Biglaw

This Top 30 Biglaw Firm Expects Lawyers To Work From The Office 'By Default'

Lawyers really aren't happy about this.

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With the unofficial start of summer now firmly in the rearview window, many Biglaw firms have already announced their return-to-office plans. While the majority of firms have leaned into the necessity of flexible work arrangements in a post-pandemic world, some are still hanging on to memories of the old days, where lawyers and staff members were expected to be at their desks, all day, every day, if possible. It seems like Paul Hastings — ranked at No. 27 on the most recent Am Law 100 with a 2020 gross revenue of $1,310,126,000 — is a firm that may fall into the latter category.

According to a memo sent late last week by chairman Seth Zachary and co-managing partners Greg Nitzkowski and Ronan O’Sullivan, the firm is encouraging all employees to find some time to voluntarily reacquaint themselves with office life this summer, because come September, it looks like office life will no longer be voluntary. Here’s an excerpt from that memo (emphasis added):

Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 7, all team members – both attorneys and staff – should be working from the office. We understand and respect the flexibility that individual circumstances will require. But, by default, we should work from the office when we are able. This return to office is as important for helping to nurture and strengthen our sense of culture, teamwork and collaboration as it is for serving clients at the highest levels.

While Paul Hastings isn’t specifically mandating a full-time return, how are people taking the news of being back in the office, “by default”? Not well. One of our sources had this to say about the firm’s plans: “I’m sure many of my colleagues will literally be giving notice with this as the stated reason.” Yikes.

Is the bark on this messaging worse than its bite? As noted by Zachary, Nitzkowski, and O’Sullivan, the firm “understand[s] and respect[s] the flexibility that individual circumstances will require.” If that’s the case, and some form of remote work is still on table at Paul Hastings, then perhaps there was a kinder, gentler way to communicate the firm’s back-to-office plans in a more effective way.

We’ve reached out to the firm for comment, but have yet to hear back.

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Paul Hastings.)

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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.

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.

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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