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Biglaw Firm Breaks With Trend, Requires Associates To Be In Office 5 Days A Week – Above the Law

Post-pandemic
(I
guess
I
should
specify
the
COVID
pandemic,
since
we
seem
to
be
gearing
up
for
the
next
(avian
flu)
one),
Biglaw
firms
have
been
balancing
their
in-office
needs
with
those
of
associates.
Because,
while

associates
have
enjoyed

the
flexibility
of
working
from
home
in
a
hybrid
schedule,
firms
have
seen
a

dip
in
associates’
work
product

that
they
attribute
to
working
from
home.
So,
firms
are
trying
to
thread
the
needle,
launching

hybrid
work
schedules

that
generally
require
associates
to
be
in
the
office
three
to
four
days
a
week.
(Often

leaning
on
technology

and
levying

real
consequences

to
ensure
compliance.)

But
Sullivan
&
Cromwell
is
bucking
that
trend.
The
firm
recently
announced
a
full-time
(five
days
a
week)
in-office
policy.

As
Reddit
user
lawschlthrowaway

notes
:

S&C
moves
to
full
RTO,
lawyers
expected
to
be
in
office
5x
a
week
Other
details
of
the
new
policy:

-Remote
work
generally
only
permitted
if
an
associate
is
eligible
to
adopt
a
flexible-time
schedule

-Managing
partner
approval
is
needed
for
remote
work
arrangements.
Max
of
1x
per
week
for
a
maximum
of
6
months.

-Junior
lawyers
“generally
will
not
be
authorized
to
work
remotely”

-Compensation
and
vacation
time
will
be
docked
if
you
work
a
number
of
client
hours
less
than
a
full-time
schedule
while
working
remotely

Even
though
other
firms
have
been
successful
with

the
honey
over
vinegar

method
of
getting
folks
back
to
the
office,
S&C
seems
to
be
going
full
hog
with
the
command
and
control
approach.
As
a
tipster
told
Above
the
Law,
“Associates
are
furious,
many
are
looking
into
quitting.
Morale
could
not
be
worse.”

What’s
your
firm
doing
about
office
attendance?
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;
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post
complete
memos
as
a
service
to
our
readers.
You
can
take
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of
the
memo
and
attach
as
a
picture
if
you
are
worried
about
metadata
in
a
PDF
or
Word
file.
Thanks.




Kathryn Rubino HeadshotKathryn
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].