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This is latest BigLaw firm to require four…

Law Firms This is latest BigLaw firm to require four days per week in office

By Debra Cassens Weiss

July 28, 2023, 2:56 pm CDT

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At Ropes & Gray, lawyers will be able to work away from the office in special situations, such as a doctor’s appointment, a meeting at a child’s school or an unexpected event. Image from Shutterstock.

Ropes & Gray is the latest BigLaw firm to require lawyers to work in the office Monday through Thursday.

The new policy takes effect Nov. 6, report Law.com, Bloomberg Law, Above the Law and Law360.

In addition to work-at-home Fridays, the law firm is allowing lawyers to work remotely the last two weeks of August, the week of Thanksgiving and the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Lawyers will also be able to work away from the office in special situations, such as a doctor’s appointment, a meeting at a child’s school or an unexpected event.

Other firms requiring four days per week in the office include Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Davis Polk & Wardwell; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

The new mandates come amid a “marked shift” from last year, when BigLaw firms were luring associates to their firms with big bonuses, Law.com reports in a separate story.

The turnabout began as some firms tied bonus levels to in-office work, the article reports. The dynamic continued to change amid declining demand, less associate lateral movement and layoffs at tech-oriented firms.

Firms are also favoring office attendance at the same time that clients are making similar moves in industries such as banking, technology and real estate, according to Law.com.

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