--- title: "From Filing Cabinets to Superpowers: A Post-COVID Retrospective for Legal Teams" description: Discover how COVID-19 reshaped legal workflows, from digitization to AI, transforming in-house legal teams into agile, data-driven architects of change. image: https://blog.linksquares.com/hubfs/Img-4-1.png --- [Skip to content](https://blog.linksquares.com/post-covid-retrospective-legal-teams#main-content) [LinkSquares](https://blog.linksquares.com/) Open Mobile Menu [LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/) Close Mobile Menu [Why LinkSquares](https://linksquares.com/why-linksquares/) [Products](https://linksquares.com/products/) --- [The LinkSquares Cloud One platform for all your in-house legal needs](https://linksquares.com/products/linksquares-cloud/) --- Contract Lifecycle Management Create, review, manage and sign contracts Legal Project Management Centralize your work and keep projects moving Cross-product capabilities Get scalability, efficiency and connectivity LinkSquares Onboarding Experience A step by step guide to get started today --- [Solutions](https://linksquares.com/solutions/) [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) Resources Content [LinkSquares+ Content curated for in-house leaders](https://linksquares.com/plus/) [The Library](https://linksquares.com/library/) In the studio [Demo Library](https://linksquares.com/demo-library/) Community & Events [Customer Stories](https://linksquares.com/customers/) [Events & Webinars](https://linksquares.com/events/) Learning [Blog](https://blog.linksquares.com/) [In-House Insights](https://linksquares.com/inhouse-insights/) [Knowledge Base](https://help.linksquares.com/) [Events](https://linksquares.com/events/) [About Us](https://linksquares.com/about-us/) [Careers](https://linksquares.com/careers/) [Press](https://blog.linksquares.com/tag/linksquares-news-press) [Pricing](https://linksquares.com/pricing/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Contract Lifecycle Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Finalize Streamline your contract creation process](https://linksquares.com/products/finalize/) [Sign Get your contracts executed faster](https://linksquares.com/products/sign/) [Analyze Your post-signature analytics & repository](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/) [CLM Suite One platform to rule them all](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Legal Project Management](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Prioritize Manage, track, and report on legal work in one place](https://linksquares.com/products/prioritize/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [LinkAI Predictive and generative AI](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/ai/) [Integrations Connect the tools you love](https://linksquares.com/integrations/) [Reporting Improve your teams efficiency with KPIs](https://linksquares.com/products/analyze/features/dashboard/) [API Integrate with any third-party app](https://linksquares.com/integrations/linksquares-api/) [Request a demo](https://linksquares.com/demo-request/) Back Close Mobile Menu [Cross-product capabilities](https://linksquares.com/products/) [Onboarding We're here for you from day one](https://linksquares.com/onboarding-services/) [Services Short on time? 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It was early March 2020. Everyone was instructed to work remotely for the day, a relatively routine business continuity exercise to stress-test the work-from-home environment. My team didn’t think much of it, shifting meetings around to when we'd all be back in the office. I distinctly remember the hymn of the repetitive instant message saying, "Let's just review this in person tomorrow when we're back." Later that evening, the state of emergency notification came through. We weren't coming back tomorrow. And in hindsight, we never really did. What many of us thought was a business continuity exercise turned out to be something else entirely: a preview of the future. ## **The Sudden End of the Physical Workflow Elements** Before COVID, in-house legal workflows still had physical elements. E-signatures had existed for years, but wet signatures were still common and completely normal. A contract would get printed, reviewed, approved, and then walked over to the authorized signatory. It wasn't unusual. It was just how things worked. Then almost overnight, those workflows didn’t just stall, they became obsolete. The physical handoffs. The paper routing. The casual "let me just walk this over" collaboration—all of it disappeared. Leaving us to not just question when we’d return to it but why it ever really worked at all. We had to digitize, and quickly. E-signature went from convenience to absolute necessity. Physical files became impractical artifacts of another era (one I’d soon revisit). ![Img-1](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Img-1.png?width=795&height=445&name=Img-1.png) ## **Legal's Role Expanded Overnight** At the same time, the role of in-house legal began to shift. Before COVID, many legal teams operated in a reactive posture. Agreements came in, risks were assessed, issues were addressed. During the early pandemic months, legal departments found themselves helping design entirely new ways of working. Questions started appearing everywhere: - How do we operationalize remote work across the business to retain visibility? - What policies need updating? - How do we retain cross-functional collaboration when no one is in the same building? - What operational risks exist in a fully remote environment? ![Img-2](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Img-2.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Img-2.png) Legal teams weren't just reviewing the business anymore. We were helping reshape it. And for many of us, that shift from gatekeeper to architect was long overdue. ## **The Data Awakening** When everyone is working in the same office, the value of legal work is often seen simply through proximity. You're physically present, collaborating, walking down the hall to solve problems. When everyone is remote, that visibility changes. Legal teams (and me nearly daily at the outset) were asking the age old question: How do we demonstrate the value of the work we're doing (when people don't see us doing it)? The answer increasingly became **data**. Contract output. Negotiation timelines. Sales support metrics. Project tracking. Volume trends. The pandemic didn't create legal data, but it exposed an uncomfortable truth: many of us had been flying blind for years. Intuition was no longer enough; we needed proof in data and how to understand and leverage it. ## ![Img-3](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Img-3.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Img-3.png) ## **The Productivity and Location Paradox** One of the most interesting dynamics of remote work for me to witness and be a part of was how it affected productivity. On one hand, many people (myself included) found they could work more efficiently. Without the daily commute and constant office interruptions, focus time increased. But there was an antithesis: the "always on" problem. Laptops were always nearby. Slack and email migrated onto phones. The line between work and life became blurrier. Before the pandemic, leaving the office meant leaving work behind. Now my laptop can sit at my desk, or on the kitchen or coffee table moving fluidly as I do from room to room – a flexibility that sometimes toes the line of tether and freedom. ![Img-4-1](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Img-4-1.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Img-4-1.png) As organizations grappled with this new reality, a different realization began to emerge: maybe the real question wasn't where people were working from, or even when they were working. Maybe the real question was whether the work was getting done. Across many companies, office space gradually became optional rather than essential. For legal teams, that shift prompted new conversations about what efficient work and collaboration actually look like—and how to measure success based on outcomes rather than physical presence. ## **The Death of the Filing Cabinet** Speaking of office space, about a year and a half into the pandemic, my company at the time began shutting down its office space. Behind my desk sat filing cabinets filled with paper records—contracts, documents, and agreements stretching back years. I was tasked with revisiting and digitizing these *impractical artifacts of another era* so we could truly put an end to the filing cabinets. I’ll never forget how symbolic going through those cabinets truly was, because it was no longer about having a place for the filing cabinets. It was about having a place for the files, and that place wasn’t physical. Just success was no longer about physical office presence but measurable impact – a near perfect metaphor. ## **From Digitization to Augmentation** As legal teams continue evolving beyond the digitization inevitably caused by the pandemic, the next shift is well underway: **artificial intelligence**. If you’ve heard me speak or seen any of my LinkedIn posts, you know my favorite analogy: *AI is not here to replace lawyers. It’s here to give us superpowers.* ![Img-4](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Img-4.png?width=1920&height=1080&name=Img-4.png) Automation can streamline repetitive workflows. Integrated systems can create shared sources of truth across departments. AI-assisted tools can surface insights that once required hours of manual review. The result? Lawyers spend less time navigating administrative complexity and more time focusing on nuanced decisions that actually require legal expertise. A life preserver thrown to the “always on” legal mind heading to burnout. ## **Elevating the Normal** Six years ago, many organizations were focused on finding a "new normal." But the reality today is different. We're no longer simply adapting to a new environment. We're refining it. We're improving workflows. We're elevating collaboration. We're rethinking how legal teams operate inside modern organizations. We're not creating new normals anymore. We're improving and revolutionizing the ones we already have. The question is no longer *can legal teams evolve?* It’s *how fast can we go?* ![avatar](https://blog.linksquares.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ashley%20circle.png?width=290&name=ashley%20circle.png) #### [Ashley Jones](https://blog.linksquares.com/author/ashley-jones) Commercial Counsel LinkSquares ## Subscribe to the LinkSquares Blog Stay up to date on best practices for GCs and legal teams, current events, legal tech, and more. ## Related Articles ### [LinkSquares Team Jan 29, 2026 16 min read 5 Predictions for Contract Trends and CLM in 2026 LinkSquares gathered our own legal department leaders and put them on the record for their expectations for legal technology in ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/5-predictions-for-contract-trends-and-clm-in-2026) ### [Justin McGetrick Aug 13, 2025 19 min read The New Essential Metrics for Chief Legal Officers (CLOs) & their teams You don’t have to tell us the business value of legal teams… the LinkSquares platform has been objectively monitoring and ... Start Reading](https://blog.linksquares.com/legal-department-metrics-performance-guide-for-chief-legal-officers) ### [Justin McGetrick Jul 11, 2025 5 min read Why Contract Teams Fail to Innovate (And How to Fix It) Contract teams face mounting pressure to deliver faster results while maintaining accuracy and compliance. Yet many remain ... 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It was early March 2020. Everyone was instructed to work remotely for the day, a relatively routine business continuity exercise to stress-test the work-from-home environment. My team didn’t think much of it, shifting meetings around to when we'd all be back in the office. I distinctly remember the hymn of the repetitive instant message saying, \"Let's just review this in person tomorrow when we're back.\" Later that evening, the state of emergency notification came through. We weren't coming back tomorrow. And in hindsight, we never really did. What many of us thought was a business continuity exercise turned out to be something else entirely: a preview of the future. The Sudden End of the Physical Workflow Elements Before COVID, in-house legal workflows still had physical elements. E-signatures had existed for years, but wet signatures were still common and completely normal. A contract would get printed, reviewed, approved, and then walked over to the authorized signatory. It wasn't unusual. It was just how things worked. Then almost overnight, those workflows didn’t just stall, they became obsolete. The physical handoffs. The paper routing. The casual \"let me just walk this over\" collaboration—all of it disappeared. Leaving us to not just question when we’d return to it but why it ever really worked at all. We had to digitize, and quickly. E-signature went from convenience to absolute necessity. Physical files became impractical artifacts of another era (one I’d soon revisit). Legal's Role Expanded Overnight At the same time, the role of in-house legal began to shift. Before COVID, many legal teams operated in a reactive posture. Agreements came in, risks were assessed, issues were addressed. During the early pandemic months, legal departments found themselves helping design entirely new ways of working. Questions started appearing everywhere: How do we operationalize remote work across the business to retain visibility? What policies need updating? How do we retain cross-functional collaboration when no one is in the same building? What operational risks exist in a fully remote environment? Legal teams weren't just reviewing the business anymore. We were helping reshape it. And for many of us, that shift from gatekeeper to architect was long overdue. The Data Awakening When everyone is working in the same office, the value of legal work is often seen simply through proximity. You're physically present, collaborating, walking down the hall to solve problems. When everyone is remote, that visibility changes. Legal teams (and me nearly daily at the outset) were asking the age old question: How do we demonstrate the value of the work we're doing (when people don't see us doing it)? The answer increasingly became data. Contract output. Negotiation timelines. Sales support metrics. Project tracking. Volume trends. The pandemic didn't create legal data, but it exposed an uncomfortable truth: many of us had been flying blind for years. Intuition was no longer enough; we needed proof in data and how to understand and leverage it. The Productivity and Location Paradox One of the most interesting dynamics of remote work for me to witness and be a part of was how it affected productivity. On one hand, many people (myself included) found they could work more efficiently. Without the daily commute and constant office interruptions, focus time increased. But there was an antithesis: the \"always on\" problem. Laptops were always nearby. Slack and email migrated onto phones. The line between work and life became blurrier. Before the pandemic, leaving the office meant leaving work behind. Now my laptop can sit at my desk, or on the kitchen or coffee table moving fluidly as I do from room to room – a flexibility that sometimes toes the line of tether and freedom. As organizations grappled with this new reality, a different realization began to emerge: maybe the real question wasn't where people were working from, or even when they were working. Maybe the real question was whether the work was getting done. Across many companies, office space gradually became optional rather than essential. For legal teams, that shift prompted new conversations about what efficient work and collaboration actually look like—and how to measure success based on outcomes rather than physical presence. The Death of the Filing Cabinet Speaking of office space, about a year and a half into the pandemic, my company at the time began shutting down its office space. Behind my desk sat filing cabinets filled with paper records—contracts, documents, and agreements stretching back years. I was tasked with revisiting and digitizing these impractical artifacts of another era so we could truly put an end to the filing cabinets. I’ll never forget how symbolic going through those cabinets truly was, because it was no longer about having a place for the filing cabinets. It was about having a place for the files, and that place wasn’t physical. Just success was no longer about physical office presence but measurable impact – a near perfect metaphor. From Digitization to Augmentation As legal teams continue evolving beyond the digitization inevitably caused by the pandemic, the next shift is well underway: artificial intelligence. If you’ve heard me speak or seen any of my LinkedIn posts, you know my favorite analogy: AI is not here to replace lawyers. It’s here to give us superpowers. Automation can streamline repetitive workflows. Integrated systems can create shared sources of truth across departments. AI-assisted tools can surface insights that once required hours of manual review. The result? Lawyers spend less time navigating administrative complexity and more time focusing on nuanced decisions that actually require legal expertise. A life preserver thrown to the “always on” legal mind heading to burnout. Elevating the Normal Six years ago, many organizations were focused on finding a \"new normal.\" But the reality today is different. We're no longer simply adapting to a new environment. We're refining it. We're improving workflows. We're elevating collaboration. We're rethinking how legal teams operate inside modern organizations. We're not creating new normals anymore. We're improving and revolutionizing the ones we already have. The question is no longer can legal teams evolve? It’s how fast can we go?", "url" : "https://blog.linksquares.com/post-covid-retrospective-legal-teams", "wordCount" : "1924" } ```