Introduction

“The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Some of you probably recognize this as the title track of Bob Dylan’s 1964 album of the same name. Well, at the risk of an obvious observation, the times continue to change, and we all are in the middle of it. This issue of Trust the Leaders 2.0 tries to capture some of the impacts of that change.

We start off with an article from one of our clients, The Adecco Group – a leader in human resources solutions. This article focuses on the need for employers to balance employees’ changed views of work with the imperatives of continuing to operate a business.

Next up, Matt Clarke and Sasha Greenberg of our Atlanta office discuss the importance of employers addressing the reality that, at least in some fashion and to some extent, remote working is here to stay. As the article notes, many employees are willing to accept such things as pay cuts, increased hours or reduced benefits, all for the option of being able to spend some portion of their work week operating from home.

Yash Dave and Ian Jones, of our Jacksonville office, take this theme a step further. Initially, work from home just meant that employees – all of whom were local – simply logged in from home rather than commuting to work. But “remote” increasingly means remote, to the point of working from a completely different state. This has important – and up until now, not really considered – impacts on how an employer manages its workforce. Lest you think that employment is the only area of change, a trio of our real estate experts – Jim Porter (JAX), Linda Koffman (LA) and Michael Manzi (NYC) – discuss how changes in the nature of work impact commercial real estate. As the article notes, the impacts are being felt by both building owners and their tenants. There are changes not just to whether or how much space is needed, but how that space is configured and how it is utilized.

What we all are experiencing is, of course, a worldwide phenomenon. To that end, Ben Graham-Evans of our UK office offers his thoughts on what is happening there. Touching on the broader point that how we interact with one another across the spectrum of our business relationships has changed, our firm’s Chief Marketing Officer, Lee Watts, lays out how we all can expect to reinvigorate our marketing and business development efforts as we move forward. Finally, the period since March 2020 has impacted us all on a personal level. Emily Ward of our Atlanta office provides a uniquely personal perspective on how she and her family have dealt with the changes. I am sure you will find this as uplifting as I did. And please visit Southern Belle!

The last 1-1/2 years have been, at the very least, difficult, and for some they have been heart-breakingly tragic. I hope that this edition of Trust the Leaders 2.0 provides some reassurance that there is a way forward, and that we all can and will get there together.

pcain@sgrlaw.com