Don’t shoot the messenger when you read this article on Above the Law. The tension was inevitable.
The gist of the article is that Biglaw associates have become a bit too set in their ways on the WFH issue and will have to flex up to get back to the office to meet the requirements of employers. That firms wants more in-office presence now that the pandemic seems behind us should have been expected, but returning to in-office practice is not being met with a lot of real world perspective by young lawyers. The risk from such inflexible attitudes is to be “left behind.” And in the current hiring market, that is not a good place to be.
According to an associate recruiter from Major, Lindsey & Africa: “We, as society and the legal industry, are in the position where we need to commit to change and endure some of the tougher, more inconvenient parts. That is, if [associates] want to maintain a sense of community that brought them to the firm.”
Hopefully firm managers will not become too selfish either. Some of the blended programs for return-to-the-office, which require a part-time presence, appear reasonable and workable. There is not much argument that America has gone overboard with expanding work hours and the work week, too, so there is plenty of room for improvement.
And for Biglaw, there is no time like the present.
