With the “Run for the Bonuses” chapter closed for most law firms and ATL signifying ‘closed for business’ until the last month of the year, the attention amongst associate interest is firmly trained on a firm’s Return to Office (RTO) policy.
A random survey of more than 25 prominent Am Law firms revealed an industry anomaly. Unlike other sectors that have embraced a unified approach to their return to office policy, the legal fraternity has displayed as many variations as there are firms. Some firms mandate a five-day office week, while other firms have maintained the ‘work from home whenever’ stance, a practice that was widely adopted during the pandemic. An additional group of firms have adopted a three-day in-office policy that spans from Tuesday through Thursday each week.
Here, it’s important to underline the laissez-faire approach of most firms towards the enforcement of their return to office policies. Sparse checks are in place to guarantee strict adherence by the firms’ associates.
But as the majority of firms grapple with the best method of operation, there are those championing the idea that legal professionals should revert to a pre-pandemic five-day office week. This group propounds that a core element of a lawyer’s professionalism cannot be transferred via digital mediums like Zoom. In their view, the art of law can scarcely be mastered from the comfort of one’s living room, a stance akin to rebuffing the idea of becoming top-notch legal professionals by indulging in reruns of the iconic legal drama series, “Perry Mason”.
For further insights and detailed debates about this heated topic within the legal community, be sure to check out this pertinent article.