Post-pandemic law firm staff realignment is accelerating, and firms aren’t just reducing the number of staff. They’re also looking to reduce the cost of each individual staff position, with less intention of bringing on assistants and secretaries who will stay for the long term.

The “rightsizing” of the number of administrative staff, as some have called it, was already taking shape before the pandemic. But many firms became more acutely aware that these roles were too numerous as remote working attorneys took on their tasks themselves. These duties have also been condensed into other existing roles—the new era of administrative work at law firms has taken several forms.