SHEPPARD MULLIN — MEMO RE: SALARY REDUCTION ROLLBACKS
Good afternoon. It was great to see you all at the Town Halls today. Ted and I want to highlight a few of the points we made.
The Firm continues to outperform the model we adopted at the outset of the pandemic. You all are doing an outstanding job serving our clients. It has been inspiring to see your commitment and loyalty to our clients while grappling with all of the personal challenges caused by the virus. Average hours last month were at budget, and we are seeing solid progress in the transactional practices that were especially hard hit when deal work slowed.
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Because of our strong performance the Executive Committee is reducing by half the COVID-related compensation adjustments for Associates, Special Counsel, Staff Attorneys, and Staff that began in May. The 5% and 10% reductions absorbed by some of our staff will become 2½% and 5%, and the 12% reductions incurred by our Associates and most of our Staff Attorneys and Special Counsel will be reduced to 6%. The changes will all be effective the payroll period starting August 31, 2020, paid on September 18, 2020.
The new percentage reductions are scheduled to stay in effect through the end of 2020. The Executive Committee will continue to monitor our performance each month, and depending on results and our view of the pandemic’s impact on the future, sooner adjustments may be possible. As stated at the time of the reductions, our Partners have pledged to take the greatest burden on compensation during this COVID-affected business cycle.
All of our secretaries except in Chicago and Washington, DC continue on the workshare program. This program generally has been operating efficiently and effectively. When we announced workshare in April, we projected it would go through the end of this calendar year, and that is still our intention. Please continue to work with your Office Administrators and DeAnna Ouderkirk to smooth out any workshare bumps in the road.
In April, we furloughed 51 staff members who were not needed in the offices and could not effectively do their jobs from home. Of the 51, two have returned to work. We continue to reassess the status of the 49 remaining on furlough and in the meantime continue to pay for their medical benefits.
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With school starting, many of you will find it even more challenging to meld working from home with taking care of your family. We know this is going to be tough. Please avail yourself of the resources provided by our Talent Management group and nurture lines of communication with each other and with the Partners with whom you work. Working together, we can maintain our focus, serve our clients and live vibrant personal lives.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Keep up the good work and take care,
Guy and Ted
Guy Halgren | Chairman
SheppardMullin | San Diego
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.