Like
many
Biglaw
firms,
WilmerHale
is
attempting
to
balance
the
flexibility
of
working
from
home
with
the
firm’s
in-office
needs.
Associates
have
enjoyed
the
ability
to
bill
their
hours
bedecked
in
their
finest
athleisure
from
the
privacy
of
their
own
home,
but
firms
are
seeing
a
dip
in
associates’
work
product
that
they
attribute
to
not
logging
enough
hours
in
the
office.
So,
firms
are
trying
to
thread
the
needle,
launching
hybrid
work
schedules.
Since
2021,
at
WilmerHale
that
means
three
in-office
days
(of
the
associate’s
choosing).
But
in
the
beginning
of
2024,
the
firm
let
associates
know
that
“record
of
their
compliance”
with
the
in-office
mandate
would
“be
taken
into
consideration
in
future
assessments
of
[their]
performance,
which
could
include,
for
example,
advancement
and/or
bonus
determinations.”
Now
the
rubber
has
hit
the
road,
and
associates
“significantly
out
of
compliance”
with
the
office
attendance
policy
are
hurting
in
their
wallets
—
to
the
tune
of
25%
of
their
bonuses.
From
a
tipster:
WilmerHale
just
sent
emails
to
associates
who
were
“significantly
out
of
compliance”
with
the
firm’s
in-office
work
policy
telling
them
that
their
bonuses
would
be
reduced
by
25%.
This
is
the
first
time
associates
have
been
told
definitively
that
their
bonuses
would
be
reduced
for
non-compliance
with
the
policy,
and
the
first
time
any
figure–let
alone
25%–was
mentioned.
Above
the
Law
reached
out
to
WilmerHale
for
comment,
but
did
not
immediately
hear
back.
It
really
stinks
for
associates
to
find
that
such
a
sizable
chunk
is
being
taken
out
of
their
bonuses.
WilmerHale
isn’t
the
only
firm
to
get
serious
about
coming
into
the
office,
but
such
punitive
measures
are
far
from
the
industry
standard.
Above
the
Law
will
continue
to
monitor
how
in-office
policies
are
being
handled
in
the
Biglaw
trenches.
As
soon
as
you
find
out
about
office
attendance
plans
at
your
firm,
please email
us (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Office
Attendance”)
or
text
us
at
(646)
820-8477.
We
always
keep
our
sources
on
stories
anonymous.
There’s
no
need
to
send
a
memo
(if
one
exists)
using
your
firm
email
account;
your
personal
email
account
is
fine.
If
a
memo
has
been
circulated,
please
be
sure
to
include
it
as
proof;
we
like
to
post
complete
memos
as
a
service
to
our
readers.
You
can
take
a
photo
of
the
memo
and
attach
as
a
picture
if
you
are
worried
about
metadata
in
a
PDF
or
Word
file.
Thanks.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].
