Biglaw

Top Biglaw Firm Sets Its Sights On A September 2021 Office Reopening

Are you ready to return to work this fall?

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Many Biglaw firms have remained mum on both their plans for COVID-19 vaccination and their eventual return to the office, but now one of the most successful firms in the country has announced a target date for their reopening, and it’s possible that other firms will follow in their footsteps.

Late last week, Ropes & Gray — a firm that brought in $1,903,616,000 gross revenue in 2019, putting it in 13th place in the most recent Am Law 100 rankings — issued a memo to attorneys and staff letting them know that permissive office usage will continue until Labor Day. Thereafter, “look[ing] ahead with great optimism as COVID-19 vaccines become more readily available,” it’s likely that everyone will be back to the office for business as usual.

Here’s an excerpt from chair Julie Jones’s memo (available in full on the next page):

We hope that sharing a more certain long-term plan now helps you address some of the logistic stress you and your families may experience as the seasons change and lead to new living, childcare and family obligations.

Even in advance of September 6th, as more members of the Ropes community are vaccinated and safety conditions improve, we hope you will find safe and creative ways to be together in person.   For example, we anticipate that many more of you will begin returning to our offices voluntarily well in advance of September 6th.   We think that you will find that being in the office will be a welcome change; it has been an energizing experience for many of us.

Ropes is being respectful of its employees’ unique homelives and will provide “at least 45 days’ notice before moving from permissive usage to a broader office return.” A source from the firm had this to say about the new return-to-work plans:

I appreciate that the firm is being flexible and understanding with people returning, especially with summer coming. It shows they’re understanding of the situation and that it will take time for everyone to adapt to going back to a workplace setting.

Jones made no mention of Ropes & Gray’s plans for employee vaccination, if any.

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Are you ready to return to work this fall? We certainly hope so, because now that a firm like Ropes & Gray has made its intentions known, it looks like that may be what other firms are expecting of their attorneys in just a few months. As with all things having to do with COVID-19, these plans are likely subject to change, but be sure to prepare yourselves for office life once again — just in case.

(Flip to the next page to see the Ropes & Gray memo in full.)

Staci ZaretskyStaci 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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