Fewer than one in ten UK lawyers want to return to working regular hours in the office, according to the findings of research reported in the Law Society Gazette of England and Wales.

The Gazette says that a report by Thomson Reuters found that 63% of lawyers were requesting flexible working arrangements in the wake of COVID-19, compared with 22% before the pandemic hit.

On average, lawyers would like to spend 2.1 days a week working remotely, the study found.

It also revealed that four in ten lawyers would like to impose boundaries on client contact, with almost a fifth wishing to avoid such contact at weekends. Just under a quarter now object to being contacted before 7am and after 11pm on weekdays.

Difficult decisions

The Gazette says that, with restrictions now largely lifted, and the instruction to work from home gone, firms face difficult decisions in the coming weeks and months about how to accommodate workers whose priorities and demands have changed during lockdown.

Many UK law firms have now introduced flexible working schemes allowing staff to work from home for part of the week.

Among the most lenient policies cited by the Gazette are those introduced by Irwin Mitchell, Mishcon de Reya and Womble Bond Dickinson, which do not impose a minimum number of days staff must attend the office each week.