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From salary cuts to furloughs to layoffs, the coronavirus crisis has hit the legal profession particularly hard. Unfortunately, during these unprecedented times, there is far more to worry about than hitting your billable hours. The health and wellness of loved ones — especially aging adults — is now more important than ever considering the toll that COVID-19 has taken on our elder population. Keenly aware of the added stress that caring for someone in this age group can cause, one Biglaw firm has added a new benefit to its already extensive benefits package alleviate some of those worries.
McDermott Will & Emery has partnered with Homethrive to offer all of the law firm’s U.S. employees fully covered family caregiver services. This new benefit will be available immediately. This benefit is being offered as part of the firm’s commitment to the American Bar Association’s Well-Being Pledge, a program that was first rolled out in 2018 to help lawyers in need. Homethrive will provide care guides who can offer coaching and concierge services to assist with the care of aging loved ones who live at home with MWE law firm employees. From the firm’s press release:
“As part of our ABA pledge, we are committed to providing wellness programs with a focus on mental health awareness and support to our lawyers, professional and administrative staff alike, especially during these uncertain times. We are happy to partner with Homethrive as an additional resource to an already robust benefits package that aids caregivers and their families,” said Alyona S. Richey, McDermott’s Benefits Director.
“We are delighted to be partnering with McDermott Will & Emery to help ease the burden of family caregiving that might be affecting their employees,” says Dave Jacobs, Co-founder & Co-CEO at Homethrive. “McDermott Will & Emery recognizes that especially now during the pandemic is a great time to invest in a family caregiving benefit as their employees may be worried about aging loved ones more than ever. The isolation and loneliness experienced by older adults also has the potential to significantly affect their caregivers working at McDermott Will & Emery and we commend the Firm for providing additional support to their employees during these challenging times.”
Kudos to McDermott Will & Emery for offering this important new benefit to its employees. This will really be of assistance to employees who were struggling with the responsibilities of caring for an aging loved one on top of all of their work.
McDermott Will & Emery Partners With Homethrive to Offer Employees Family Elder Care Benefit [PRWeb]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.