Thanks to the general acceptance of remote working plus the relatively low cost of e-billing, practice management software and legal services support, the bar for attorneys looking to hang out a shingle for their own small practice may have never been lower. But whether that will generate an explosion of small firms across the legal landscape is less clear.

Some attorneys have already made the jump to small-practice ownership. Buoyed by clients who were supportive of remote work, Tomu Johnson, formerly of Parsons Behle & Latimer, recently launched his new privacy and data-centric firm, The Broad Axe, from the comfort of his Utah-based home in June. 

Instead of a billing department, he's using accounting software to help manage and send invoices. It's a practice he expects to see catch on among other lawyers who may have once been daunted by the startup costs—such as office space or an actual billing department—associated with launching a small firm.