The U.S. remains the country with the highest rate of new COVID cases due to the Delta variant, vaccine hesitancy, and vaccine misinformation. Thankfully, the FDA granted full approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine just yesterday, so hopefully that will inspire more people to get vaccinated. In the meantime, law firms across the country continue to take action on this important matter, and have decided to put their employees’ health and safety at the forefront when implementing new office return policies, including recent vaccination mandates.
For reference, the following firms are requiring all employees to be vaccinated before they return to the office: Akin Gump, Arent Fox, Ballard Spahr, Boies Schiller Flexner, Carlton Fields, Cleary Gottlieb, Clifford Chance, Cooley, Cozen O’Connor, Crowell & Moring, Davis & Gilbert, Davis Polk, Davis Wright Tremaine, Debevoise & Plimpton, Dickinson Wright, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, Greenberg Traurig, Fenwick & West, Fried Frank, Goodwin, Hanson Bridgett, Hogan Lovells, Hueston Hennigan, Lowenstein Sandler, McDermott Will & Emery, Mintz, Norton Rose Fulbright, Patterson Belknap, Paul Hastings, Paul Weiss, Reed Smith, Ropes & Gray, Sanford Heisler, Schiff Hardin, Seyfarth Shaw, Sheppard Mulllin, Simpson Thacher, Skadden, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Weil Gotshal, Wilson Sonsini, and Winston & Strawn.
The latest firms to announce mandatory vaccination policies are Willkie Farr and Kramer Levin. Although Willkie isn’t requiring anyone to return to the office prior to January 2022, for those who do wish to head back to the office, effective August 23, all personnel (and visitors, like clients, guests, and vendors) must be fully vaccinated and provide proof their vaccination. For all those who continue to work remotely, they must be fully vaccinated upon the firm’s full reopening early next year, and be able to provide proof as well.
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As for Kramer Levin, effective August 25, only those who have been fully vaccinated (with proof) will be permitted to enter the office. This new policy will also apply to third parties, like clients, guests, and vendors. A presence at the office is still fully voluntary, and the firm will provide at least 30 days’ notice prior to its reopening.
Will your firm be changing its plans when it comes to vaccination for attorneys and staff thanks to the Delta variant? Please let us know.
(Flip the page to read the memos from Willkie Farr and Kramer Levin.)
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 the office.
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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 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.