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Law Firms Should Consider Hosting Holiday Parties This Year

Interacting with other lawyers at such industry events is good for networking, business development, and a variety of other purposes.

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The annual holiday party is a fixture of many law firms across the United States. Such parties allow associates, partners, and staff to unwind, meet up in a more relaxed environment, and celebrate the holiday season. Very few law firms hosted holiday parties last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as vaccination rates increase, and more law firms return to the office, many shops should consider hosting holiday parties this year.

Before starting my own practice several years ago, I worked at a handful of big and smaller law firms. Each law firm at which I worked hosted a holiday party. The biggest firm I worked at hosted a huge shindig as a swanky country club, and the smallest firm I worked at hosted a holiday party at a nearby bar. Although some people many not like the social tension that may be present at holiday parties, I always enjoyed going to these events.

Holiday parties are a great way to build rapport among people who work in an office. Individuals may interact with people at the office more than they interact with some members of their family. Yet, people usually only see their coworkers in a professional environment, wearing the same professional clothes, and talking about the same work-related matters. A holiday party is perhaps the one time in a year when individuals who work with each other can interact on a deeper level and forge bonds that can transcend just the coworker connection.

Indeed, the holiday parties I attended were some of the only times I got to see the partners unwind and view them more as colleagues than bosses. In addition, holiday parties were usually the only time I interacted with family members of people with whom I worked, which was always a great experience. Holiday parties were a fixture of all kinds of law firms for as long as I worked in the profession, likely due to all of the benefits these events can have at a firm.

Last year, practically no law firms hosted holiday parties, and this was the right move. During the holiday season, COVID-19 cases were on the rise, and it was one of the bleakest parts of the pandemic. The cold temperatures seemingly drove people indoors which has a negative impact on the amount of people who were impacted by COVID-19. In addition, although the COVID-19 vaccines began getting rolled out during last year’s holiday season, no one outside of a select group of people could obtain the vaccine. Almost all of the holiday events I heard of got cancelled in light of these conditions, and law firms were wise not to schedule holiday parties.

However, we can be cautiously optimistic that conditions this holiday season may permit law firms to hold holiday parties in some form. Vaccination rates are on the rise, and many law firms are requiring that attorneys get vaccinated in order to come to the office. In addition, COVID-19 case counts are going down (although it remains to be seen if this rate will continue into the holiday season). Based on these conditions, many law firms are requiring associates to return to offices, which has started the long path that lawyers and law firms must tread before things return to as close to the prepandemic normal as possible. Hosting holiday parties can be one way that law firms continue their trend of bringing people back together and normalizing operations in light of recent developments in the fight against COVID-19.

Legal organizations should also consider hosting the same holiday parties they once held, albeit perhaps in a modified format. During the holiday season, I loved attending a variety of industry holiday parties so that I could interact with lawyers who worked outside of my office. Without naming names, there was one court reporting service that used to host an epic holiday party, and people used to travel from hundreds of miles away in some situations to attend this annual event. In addition, Above the Law itself used to host one of the best holiday parties around, and it is a shame that this tradition has been interrupted due to COVID-19. Interacting with other lawyers at such industry events is good for networking, business development, and a variety of other purposes, and legal industry organizations should also consider hosting holiday parties this year.

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Of course, measures should be taken to protect against COVID-19 at any holiday party. I am not an epidemiologist, but parties should be kept to a limited number of guests, and guest should likely have to prove that they are vaccinated or had a recent COVID-19 test before they attend such an event. At the very least, law firms should start thinking well in advance of the holiday season whether or not they should host holiday parties this year like they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

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