices in the near future” but that a return will depend on the readiness of its buildings and public transport networks and guidance provided by governments.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is urging Australians to get back to work, declaring earlier this month that the country had flattened the curve of daily new COVID-19 cases.

“But we now need to get a million Australians back to work. That is the curve we need to address,” he said.

Australia has had 7,080 COVID-19 cases, resulting in 100 deaths. There were 12 new cases reported Tuesday.

Some law firms emphasized that even when restrictions are lifted, flexible working arrangements and working from home will remain in place.

“We are proud of the resilience and productivity our workforce has shown during this crisis and we are exploring ways of building on this by encouraging continued flexible work patterns,” Ashurst said.

DLA Piper is encouraging staff to think about how they would like to continue to work remotely beyond the upcoming transition period.

“We expect and hope that our positive experience with remote working during the pandemic will result in more of our people working remotely more often in the future,” the firm said.