Biglaw

More Biglaw Firms Will Require Employees To Be Vaccinated, Some Push Back Reopening Dates

The Delta variant is making a lot of law firms change their plans when it comes to vaccination.

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It seems that Biglaw firms have finally gotten in line with science and acknowledged that the best way to protect their personnel is to require vaccines against COVID-19. In light of the highly contagious Delta variant, this is more important than ever, and the list of firms that are now mandating vaccination before their employees can step foot in the office continues to grow.

Thus far, the firms that have made vaccination a requirement for those returning to the office include Arent Fox, Cooley, Clifford Chance, Davis Polk, Davis Wright Tremaine, Dickinson Wright, Fenwick & West, Fried Frank, Hanson Bridgett, Hogan Lovells, Hueston Hennigan, Lowenstein Sandler, Mintz, Paul Weiss, Reed Smith, Sanford Heisler, Schiff Hardin, and Weil Gotshal. Now, we can add another four firms to the list. Akin Gump, Crowell & Moring, Goodwin, and McDermott Will & Emery all added a vaccination mandate to their safety protocols.

Akin Gump is not only limiting office access to those who have been fully vaccinated (i.e., those who are two weeks past their final shot), but the firm has pushed back its reopening date to October 11 from September 13. Kim Koopersmith, Akin’s chair, said in a firmwide email, “I am hopeful that the advances in vaccines and knowledge of transmission will make this current wave short-lived and we will get through the current surge and begin to improve.”

Crowell & Moring recently adjusted its thoughts on vaccination, and will now require vaccines for all employees upon its reopening on September 7, “[t]o safeguard the health of all in our community, including the families of our lawyers and staff.” Firm personnel must upload their vaccination cards as proof.

Goodwin emailed all employees earlier today concerning mandatory vaccinations for all, following the FDA’s approval of COVID-19 vaccines for regular use (which will likely occur “in the coming weeks”). Once approved, the firm’s offices will “only be open to those individuals (including all partners, employees, onsite vendors and visitors) who have been fully vaccinated.” Employees must provide proof of vaccination to the firm. Of importance here is the following caveat, so pay attention, folks: “Please note that once our offices reopen, non-vaccination status will not be considered a legitimate reason to support 100% remote work.”

McDermott is also pushing back its reopening date to October 12, and will also require all employees who intend to enter the office to be vaccinated (with proof), starting this Friday. “The overwhelming body of scientific data shows that vaccines are safe and broadly effective in our battle against COVID. We need everyone to step up and get vaccinated,” firm chair Ira Coleman said in a memo.

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. 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 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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