This weekend, I had an interesting conversation with a friend (who I saw in PERSON; science is amazing) about what it means to be “post” COVID. As my extended friend/family group is rapidly becoming fully vaccinated (and I’ve always worked at least part-time remotely) I argued that we are already societally there — or at least nearly there. My companion said it wouldn’t be until work went back to normal, and of course, what “normal” means is very much up in the air. But with June already here, Biglaw firms are trying their best to figure out what that means.
And they are struggling to figure it out as much as we all are.
Take Kelley Drye’s office reopening plan. The firm, ranked 141 in the Am Law 200 with $221,916,000 in gross revenue last year, put out guidance on returning to the office. According to a firm representative:
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“Kelley Drye is encouraging its lawyers and administrative staff and professionals to use the summer months to ease back to an in-office work schedule by coming to the office from time to time. After Labor Day, we expect to move to a fuller return to the office with flexibility for remote work.”
Which basically boils down to, do the best you can…. and hopefully we’ll be back after Labor Day. Not the most concrete, but perhaps the most real world. We’ve not yet heard if the firm has issued formal guidance on vaccinations or masks.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).