Biglaw, Secretaries / Administrative Assistants

Wachtell Lipton Goes 'Big Brother' On Its Lawyers

Would you want such a program in place at your law firm?

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I’ve previously praised my former firm, Wachtell Lipton, as a workplace. Yes, the hours are brutal. But in exchange, you get great experience, work with brilliant people on headline-making cases, and get paid very, very handsomely.

Another thing I liked about WLRK: the firm treated you like an adult. Wachtell’s general philosophy: hire smart, responsible people and make them as comfortable as possible while working, so they can get the best job done for the client.

Here are some examples of the firm ethos. The firm was pretty liberal about expenses. It allowed you to use personal email in the office (and still does, as far as I know). Like Google or Bloomberg, it stocked the pantries full of food. And, most famously, the firm did not have — and, as far as I know, still does not have — a formal billable-hours requirement. In short, the firm trusted its people to work hard and to refrain from abusing the system (e.g., by submitting false expenses, slacking off on work, or raiding the pantries to take food home).

Are times changing at 51 West 52nd Street? A tipster tells us:

WLRK is implementing a monitoring / tracking system for its employees. It’s not clear what the ultimate purpose of this system is, but it seems aimed at discouraging associates from working from home and encouraging associates to spend even more time in the office. This comes at a time when associates are on pace to bill more than 2700 hours this year. One of the benefits of WLRK used to be that you could step out of the office for a doctor’s appointment as needed or work from home after a late night without having to hold yourself accountable to anyone. Now WLRK will be tracking our every movement.

We’ve posted the full memo on the next page. Here’s the key language:

As a result [of the growth of the firm in lawyers and space], we are piloting an attorney status program on the [nth] floor and, subject to any refinements, it will be implemented firm wide in September. Starting next week, each assistant on the [nth] floor will have an icon on his or her computer and will be required to input the status/location of their assigned attorneys each morning. The icon will include a variety of options, such as “in the office,” “working from home,” “traveling on business,” “leave of absence” and “vacation or other time off.” If a lawyer’s status changes during the day, the assistant will update the system (i.e., if someone is working from home in the morning and is in the office in the afternoon).

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We reached out to former and current Wachtell Lipton lawyers, who all expressed opposition to — and surprise at — the “attorney status program.” We understand it has been announced to lawyers on the 30th and 32nd floors so far. Not one of our sources expressed support for this initiative.

Here’s the reaction of one former WLRK lawyer (upon learning of the program launching on the 30th floor):

Holy s**t that would scare me. As you probably know, the 30th floor is the crucible — [co-chairman Dan] Neff is in the corner, and being close to him is for those who want to gun for partner and who are not faint of heart.

Actually, Neff now sits on 32 — but 32 got the memo as well.

We reached out to Wachtell Lipton for comment. The firm did not respond (which is its general approach to media inquiries).

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Note that the memo speaks of “piloting” the program. Perhaps it can be stopped if enough WLRK lawyers speak out against it.

Wachtell Lipton lawyers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your digital chains.

P.S. We are a little behind in our coverage of Wachtell Lipton year-end bonuses. If you can tell us what they’ve been like in recent years, please email us or text us (646-820-8477). Thanks.

UPDATE (8/20/2015, 9:00 p.m.): Here are some reactions to the news, from Vivia Chen of The Careerist and from several experts contacted by Bloomberg Big Law Business.

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