♫ The bells are ringing
The song they’re singing
The sound is bringing the people ’round
They hear the instructions
They follow directions…♫

Words and music by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, recorded by They Might be Giants

Tip from Thomas M. R. Irwin, a lawyer in North Saanich, BC, Canada:

Dear Dave:

Just a note of thanks for your feedback and info about an office move. On December 20 I closed my office in “downtown” Sidney and moved it to my home office in North Saanich (10 minutes away). My wife Gillian (who is my conveyancer) and I have been delighted with the move. Yes clients can actually find us at the end of a rural road and they actually seem to enjoy the extra 10 minute drive in the country to come and see us. I am enjoying making house calls to see elderly clients who used to walk over to my office in Sidney.

In your latest BarTalk acticle [editor’s note – I will add in the web link as soon as the BarTalk people take away the password requirement- sigh] about retirement you talked about the change in firm financial models with more of us wanting to work part time – I have the answer – electronic commuting, the part timers don’t need a full time office space at the firm – they can set up home offices, schedule office appointments for specific days that they come into the firm office. Dictation and document work as you know can all be done online/email. The Firm may even be able to downsize because they don’t need as much office space.

I think this is an excellent tip on how to downshift and move into a more flexible work schedule without the overhead of a full-time office constantly hanging over you. Courtesy of the Internet, more and more lawyers will be able to work at least part of the time from their home or other location, meeting the need to see clients at their places of business if necessary. In Tom’s case, the clients hear the instructions and follow directions to his home office!