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It was just yesterday that Reed Smith announced that in light of the pandemic, its employees would be working remotely until at least January 2021. At the time, noting that Reed Smith was the first firm we knew of to announce it would remain remote for the rest of 2020, we wondered whether policies like this would become a trend among Biglaw firms.
As it turns out, another Am Law firm had already quietly announced a similar policy.
Schulte Roth & Zabel — which brought in $465,177,000 in gross revenue in 2019, putting in in 84th place in the Am Law 100 rankings — informed its employees on August 19 that the firm would be maintaining its remote work policy until at least January 1, 2021. Here’s an excerpt from the memo (available in full on the next page):
SRZ transitioned remarkably well to working remotely and we as a Firm are working effectively together to serve our clients and grow our business. However, as the pandemic continues the challenges continue. Many of our people are facing significant logistical issues. Parents with school-age children are navigating new schedules along with uncertainty as to how the coming weeks and months will unfold. People with elderly parents or other relatives needing care are facing new challenges created by Covid. Housing is presenting challenges for other people.
We have taken these circumstances into consideration, as well as the concerns of many people about their personal and family health circumstances. We have also consulted with our medical expert and our internal task forces. Based on all of this, the Executive Committee has decided that no one at the Firm will be expected to be in the office until January 1, 2021 at the earliest.
If you recall, Schulte Roth is a firm whose leadership made assurances there were no plans for furloughs or layoffs, and stayed true to that commitment to employees. We do not believe that SRZ made any salary cuts during the height of the coronavirus crisis. Associates describe the firm as having been “very supportive during a difficult time,” and this announcement — taking family and housing matters into account — furthers that sentiment even more. Kudos to the firm for its kindness.
Will your law firm follow in Schulte Roth’s footsteps? Please get in touch with us via email or text — tips@abovethelaw.com or (646) 820-8477) — and let us know.
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.