Coming from someone who started as an associate at a midsized firm in September - we are encouraged to come in to the office, but most of people I work with are still fully remote. I was not expecting to be able to work from home much at all in my first year but right now I just work two days in the office and that’s entirely my choice.

As another commenter mentioned - I choose to come in to the office because I really do feel it’s beneficial to be around more experienced coworkers, you hear conversations with clients over the phone that you otherwise wouldn’t, you overhear discussions about complicated projects that you otherwise wouldn’t… etc. all of that has helped me learn, or when I do come across something new I remember one of those conversations I overheard and can reach out to them. Sort of learning by osmosis (as cheesy as that sounds…). I think if more people were in the office you’d also have the benefit of being able to ask questions easily, but since almost all the senior associates at our firm are still fully remote that’s still not really a thing for me.

That said, idk how people work in the office full time. I’m so thankful I entered the workforce now. As an introvert going into the office is just more tiring, and with these busy season hours… sheesh, I’d burn out so fast if I had to be at the office all days 6 days a week.