Biglaw

Latham Will Be Back To The Office In Mid-September -- But Will Remote Work Be An Option?

It may be back to the pre-COVID status quo for this $4B firm.

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As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, more and more of the most prestigious and profitable Biglaw firms have announced their plans for a return to the office. In fact, it was just yesterday that Latham — the No. 2 firm in the country, having taken home $4,333,763,000 gross revenue in 2020 — informed all personnel that with the end of the pandemic in sight, the firm will make a transition back to the office by mid-September. Sources we’ve heard from at the firm aren’t too happy about it, and that’s because Latham’s higher-level messaging seems to indicate that it will be back to business as usual, all from the office.

LeeAnn Black, Latham’s COO, described a “gradual transition” back to the office this summer (emphasis added; memo available in full on the next page):

All colleagues who are able to do so are encouraged to start spending time in the office this summer. Our in-office presence in many locations has been steadily increasing as more colleagues take advantage of the opportunity to reconnect in person, and we look forward to building on this momentum throughout the summer.

It is our general expectation that by mid-September, all Latham colleagues will live within commuting distance of their assigned office and will have re-established their regular routine of working from the office.

That sure sounds like lawyers and staff members will be expected to be back at their desks full-time, with little to no remote work flexibility (despite the fact that Latham claims flexibility will be preserved at the local level and that flexibility will underpin the firm’s approach to its reopening).

Here’s what one of our sources had to say about the firm’s plans:

I have to say, my heart sank when I saw the email. There is no mention of flexible schedules or partial work from home. This last year has been one of my most productive since joining the firm, but it has been bearable because I’ve been able to spend more time with my family and avoid having to commute. It’s as though the firm has learned nothing about the benefits of working from home and is pretending as though the last 15 months didn’t happen. I’d sooner find a new place to work than have to return to the office full-time, and I suspect some of my colleagues feel the same way.

A follow-up email (available in full on the next page) was later sent by partner Kathleen Walsh, on behalf of the Associates Committee, with a bit of softening language and an acknowledgement of the benefits of remote working — but it still reads like it’ll be a return to the pre-pandemic status quo at Latham & Watkins:

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As we said last Summer, we would give you at least 45-days’ notice before asking you to return to the jurisdiction of your office; today’s message provides more than 90 days’ notice to return to your office jurisdiction by mid-September. …

We know that some may be wondering what office life will be like when we are back. Quite simply, it will be similar to the flexible nature of our work that we enjoyed before the pandemic. We have always sought to treat one another as professionals, and when we are back we expect that you will work with your practice groups, client teams, local departments, and individual supervisors to establish a work schedule that makes sense given the specific nature of your matters, client expectations, and career training and development. There are many opportunities to connect and collaborate that are more readily available in the office, in addition to the spontaneous occasions to interact and socialize with colleagues and clients. There is no one size fits all, but we have all learned a great deal about our ability to connect, work, and develop away from the office, and recognize that you can be extraordinarily productive while also enjoying a flexible approach to our in-office work culture. We intend to embrace the good things that have come from this extended period of remote working, including the ease with which remote working is now possible, but also look forward to a thriving office environment.

At least Latham employees have the entire summer to figure out how they’ll be able to adjust to the next normal that is in-office Biglaw life in the wake of a pandemic.

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Latham & Watkins.)

As soon as you find out about the reopening plan 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.

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