For many Biglaw firms, the “return to normal” meant shepherding the lawyers that grew accustomed to billing from home back into the office. Some firms emphasized the importance of in-person working because it gave junior associates the opportunity to learn by osmosis, while others got the point across by tying bonuses to attendance. But not everyone sees the new normal as a return to the past — Fennemore Craig has embraced remote work and is actively recruiting lawyers from their homes. From Reuters:
Phoenix-founded Fennemore Craig said on Tuesday that is launching a new formal program to hire lawyers in locations where it does not have offices, joining a small number of traditionally brick-and-mortar firms that now allow full-time alternatives to in-person work.
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“We think other firms are making a huge mistake by requiring everyone, regardless of their circumstances, to come in the office,” said Fennemore CEO and president James Goodnow. “Frankly, we want to take advantage of that.”
If you’re working at a comparable firm and hate how rigid their 3-4 day in-person mandate has made your schedule, you have options! Now for the big question: Do these remote positions come with a salary cut? Thankfully, no! Fennmore’s program is still comparatively experimental when you look at what the rest of the industry is doing, but there is hope that working from home will be one of those COVID oddities that surges back and sticks with us for a very long time. Kind of like COVID.
Another US Law Firm Touts Fully Remote Option, Bucking Post-Pandemic Trend [Reuters]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
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