The pandemic has shifted power away from law firms and toward their lawyers, giving individual partners and associates more autonomy.

From flexible work arrangements to associate pay and the thriving lateral market, individual lawyers appear to have gained significant leverage over management since COVID-19 shut down much of the economy last March, analysts say. And some of that has manifested in the announcements related to office-return dates and remote working policies, as well as special bonuses, signing and retention bonuses and increased associate salaries.