WILSON SONSONI — MEMO — UPDATE ON OFFICE RE-OPENING PLANS
All,
I hope everyone is doing well, and settling into their fall routines. The firm remains remarkably busy and we appreciate your continued contributions to client service and Wilson Sonsini. I write for a simple and likely unsurprising reason—to inform you that we are postponing the re-opening of U.S. offices with full services and amenities from October 25, 2021, to February 1, 2022.
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The reasons for postponing the October re-opening date are straightforward. We remain in a volatile situation in many of our U.S. locations, in terms of COVID-19 transmission due to the Delta variant. We also remain subject to various restrictive regulations and guidance concerning COVID safety protocols, including masking, social distancing, and remedial measures in the event of infections. It is an unfortunate landscape, but the best thing we can do is to continue to focus on the health of our firm community and support virtual work. Our offices remain available, of course, to those who need to access them in order to serve our clients most effectively.
Why February 1? While it remains theoretically possible that we could reopen sooner than that, we wanted to give people stability and predictability as to our timing through the holiday season. In addition, we wanted to align the reopening of offices with the task of implementing measures arising from the work of the Office of the Future Task Force, a topic Chris Boyd addressed at the last Town Hall meeting.
Consistent with Chris’s summary, there is a fair amount of logistical effort associated with implementing the Task Force’s recommendations. For example, implementing hoteling in a thoughtful way requires a lot of work and the application of new technology solutions, as well as communications with offices, practice groups, and teams. As Chris mentioned, we’re working with partners, associates, and staff leaders on identifying local norms that may influence the frequency of office attendance. At our next Town Hall, which will take place next week, Chris will discuss “Project Hybrid,” the effort undertaken to animate the Task Force’s work.
I wish we could return to offices on October 25—it’s been too long since we’ve had a chance to gather in person in a meaningful way. In the absence of that perfect world, the good we can do is to be transparent and clear about timing, and continue to support each other as we have since March 2020. I thank all of you for continuing to support each other and our clients.
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