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Managing Across The Delta

How law firm leaders can manage internal tensions caused by delta variant policies.

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In science, math, and engineering, the delta symbol represents change. Law firms are now facing their own potent symbol of change, division, and difference. By unhappy coincidence, we also call it the delta. Managing a law firm through the COVID-19 crisis has been one of the most difficult tasks I’ve done in my career. Based on my own experiences and my conversations with management team members at other firms, it appears the greatest challenges are still ahead.

Uniting Against COVID-19

When the pandemic began picking up speed in March 2020, and the lockdowns started, the slim silver lining in the situation was how it seemed to unite us. In the face of all the fears and unknowns, we banded together as teams to keep one another safe, get people out of physical danger, and move our firms onto a remote-supporting model. As the months ticked by, we seemed to stand strong together, working hard to battle against a disease that was poised to ravage us.

By fall, pandemic fatigue was clearly beginning to kick in, but with a vaccine seemingly on the horizon, most of us buckled down and kept the faith. Knowing there was light at the end of the tunnel gave us the strength to push through a long winter that took a huge emotional and physical toll on most. With springtime came the vaccine, as hoped, and as nature renewed itself, it seemed we did too. The world opened back up, and a sense of safety and peace seemed to return.

And then came delta. Just as it seemed like we were winning the war on COVID-19, this drastically more transmissible and virulent variant of the original COVID-19 virus has changed the game. Cases are once again spiking. Some states are experiencing more new cases and hospitalizations now than they did last winter, before the vaccine was available. While vaccinated people could rest assured they wouldn’t transmit earlier strains, Delta appears to be transmissible even by the fully vaccinated. Children appear more likely to catch delta and more likely to be hospitalized.

The Long Haul

In the face of changing circumstances, the CDC is urging that everyone resume masking indoors, whether vaccinated or not. Firms across the country have reinstated safety measures they had begun to phase out and either delayed their return to the office or sent physical employees back to their homes to work remotely again.

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But this time around, the unity that defined our first response to COVID-19 is starkly absent. We’re all exhausted, and many of us thought we were done and safe. We don’t know when or how the delta variant will come under control. Some would even disagree about whether COVID-19 is even something that still needs to be dealt with on a collective level.

Politics and the workplace are typically anathema, but it’s usually easy enough to keep them separate. Most of us just don’t talk politics in the office or only do so when we know it’s acceptable. Yet how we respond individually and collectively to COVID-19 has developed over the past year into a deeply politicized issue. Even the basic facts underlying the pandemic are in dispute, and acceptance of one model over another can seem to signal where we fall on a host of other sensitive topics best left outside the firm doors. As law firm leaders charged with overseeing our firms’ responses to delta, we can’t help but take an inherently political stance. No matter what we do, we’re bound to risk alienating and excluding members of our teams.

How To Succeed In Impossible Circumstances

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to this challenge, but there are guiding principles that can help you and your firm navigate these seemingly intractable differences.

Acknowledge the issue. If there are strong opposing viewpoints on how to deal with delta in your firm, don’t pretend they don’t exist. Be open about those differences, and help those who are disappointed in the ultimate decision made understand that even if they don’t agree with the outcome, they have been heard and considered.

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Announce a philosophy. Don’t just give your teams a list of what’s acceptable and what’s not. You need to explain why. Develop a philosophy and a set of goals. If you’re putting return-to-office plans on ice, give people a sense of what will guide your decision about when those plans might be reinstated. Maybe you plan to reconsider when new infections fall below 10,000 daily on a national level. Maybe you’re going to re-evaluate if the total vaccination rate in your firm gets above 95%. If your firm’s philosophy is to follow the CDC’s recommendations, then tell people that. The worst thing you can do is not offer any explanation and leave people feeling uncertain about what’s guiding your thinking.

Allow tailoring for your specific needs. Some states, counties, or firms will simply have different needs or goals. A firm in Florida, the current epicenter of the delta variant spike, may need more stringent measures than a firm in a less-affected region. A firm with 100% vaccination rates might need a different plan than one with lower vaccination rates or particularly vulnerable firm members.

Lay the groundwork for more change. We’re all sick and tired of COVID-19 and wish it would just go away already, but we as leaders know that it won’t. Whatever policies we put in place, they’ll probably change in the coming weeks and months as we learn more and as circumstances shift. Do whatever you can to ensure your teammates know that this isn’t over. It might get worse, but it will definitely at some point get better. No matter what happens, you’ll be keeping an eye on them and will make changes as the situation (and your firm’s philosophy) merit them.

Give yourself a break. No matter what you do as a law firm manager, from COVID-19 policies to what snacks are in the break room, any change you make is going to tick someone off. We need to give ourselves permission to not keep everyone happy. There’s no perfect answer, so don’t lose sleep over failing to find one.

Sadly, in the world we’re in today, we as law firm leaders are in many ways choosing the best of a plethora of bad options. Educate yourself, listen to your people, and make the best calls you can.

Trust your gut, counsel. You’ve got this.

James Goodnow Technology, Biglaw  James Goodnow is the CEO and managing partner of NLJ 250 firm Fennemore Craig. At age 36, he became the youngest known chief executive of a large law firm in the U.S. He holds his JD from Harvard Law School and dual business management certificates from MIT. He’s currently attending the Cambridge University Judge Business School (U.K.), where he’s working toward a master’s degree in entrepreneurship. James is the co-author of Motivating Millennials, which hit number one on Amazon in the business management new release category. You can connect with James on Twitter (@JamesGoodnow) or by emailing him at James@JamesGoodnow.com.

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