Biglaw

Kirkland & Ellis Cancels Holiday Party Set For Tomorrow

Forty-eight hours before go-time, the firm apparently decided it couldn't risk it.

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Sad guy is standing and looking down. He is upset. Man is holding a wistle in his mouth and has a birthday hat on the head. Isolated on blue background.Last night — Tuesday — a tipster reported that Kirkland & Ellis sent an email informing members of the New York office that the holiday party planned for Thursday at the Ziegfeld ballroom was canceled. The firm didn’t give a reason but we’re willing to bet it wasn’t that they suddenly realized no one made the reservation. We’ve reached out to the firm, but haven’t heard back yet.

While surveys confirm that lawyers generally ache for a return to in-person holiday parties, Kirkland made the right call in playing the party pooper here. Infection rates are spiking again, and while vaccinated folks are less likely to catch the virus and even more unlikely to contract serious cases, the risk that they could carry an infection to a young child or immunocompromised person is just too high right now. If Kirkland has to sacrifice some deposits to protect the firm, it’s willing to make that call.

This comes on the heels of Latham canceling its remaining in-person holiday parties after the New York Corporate soirée ended with upwards of 10 associates coming down with COVID. Just like with Latham, there’s nothing per se wrong with bringing people together for the holidays if everyone is vaccinated, but when parties can feel like an obligation for people who simply cannot afford to get sick right now, it’s best to remove the party outright so everyone can feel comfortable staying home.

Though there’s also a rumor that Kirkland may have followed Latham’s lead a little more closely and encountered its own COVID outbreak following a Chicago holiday event. If so, it’s all the more reason to completely shut down these events going forward — no amount of precaution seems to be doing the trick right now.

No one wants another year of virtual parties, but here we are. Hopefully everyone recognizes that it takes a lot of fortitude to pull the plug on a major event at the last second, but unfortunately it had to be done.

Earlier: The Pandemic Law Firm Holiday Party: Festive Fun Or Superspreader Nightmare?
Latham Cancels The Rest Of Its Holiday Parties After Giving Everyone COVID

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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