As legislation companies race to tighten their in-office insurance policies, most at the moment are pushing for 4 days per week — although a handful are taking a extra “modest” method, asking attorneys to return to the workplace simply three days per week. How refreshing.
Arnold & Porter — a agency that introduced in $1,193,720,000 gross income in 2024, placing it at No. 51 on the Am Legislation 100 — not too long ago introduced that come 2026, it might be making “very modest changes” to its in-office coverage, specifying that each one attorneys {and professional} employees could be anticipated within the workplace three days every week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, throughout regular enterprise hours. Main as much as this new attendance mandate, A&P shall be in “digital working standing” firmwide throughout the week of Thanksgiving (November 24-28) in addition to the ultimate two weeks of the yr (December 22, 2025 – January 2, 2026).
As a part of a memo despatched out this week and considered by Above the Legislation, Sean T. Howell, the agency’s CEO, stated, “We sit up for spending extra time collectively within the yr forward and to persevering with to construct on the success and sense of group that make our agency so particular.”
Fairly a number of Biglaw companies at the moment are requiring 4 days within the workplace firmwide, together with the likes of A&O Shearman; Cooley; Covington; Davis Polk; Dechert (junior associates); DLA Piper (company associates); Goodwin; Hogan Lovells; Latham; Paul Weiss; Ropes & Grey; Sidley; Simpson Thacher; Skadden; Vinson & Elkins; Weil Gotshal; WilmerHale; and White & Case. Sullivan & Cromwell has taken its attendance coverage one step additional, requiring attorneys to work from the workplace 5 days every week.
As quickly as you discover out about workplace attendance plans at your agency, please e-mail us (topic line: “[Firm Name] Workplace Reopening”) or textual content us at (646) 820-8477. We all the time maintain our sources on tales nameless. There’s no have to ship a memo (if one exists) utilizing your agency e-mail account; your private e-mail account is okay. If a memo has been circulated, please you’ll want to embody it as proof; we wish to publish full memos as a service to our readers. You’ll be able to take a photograph of the memo and fix as an image if you’re fearful about metadata in a PDF or Phrase file. Thanks.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Legislation, the place she’s labored since 2011. She’d love to listen to from you, so please be happy to e-mail her with any ideas, questions, feedback, or critiques. You’ll be able to observe her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or join along with her on LinkedIn.
