Biglaw

Biglaw Firms Are Hiring Remote Associates In This Post-Pandemic World

The market for associate talent is so hot right now that firms will hire them wherever they may be.

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As more and more firms announce their plans to bring associates back to their newly reopened offices on hybrid schedules, at the same time, more and more firms are hiring associates who will be completely remote. This hiring trend just goes to show that flexibility is key in the new normal.

Firms are seeking talent in markets outside of their office locations partly due to the recent skyrocketing demand for associates, particularly in areas such as corporate work and intellectual property. The pandemic pushed many young lawyers out of Big Law or the profession entirely, adding to the crunch.

“Firms came out of the doldrums and they’re raring to go,” said Andrew Glynn, a recruiter and managing director with Major, Lindsey & Africa’s associate practice group. “They’re hiring at a rate that I have not seen in five years.”

Firms like Husch Blackwell, Orrick, and Perkins Coie already employed attorneys outside of their existing office spaces, but after the past 15 months, they’ve been inspired to onboard even more remote employees. How’s that been going?

At Orrick, they’re creating a commission to put in place policies for a virtual office to create structure for more remote associate hires. Siobhan Handley, the firm’s chief talent officer, noted in an interview with the American Lawyer that the firm’s last five new partner classes included attorneys who lived and worked in places without Orrick offices. “We were ahead of the game in knowing that physical presence in an office does not equate to success,” she said. “Now there’s a lot more widespread appetite for it.”

Over at Perkins Coie, chief talent officer Jennifer Bluestein says she recently approved remote associate offers in several different states. “Matters and clients require us to work across offices anyway, so dictating where we hire someone seems to be a fairly artificial construct,” she said. “That doesn’t mean we’re ready to hire for every position in any state. But we’re not going to say, ‘You’re in X state, we’re not going to talk to you.’”

Husch Blackwell, after announcing the opening of its virtual office (referred to as “The Link”) in July 2020, now has 57 attorneys working remotely without a home office. “It’s a tremendous opportunity to open up our pipeline of new talent and cast a wider net than ever before,” [products liability partner J.Y.] Miller, who serves as managing partner of the new office, told Am Law. “When we post positions now and post them for The Link, we’re getting resumes from people all over the country. It’s really opened up a new level of talent and interest.”

With associate hiring all the rage, will your firm be hiring remote employees?

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More Large Law Firms Are Embracing Remote Associate Hires [American Lawyer]

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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