It’s
back
to
school
season
again.
Crisp
air,
good
times
around
the
Quad,
and
rival
football
teams
being
crushed
under
the
weight
of
millions
of
dollars
in
NIL
funds.
And
for
Biglaw,
it’s
still
back
to
the
office
season,
as
firms
struggle
to
coax
midlevel
and
senior
lawyers
to
rejoin
the
soul-sucking
commute
so
they
can
help
guide
the
next
generation
of
young
lawyers.
If
only
there
were
a
way
to
combine
these
two
phenomena…
Well,
Seward
&
Kissel
gave
it
the
old
college
try.
Last
week,
partner
Steven
Nadel
once
again
took
up
the
mantle
of
“office
event
quarterback”
to
organize
the
firm’s
latest
office
morale
booster:
School
Spirit
Day.
This
time
it
involved
Yoo-hoo.
“Wear
school
stuff
from
nursery
through
grad
school
that
you
or
a
relative
attended,”
Nadel
told
the
firm.
Rather
than
let
the
day
pass
as
just
a
super-casual
Thursday,
the
festivities
included
an
afternoon
event
complete
with
school
favorite
snacks
and
juice
boxes.
As
if
nostalgia
didn’t
offer
enough
motivation
to
see
if
attorneys
could
still
fit
into
their
college
jersey
after
all
those
summer
associate
lunches,
Seward
&
Kissel
held
a
contest
to
determine
who
had
the
Most
School
Spirit.
So…
not
exactly
SEC
country.
Nostalgia
was
obviously
the
primary
selling
point,
and
on
multiple
levels.
On
the
surface
it’s
about
reliving
long
lost
school
daze
and
trolling
the
litigator
for
wearing
a
sweatshirt
from
that
rival
Cow
College.
But
what
made
this
a
clever
exercise
in
nostalgia
is
calling
forth
memories
of
team
camaraderie
and
the
spontaneous,
casual
interactions
around
campus
that
firms
keep
trying
to
rekindle
in
a
hybrid
work
environment.
“Make
the
Office
into
Campus
Again”
isn’t
an
official
initiative,
but
inviting
school
spirit
into
the
office
taps
into
some
of
the
unconscious
magic
lacking
in
many
firms
hoping
to
reinvigorate
post-lockdown
esprit
de
corps.
As
Seward
&
Kissel
have
proven
with
previous
events
like
building
the
record-breaking
miniature
golf
hole
and
hosting
therapy
dogs,
it’s
easier
to
create
an
office
that
people
want
to
visit
with
honey
than
vinegar.
Fostering
moments
that
people
actually
look
forward
to
—
and
people
they
want
to
see
—
can
get
people
under
the
same
roof
without
leaving
them
furiously
updating
resumes.
Plus
there’s
Yoo-hoo.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.