For the lawyers, staying in their office instead of going to a certain jurisdiction to file a motion – a simple task that often takes only a few minutes – means being able to spend their working hours more efficiently.

Henderson believes that some of these workplace changes will become permanent mainly because defendants are “funded by insurance companies [that] are trying to cut costs” by reducing their payments for lawyers’ travel time or mileage. For procedural motions, virtual appearance is “simply easier for all parties involved. It saves judicial resources and ultimately becomes an access to justice issue”.

Regarding the hybrid work model at Oatley Vigmond, he said that the firm had invested significantly in technology prior to the pandemic, so their team was able to immediately adapt to a virtual work environment.

“And now we are in a position where there are people that work primarily from the office but also with the flexibility to work from home on occasion, which seems to be satisfying not only our desire to have the work completed, but also the desire to ensure staff have a work-life balance and the flexibility to do their work [as it] suits them but also suits us as a firm,” he explained.

To support clients on the path to recovery, Oatley Vigmond employs non-legal resources, which include a network that can help people “[have] the treatment they need when they need it and where they need it”.