Legal Work Performed Remotely Opens New Possibilities

As head of legal with Mattermost, Inc., Jamie Hurewitz enables corporate growth at an early-stage open-source file-sharing company. On her website allremotelegal.com, she explores facets of her profession, including “Why I am drawn to #distributed organizations.” As Jamie Hurewitz describes it, at the start of her career the accepted work strategy involved billing as many hours as possible, in hopes of impressing law firm partners and ultimately achieving partner status oneself.

At that time, only desk work in the office was permissible, as this demonstrated one’s commitment to the firm. Entering the corporate sphere, she found that there was still an “artificial requirement” for legal work to be accomplished in the office, though billable hours were not an issue. The micromanagement Ms. Hurewitz encountered ran counter to what she perceived as skills that elevated her utility to the company beyond that of a strictly monitored desk employee.

This was a particularly acute issue as a working mother, who had three children attending school, as well as a “very rambunctious pre-schooler.” She and her husband maintained busy schedules, of which required time in the office made up a disproportionate amount.

Since taking her first work-from-home corporate attorney position a few years ago, this has changed dramatically. Maintaining the same rigorous workload, she had gained schedule flexibility, which allows her to be a more involved parent and maintain a less stressful lifestyle. At the same time she describes gaining work efficiency and productivity, with this increased control over her own time. The work model she has attained is one that she seeks to actively promote and expand as an opportunity for others.