Biglaw

Top 25 Biglaw Firm Will Roll Out 3-Day, In-Office Workweek Plan In September

Say goodbye to working from the office five days each week.

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Is the three-day, in-office workweek the new status quo for Biglaw firms? Based on the return-to-office plans we’ve seen thus far, this certainly seems to be the case.

We recently received word that Covington & Burling — a firm that brought in $1,321,296,000 gross revenue in 2020, placing it at No. 25 on the most recent Am Law 100 ranking — will expect employees to return to the firm on September 7, and will be using a hybrid work model for attorneys and staff. Here’s a relevant excerpt from a memo that was sent out by the firm last month:

[T]he Management Committee has determined that, once our offices are fully open, our lawyers, advisors and staff (whether full-time or part-time) should plan to spend at least three days per week in the office. We believe this will provide flexibility and the benefits of working remotely, while at the same time preserving the benefits of people collaborating in person.

Lawyers will be able to choose whether they want to work remotely, and the three days they’d prefer to work in the office. At present, Covington doesn’t plan to require all lawyers to be in the office on any specific days of the week. But things are a little different for newcomers and summers:

Associates (and trainees in London) who are new to the firm will be encouraged – although not required – to work in the office more than three days per week during their first year at the firm, to facilitate the establishment of relationships and work habits and familiarize themselves with the firm’s culture and processes. Our summer associates will be expected to work in the office five days a week.

Flexibility continues to be the way of the future when it comes to the post-pandemic law firm way of life. Hopefully your firm will implement a reliable remote policy.

(Flip to the next page to see the memo from Covington & Burling.)

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What has your firm announced as far as a reopening plan is concerned? 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.

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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