Biglaw Coronavirus Policy Tracker: Which Firms Will Let Lawyers Work From Home?
Law firms must come to their senses and offer work-from-home solutions to protect their employees.
The rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic across the globe has impacted virtually every facet of life. The times we live in are now uncertain, and nothing is normal anymore. The stock market has tanked, sports seasons have been canceled outright, the lights have gone out on Broadway, school districts have closed, entire countries have been put on lockdown, states of emergency have been declared, and people are waging wars over toilet paper in supermarket aisles.
In order to contain the community spread of COVID-19, many law schools have shuttered for semesters at a time, moving to online learning platforms to spare their students from potentially contracting the virus. Some Biglaw firms have decided to do the same, offering their employees opportunities to work from home in an effort to protect the health and wellness of their most valuable assets.
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Just as we’ve done in the past when it comes to raises and bonuses, we are compiling a table of all the firms that have announced coronavirus policies that will benefit their employees, who those policies apply to (lawyers and staff or only lawyers), and the markets where those policies are in effect. Today, we unveil that table for your viewing pleasure. We will be updating this table on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times, as news on these policies is announced. If you see any information here that is incorrect or needs clarification, let us know.
Help us help you. Let us know what your firm is doing to take care of all of its employees during this unprecedented moment in time.
As a little reminder, we love covering the Biglaw news, but we need your help. As soon as your firm’s coronavirus policy memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Coronavirus Response”). We always keep our sources on stories anonymous. There’s no need to send the memo using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. Please be sure to include the memo 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.
Firm | Offices | Who Is Covered? | Policy |
Alston & Bird | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH policy starting 3/12, lasting through 3/31 (“[n]o one … should feel pressure to do anything other than work remotely”); skeleton crew available at office sites |
Baker Botts | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH policy starting 3/13 |
BakerHostetler | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting on 3/17; supervisor must be notified of plans; Seattle, WA office closing for one week |
Baker McKenzie | All US & Canada Offices | All Employees | All US and Canada offices will close; mandatory WFH lasting until at least 3/31 |
Brown Rudnick | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/16, lasting until further notice |
Cleary Gottlieb | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting on 3/16 |
Clifford Chance | All US Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH policy starting 3/16, until further notice |
Cozen O’Connor | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting 3/16, lasting through 3/27 |
Cravath | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/16 |
Davis Wright Tremaine | All US Offices Portland, OR Office Closed Bellvue, WA Office Closed Seattle, WA Office Closed |
All Employees | Mandatory WFH policy starting 3/16 |
Dechert | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH policy starting 3/13, until further notice |
Dickinson Wright | All Offices | All Employees | Firm is closing all 18 of its physical locations; mandatory WFH, starting 3/17 for New York, NY; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; and Toronto, Canada; Mandatory WFH, starting 3/18 for all other US offices and Mexico; all lasting until further notice |
DLA Piper | All Offices | All Employees | |
Eversheds Sutherland | All US, UK, Continental Europe, and Middle East Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH for “next several weeks”; “core support team” will still be on site at each office location |
Faegre Drinker | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH on 3/10; all offices reopened 3/11 except DC; Mandatory WFH for all offices starting 3/13, lasting through 3/31 |
Ford O’Brien | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH until further notice |
Fried Frank | All Offices | All Employees | De facto mandatory WFH policy starting 3/12, lasting through 3/31; chairman announced he’d be working from home |
Goodwin Procter | Boston, MA Office | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting 3/16 |
Gunderson | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH, with some offices starting as early as 3/12 |
Haynes & Boone | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/16, lasting through 3/30; offices remain open with minimal staffing needed to support operations |
Hogan Lovells | All US Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH with “strong preference” to remain at home; core essential services will remain staffed in each office; San Francisco, CA and Silicon Valley, CA offices closed completely per “shelter in place” directive |
Holland & Knight | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting on 3/16; very limited number of staff members will continue work in offices |
Jayaram Law | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH, lasting until further notice |
Jones Day | Washington, DC | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting on 3/17; supervisor must be notified of plans |
Katten | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/17, lasting for the indefinite future; no on-site support for any attorney who must access any office |
King & Spalding | All Offices | All Employees | Temporary voluntary WFH policy starting 3/16, lasting through 3/29; policy could be extended |
K&L Gates | Pittsburgh, PA | All Employees | Voluntary WFH policy starting 3/14 if high risk, experiencing cold/flu-like symptoms, or have child-care obligations that have been disrupted; must inform supervisor |
Littler Mendelson | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH, starting 3/17 for New York, NY; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Seattle, WA; and Toronto, Canada; Mandatory WFH, starting 3/18 for all other US offices and Mexico; all lasting until further notice |
Lowenstein Sandler | All Offices | All Employees | “Strongly urged” voluntary WFH for all starting 3/16; some skeleton staff to work on-site on rotating basis to keep operations going |
Mayer Brown | US Offices, followed by UK/EU | All Employees | Lawyers and staff will be on a team-based, daily rotation system between office appearances and WFH |
McDermott | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH, lasting until at least 3/29 |
Mintz | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH policy starting 3/16, lasting through 3/27; legal assistants given paid time off |
Morgan Lewis | All Offices | All Employees | |
Orrick | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/16; administrative skeletal crew to work in office |
Paul Hastings | New York, NY Office Closed Los Angeles, CA |
All Employees | Mandatory WFH for NY office lasting through at least 3/27; WFH “strongly encouraged” for LA office lasting through at least 3/27 |
Pillsbury | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting 3/16, lasting until further notice |
Proskauer | All Offices | All Employees | “Strongly encouraged” voluntary WFH starting 3/16 “unless you absolutely need to be in the office” |
Quarles & Brady | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH starting 3/15, lasting through “at least” 4/5; rotating in-office schedule for administrative staff in Chicago and DC offices; additional 10 days of PTO for employees unable to work due to quarantine, lack of transportation, Covid-19 recovery, taking care of school children |
Quinn Emanuel | New York, NY | All Employees | Mandatory WFH from 3/9 to 3/13; unknown if this has been extended |
Reed Smith | US & EME Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/13; policy to last several weeks or longer |
Ropes & Gray | All Offices | All Employees | “Strongly” suggests everyone WFH, indefinitely |
Schiff Hardin | All Offices | Majority of All Employees | Mandatory WFH policy starting 3/16, lasting through 3/27; all offices will remain open for “essential business support functions” |
Sheppard Mullin | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH starting 3/16, lasting until at least 3/31 |
Sherman & Howard | All Offices | All Employees | Mandatory WFH |
Sidley Austin | All US Offices | All Lawyers (with alternate plan for staff) | Lawyers WFH starting 3/16, lasting through 3/27; staff will be divided into two groups, and switch between working in office and WFH |
Skadden | All Offices | All Employees | WFH policy starting 3/16; must inform supervisor of plans |
Steptoe & Johnson | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH, lasting until further notice |
Sullivan & Cromwell | All Offices | All Lawyers (with alternate plan for staff) | Voluntary WFH policy starting 3/13; legal secretaries in “certain locations” may switch weekly between working in office and WFH |
Weil Gotshal | All Offices | All Employees | |
WilmerHale | All Offices | All Employees | Voluntary WFH policy starting 3/13; offices will remain open with “essential services” on staff |
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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.