Flexible Face Time: A New Approach to the Same Objectives

The return to the office for some lawyers should not mean that those who prefer working remotely are unable to build relationships or develop networking skills.

The last two years have changed our concept of how and where we work. We proved that productivity is not reserved for the office. (Who else appreciates the 10-minute status conference via telephone rather than waiting in a court room for hours for your case to be called?) We discovered that videoconferencing is pretty easy. (“I’m not a cat!”) And we realized (or reminded ourselves) that our time is precious, and we are more astutely aware of the fine balance between work and home life.

Whether you’re back at the office, working from home, or somewhere in between, face time is still important to your work relationships and career progression. I’ll get to the “why” in a minute, but, first, we should break down the misconceptions that face time has to mean spending seemingly pointless hours at the office and that if you are passively present, face time will have some impact on your career. Let’s make face time work for us, not put us at the mercy of happenstance. 

How Can We Reformulate Face Time at Work?

Traditionally, face time meant that an associate would spend long hours at the office (arriving before the partner or leaving after the partner, if not both) to show that by physically being present in the office, he or she is a hard worker. Being passively available was also thought to be the way to get assignments from partners, who presumably operated on an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. This narrative ignores our agency and ability to advocate for ourselves and how we want our careers to progress. It also ignores the time constraints of working parents (recognizing that women still bear more responsibility for child care and rearing.).

Instead, we should think of face time as an active effort to connect with someone. What can you do to build the work life and career you want rather than leave your trajectory at the mercy of someone else’s likely imperfect observational skills?

If you go into the office, whether once a week or every day, don’t just hope that the light in your office will cause a partner to stop by. Be efficient with the (potentially limited) time you have in the office and go talk to your colleague. The benefit of being in the office is that you can have impromptu conversations that may not warrant a telephone call or email. You can see if your colleague is busy or read the physical cues when the conversation needs to wrap up. For those who prefer scheduled meetings but don’t want to go into the office every day or all day, strategically schedule your meetings for the day and hours you plan to be in the office.

If you are fully remote, it may be harder to know when someone is available for a quick call or just to informally check in. If you’re worried about interrupting someone, send a text message in advance of your call to see if your colleague is free. Scheduling a regular 15- to 30-minute meeting for checking in can alleviate some of the anxiety of not wanting to catch someone at a bad time. You ensure that you are both free and that the topic of conversation may be varied, sometimes focusing on cases and sometimes just checking in and talking as humans. For people you don’t know very well but would like to get to know better, invite them to have a remote coffee break with you in a videoconference. If you’re looking for a conversation starter, keep up to date on recent court decisions of interest and send an email to start a conversation that can be transitioned to a phone call or videoconference. Research virtual conferences that you and a colleague can attend and then discuss. Basically, get creative with when and how you are reaching out to your colleagues to be visible and build connections. Just make sure you are reaching out.

Why Spend More Time Connecting with Colleagues?

While some people found the time to make sourdough bread and binge-watch Tiger King, for many, the pandemic has meant juggling child care while trying to work, longer or never-ending workdays, and burnout. Given the latter, it is totally reasonable to balk at the idea of adding one more thing to your plate that (a) isn’t billable and (b) doesn’t seem to have immediate or measurable cost benefits. When you’re already giving your firm x number of billable hours a year, it’s easy to scoff at spending more time with colleagues that can’t be billed. When you get to spend that hour you would have previously spent commuting or on billable work (or sleep), it’s easy to question the rationale for going into the office for the sake of it or putting yourself out there to ask for a virtual coffee break or regular check-ins. But there are real benefits to you and your career by making time for in-person or virtual face time with your colleagues . . . and it doesn’t have to be because you want to be a partner one day.

1. Communicate better. Use face time to improve your working relationships by helping you and your colleagues understand each other. As litigators, we are trained to overthink things. Is the partner’s email short because she’s unhappy with my work product, or is she just busy and needs to get to the point quickly? Is the associate’s email long-winded because she is not confident in her advice, or is she just providing additional details so that the partner will be fully prepared for the client meeting? We spend a lot of time communicating by email these days (as anyone who deals with electronically stored information knows). But written words can take on different meanings when you don’t have much of an in-person or verbal relationship with the other person. By having regular face time, we get to know each other’s idiosyncrasies better. There may be fewer miscommunications because we understand how the person on the other side of the email would be saying what she has written. Spending less time wondering what your colleagues mean in their emails will reduce stress, make communications more efficient, and help you do your job better.
2. Guide the type of work assigned. Use face time to get the assignments you want if you are a junior associate. If you have a billable requirement, you need a consistent flow of work from partners or senior associates. Your firm may have a system for assigning work based on perceived availability, so quantity of hours may not be as much of a concern. However, you will inevitably develop preferences for a particular partner’s work style or the types of cases or clients on which that partner focuses. Making an effort to have face time with the partners or associates with whom you want to work will keep you front of mind when the work you want to do comes in. By having regular check-ins, you will know about interesting cases that may give you a leg up in volunteering for more meaty, interesting assignments. Being in the know and having those connections may also give you more control over the work you do and with whom you do it.
3. Demonstrate that you value your colleagues. Use face time to retain talented female litigators. If you are a partner or senior associate, you should take the initiative to make sure that your juniors know they are a part of a team and that you value them. There are obviously a lot of factors that go into an attorney’s decision to leave a particular firm or organization. Where all things are relatively equal, personalities and relationships can tip the scale. At a minimum, taking time to check in with your colleagues is a small action you can take to maintain a positive working relationship.
4. Identify and cultivate allies, mentors, and sponsors. Use face time to develop meaningful ally, mentor, and sponsor relationships. An ally is someone who supports you and helps you achieve your goals. A mentor is someone who advises you. A sponsor is someone who brings you to the table and goes to bat for you with those who have the power to affect the path of your career. While sponsors and mentors are usually more senior and have more experience, an ally can be at a similar stage in his or her career. Finding someone who will be your ally, mentor, or sponsor takes time both to identify and to develop. Having face-to-face conversations, whether in person or by videoconference, helps you find the right person, someone with whom you gel. Scheduling regular videoconferences gives you time to develop a relationship from which someone may become invested in your success.
5. Explore other practices. Use face time to learn about other practice areas that may speak to you. Maybe you have been assigned to a practice group or certain types of cases and you are wondering what else is out there that might be a better fit. Or maybe you like the cases you have been working on but enjoy learning about other areas of law. Asking your colleagues about their practice is one of the easiest and natural conversation starters. You may find that it sparks an interest you didn’t know you had. If you develop relationship with colleagues, they may be able to give you the opportunity to work with them so you can explore whether you want to change practices.
6. Develop your career internally. Use face time to further your brand and others’ recognition of you when partnership is being considered. There are objective metrics for promotions and partnership, but there are also subjective metrics that may just come down to “Do we like her?” or “Is she a team player?” By building relationships through face time, you help answer those questions and make your path to promotion and partnership a little easier.
7. Foster future career opportunities. Use face time to make connections that may lead to opportunities that you hadn’t considered. Most lawyers change firms or organization several times in their careers. You don’t have to be actively looking to move to make connections that may help you with your next move down the road. For example, a colleague whom you’ve spent time getting to know goes in-house and eventually wants you to join her. Or a coworker gives you the support and confidence you need to take the leap and hang your own shingle. Or a teammate puts you in contact with her friend at another firm whose practice more aligns with your interests and career goals. The possibilities are endless.

While the benefits and opportunities of face time remain, we should use the lessons from working during the pandemic to reshape how and where we connect with colleagues so we can take an active role in our career trajectory in the way that fits our new normal.