3 min read January 2023 —Invest: spoke with Donald Scarinci, managing partner at law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck, about the reasons behind its reduction of office space, its focus on the quality of life in the workplace and why it embraced a work from home modality. “The law firms that try new things will be the ones that you hear about in the next generation,” he said.
What have been some of the highlights over the last 12 months for your firm?
As we transitioned out of the pandemic, we sold our building in Lyndhurst, New Jersey and moved into new quarters that are half the size of what we were using. We have embraced work-from-home for attorneys. With our attorney workforce having that option, we didn’t need all the office space that we had been using prior to the pandemic. The new space is on the top floor of the Overlook building in Little Falls, New Jersey with views of Manhattan on one side and the hills of western New Jersey on the other side. We returned our support staff to work three days a week and they will return full time in April. The legal industry has changed dramatically during the pandemic and we have responded to those changes.
What is the future of law office space?
My colleagues in the legal industry have been less receptive than we have been to the notion of attorneys working from home. We chose to promote a more quality-of-life-based approach to the practice of law. People have worked from home for over two years and discovered that lawyers enjoyed spending more time with their children and families, with no sacrifice to the quality of work or billable hours. The courts have changed too. Courts have steadily moved paperless and new rules created the opportunity to use Zoom for trials and hearings. Overall, the use of technology creates serious cost savings for clients and it is more efficient for the courts and the lawyers.
What advice would you give to new lawyers who are entering the legal sector right now?
I would tell lawyers who interview with law firms to be more aggressive with their questions and be sure the law firms they consider are open to new ideas like working from home. Ask about mentorship and whether coaching is available for business development. Most importantly, ask about the law firm’s succession plan.
Nationwide, law firms are experiencing a generational divide every bit as severe as it was for America in the 1960s. Just as John F. Kennedy signaled the passing of the torch to our generation, today’s law firms and the seasoned, successful rainmakers who lead them must recognize that the torch must pass to the new generation. While some law firms are responding to this challenge, most are ignoring the issue and hoping it goes away.
I would tell new lawyers to beware of those law firms who suggest that “things will get back to normal.” Law firms who ignore the drumbeat of change in the legal industry will not likely survive over the next ten years.
What trends are impacting the legal sector this year?
We will likely be entering a recession, but law firms make money in a good or bad economy. Still, we have to be forward-thinking and prepare for that. Mergers and acquisitions remain a big focus moving forward, especially in infrastructure. Evictions and foreclosures will likely be on the rise. Insurance defense attorneys are suffering a bit due to the severe case backlogs, but now that will all change. Creditors’ rights will become a big focus area as well. Real estate will also see growth during the recession, but most growth will be in the redevelopment and residential sector. We are not seeing demand for office space but we are still seeing a lot of demand for warehouse space.
How is New Jersey placed to weather a recession?
New Jersey is impacted directly by New York and Philadelphia’s economies. It is a nice place to live for families and it is in the shadow of the big cities but still commutable. It had a boom during the pandemic because people were moving out of urban areas. Real estate prices went through the ceiling as people were paying over the asking price to buy a house. That was an unfortunate blip for young families and we expect a softening of the real estate market. The flight out of urban areas is already swinging back to a return to urban areas.
What is your analysis of the legal sector and your firm in the near term?
The pandemic was a catalyst for many changes in society and in the legal sector. There needs to be more of a dialogue among business leaders, community leaders and thought leaders on topics like diversity and work-life balance. The discussion cannot be dogmatic; it needs to be alive and organic so we can address these serious issues in a meaningful way. History will look at the pandemic in a very different way than those of us who lived through it. I hope that when the history of this era is written the successors to law firms led by my generation will commend our vision and our leadership as agents of change.
