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The big banks want their people back in the office, and that means that the law firms that service them want their lawyers back, too. Say it’s for mentorship, say it’ll benefit firm culture, say whatever you want, but what it boils down to is the fact that client cash rules everything around Biglaw firms — especially if those firms are based in New York City.
Many of Manhattan’s Am Law 100 firms — firms like Cadwalader; Davis Polk; Fried Frank; Milbank; Skadden; and Shearman & Sterling — have adopted on-site work requirements for associates that run from Tuesday through Thursday. But will that change in the future, thanks to what Biglaw’s biggest financial clients do? Here’s a little clue from Bloomberg Law:
“It wouldn’t shock me if law firms’ office attendance policies align more with those of their clients and in-office attendance requirements increase from where they are now,” said Neil Barr, chair and managing partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell. “But that’s more predictive for the industry than reflective of anything we’re thinking about right now.”
In the meantime, the rumors of stealth layoffs spreading throughout Biglaw may be more helpful than actual mandates when it comes to getting people to return to their firms in real life. “When associates start seeing their peers being laid off for performance reasons, they tend to double down on their work rather than look for another job,” Jennifer Coffey, a New York-based legal recruiter for Macrae, told Bloomberg.
Don’t worry, Biglaw isn’t heading to a full week in the office — at least, not yet. But when your job may depend on hours billed in the office, heading back for at least part of the week (or more) seems likes it’s going to be more and more unavoidable going forward.
Manhattan Law Firms Eye Wall Street’s Lead on Office Returns [Bloomberg Law]
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.
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