Associates want to RTO

Score one for the office. New job posting numbers confirm remote work is losing ground, and plot twist: associates are cheering as loud as firm management. Elsewhere this issue: you aren’t the only one asking how much AI is actually worth, a podcast that may help you answer that question and a look at why legal billboards are suddenly everywhere.

But first, Just Security is publishing a collection of essays reflecting on the long-term legal impact of 9/11. And this law review article on the ways lawyers helped immediately after the attacks is always worth a read.

The law that won’t die. 
Hadley Vlahos is best known as the internet’s favorite hospice nurse, but she’s also become an advocate for the swift and merciful death of Mississippi’s fault-based divorce law. 

Are Trader Joe’s uncrustable dupes too good? 
A judge is allowing Smucker’s lawsuit against the popular grocery store chain to proceed. Wirecutter says they are nothing alike, but we want to hear from the real PB&J experts: NFL players. 

Help wanted.
The Law Library of Congress is looking for volunteers who can transcribe Spanish, Latin or Catalan.

Fwd: re: re: re: re: oops
It turns out forwarding the other side an email chain that calls the judge dumb is not ideal. (Calling the plaintiff “poop man” is also bad.)

What we’re watching.
Gal Gadot’s worst-reviewed work since the ill-conceived “Imagine” video released in 2020 is a new legal thriller called “The Runner”. 

Legal clients aren't forgiving of missed calls in 2026, which is why a modern phone system like RingCentral is so important. The system offers:

Stay available for your current and future clients with RingCentral.

Commuting isn’t anyone’s idea of a good time, but legal job postings suggest attorneys are once again hitting the road. At Hire an Esquire, 55% of the firms they work with have fully on-site teams, 35% are hybrid and just 10% are completely remote. The legal job search company claims employees (and more junior ones in particular) want at least some in-office time so they can build their skill set, network and find mentors. 

Why this matters: There’s also a mental health component to this. The article cites research that says “people who work remotely may take more visits to mental health providers, use more prescription psychiatric meds, and experience more emotional distress than their in-office counterparts.” (Hire an Esquire)

In response to a Financial Times article (which is paywalled, but you can get the gist of it in here from the NY Post) on the financial industry’s demand for discounted legal work, Stephanie Goutos, the chief artificial intelligence officer at Littler Mendelson, penned a thought-provoking piece on measuring the value of AI. She argues it’s not possible to simply multiply minutes saved by an hourly rate.

Why this matters: According to Goutos, “figuring out the economics of AI may matter almost as much as figuring out what the technology can actually do.” (Financial Times / NY Post / Stephanie’s Weekly AI Bites)

ILTACON (the annual conference of the International Legal Technology Association) just wrapped up. The ABA Journal and Thomson Reuters both wrote recaps of the on-site action (TLDR: this year the focus was less on “shiny new products” and more on “how this works with other products you know and love,” and you can measure its success.)

If you want to keep up with what’s going on in the world of legal tech between CONs, ILTA Voices is worth a listen. The episodes focus on hot topics, practical tech tips, interviews with industry leaders and career advice in turn.

Why this matters: The only thing they are selling on this podcast is the value of ILTA membership, so it’s a great place to go for unvarnished opinions on various products and tech trends. (The ABA Journal / Thomson Reuters / ILTA Voices)

It’s not your imagination; there are more attorney billboards along the highway than ever before. Legal advertisers spent an estimated $650 million on outdoor advertising in 2025, double what they spent in 2021 and 260% more than they spent in 2017. This article from Mental Floss tries to figure out why. The conclusion? The COVID pandemic opened up ad space, and personal injury firms had cash to spend thanks to increasing case volume and award sizes. Pretty soon it just seemed like the thing to do.

Why this matters: Billboard ads may be booming, but that doesn’t mean every firm needs one. The piece notes that high-volume, heavy-advertising firms are sometimes viewed with suspicion. (Mental Floss)

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Raise the Bar is written and curated by Emily Kelchen, edited by Bianca Prieto.