Another Biglaw Firm Resorts To Bonus Threats To Get Attorneys Back To The Office
Want your money? Get to the office.
Biglaw would really like associates to come back to the office. Whether it’s because of lease obligations, training woes, trying to build a culture, or all of the above, by and large, firms would love to have attorneys back in the office. The question is how to do it.
We’ve seen some carrot approaches, but increasingly mandates are the default. And for associates that don’t get on board with the rules of the road? They can expect to have their bonuses docked. Now another firm is joining the ranks of Ropes & Gray, Sidley, and Davis Polk and explicitly tying office attendance to associate bonuses.
Cahill recently sent a new office attendance policy to all lawyers at the firm. There was previously no formal office attendance policy, but now associates had best get their butts to the office 3x a week if they want their full bonus. The announcement does tip its hat to the notion that flexibility is important for attorneys, but folks must “substantially comply” with the new policy.
Now that this trend has taken off, will other Biglaw firms follow? If your firm is linking bonuses to office attendance let us know. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477). Thanks for your help.
The firm’s announcement is below.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on
