Goodwin Procter's 'Flexible' Reopening Plan: A Three-Day Workweek With 'Hoteling' Of Office Space

Say goodbye to your office space if you don't plan to come in three or more days each week.

As we get closer and closer to the summer months, more and more Biglaw firms are announcing their plans for a return to in-office work in the wake of the pandemic. Based on what we’ve seen so far, the majority of firms seem to have settled on a phased approach, setting their eyes on a September date for a full reopening and saying farewell to the five-day, in-office workweek. The latest firm to make such an announcement is no different, but their plans for the “hoteling” of office space is worth noting.

Goodwin Procter — a firm that came in at No. 23 on the latest Am Law 100 ranking, having brought in $1,486,263,000 gross revenue in 2020 — emailed all attorneys earlier this week letting them know that in-office operations would resume on September 13, 2021. Managing partner Mark T. Bettencourt noted that the firm would be taking a “flexible approach” here, and while employees would be returning to the office, the five-day workweek would not. Here’s a relevant excerpt from that email (emphasis addedl full email available on next page):

We will be taking a flexible approach to working from our offices and do not expect to return to working from our offices five days per week. We will be particularly flexible for the remainder of the calendar year 2021. At that time, we will re-assess and possibly modify our approach. As a reminder, between now and September, all of our offices remain open to those who wish to use them, on an optional basis.

While we do not expect to resume all of our pre-pandemic routines, we do need to maintain our collaborative and dynamic culture, and to enhance learning and professional development opportunities. To do this, we encourage our lawyers be in the office at least three days per week starting the week of September 13.

Goodwin seems to be taking a page from the Ropes & Gray playbook here on the three-day, in-office workweek. This is where it gets particularly interesting (and strays from the Ropes plan): attorneys who will be in the office fewer than three days a week should no longer expect to have their own offices.

Here’s the exact language on that:

Counsel, associates and professional track attorneys who will work from the office fewer than three days per week should not expect to have a dedicated office space and may need to “hotel” when visiting the office (i.e., use a visiting office or a shared workspace arrangement).

Biglaw firms are trying to decrease their real estate footprints following the coronavirus crisis, and employees working remotely is making it even easier for firms to accomplish this goal. Goodwin is the first firm that we know of to have announced a formal “hoteling” plan for attorneys.

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Finally, while the firm will not be requiring anyone to be vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to their return to the office, vaccination is “strongly encouraged,” and vaccination status will not impact the firm’s expectations for how often someone should be working from the office.

What has your firm announced as far as a reopening plan is concerned? The more information is out there, the more likely it is that firms will be able to establish a market standard for a return to work.

(Turn to the next page to see the full email from Goodwin Procter.)

As soon as you find out about reopening plans at your firm, please email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Office Reopening”) or text us at (646) 820-8477. We always keep our sources on stories anonymous. There’s no need to send a memo (if one exists) using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. If a memo has been circulated, please be sure to include it 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. Thanks.


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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.