Embracing the potential of a more dispersed corporate legal department on an ongoing basis could help GCs find significant cost savings in the form of reduced travel and demand for office space. However, a more permanent shift toward remote working is not a decision that departments can afford to make lightly—and could even introduce some new costs into a company’s operating budget.

Still, many legal departments may only be starting to scratch the surface of what life on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic looks like. Heather Fine, a partner with Major, Lindsey & Africa noted that it could be a few months before GCs begin laying a foundation for what comes next, but she does believe that change is coming.