Fully WFH post pandemic Forum

[bigboybob]

Anyone know any biglaw firms, or firms that pay market, going fully WFH post pandemic? This is soo nice to give up. I got an email from a recruiter a while back naming a firm that was. I deleted it foolishly. Life is too short to spend 2-4 hours a day on a dirty subway.

[Anonymous User]

Relevant to my interests. For what it's worth, some more senior associates at my firm have already worked out long term arrangements

[Anonymous User]

Relevant to my interests. For what it's worth, some more senior associates at my firm have already worked out long term arrangements

Would love to hear more details on how this looks. I'd want to try to arrange the same.

[Anonymous User]

I'm curious about this too. I'm seeing Goodwin is explicitly trying to hire attorneys in cities that they have no office. No clue if this is temporary or long term, but I can't see many people laterally over in these cities if they'd have to pack up and move once the pandemic is over.

[Anonymous User]

I heard a (very grapevine) rumor that DLA Piper is doing/considering this. Can anyone confirm

[Anonymous User]

I've heard that Husch Blackwell is doing this. They are downsizing their offices and giving associates the option to relinquish their offices permanently. In addition, I heard that Stroock and Stroock are contemplating this as well, or at least moving toward a no office commitment style (giving the option to go in whenever for meetings, etc.). Haven't heard anything about other firms.

[Anonymous User]

Not exactly the same, but Cooley currently has "Bay Area Flex Position" job postings. IIRC, your works comes from the Bay Area offices but you can live wherever you want.

[purplegoldtornado]

I live in a flyover state but still want to work big law, although I have no desire to live in a major market. This would be huge for me if my firm took this move.

[Anonymous User]

I inquired about the Goodwin thing with a contact/associate at the firm and he wasn’t sure either.

It would be nice to work remotely in a city of your choice making Goodwin salary.

[Anonymous User]

I inquired about the Goodwin thing with a contact/associate at the firm and he wasn’t sure either.

It would be nice to work remotely in a city of your choice making Goodwin salary.

I work at Goodwin and asked our recruitment folks about this. Can confirm that there will be *no* expectation to move back to a Goodwin office once COVID is over. We have lawyers in permanent WFH arrangements in states where we have no footprint. They’ll be expected to fly in to an office when appropriate.

[Anonymous User]

I inquired about the Goodwin thing with a contact/associate at the firm and he wasn’t sure either.

It would be nice to work remotely in a city of your choice making Goodwin salary.

I work at Goodwin and asked our recruitment folks about this. Can confirm that there will be *no* expectation to move back to a Goodwin office once COVID is over. We have lawyers in permanent WFH arrangements in states where we have no footprint. They’ll be expected to fly in to an office when appropriate.

Incoming summer associate. Will this be able to apply to incoming juniors?

[Anonymous User]

I inquired about the Goodwin thing with a contact/associate at the firm and he wasn’t sure either.

It would be nice to work remotely in a city of your choice making Goodwin salary.

I work at Goodwin and asked our recruitment folks about this. Can confirm that there will be *no* expectation to move back to a Goodwin office once COVID is over. We have lawyers in permanent WFH arrangements in states where we have no footprint. They’ll be expected to fly in to an office when appropriate.

Incoming summer associate. Will this be able to apply to incoming juniors?

I don’t know. Some of our juniors are all across the country right now, and I suspect permanent WFH arrangements will be sorted out on an individual basis. But keep in mind that this isn’t WFH from anywhere; the firm has identified certain geographic locations for specific reasons.

[Anonymous User]

Anecdotal, of course, but my firm in DC is considering at least allowing folks to work from home a few days a week on a going-forward basis. The response to WFH has been overwhelmingly positive at our office (and, to be honest, I’m billing more but am less stressed because I can knock out household chores and the like while I’m on conference calls).

[Anonymous User]

Not exactly the same, but Cooley currently has "Bay Area Flex Position" job postings. IIRC, your works comes from the Bay Area offices but you can live wherever you want.

The ads on Cooley websites are a bit unclear to me. It seme like you still have to be at another Cooley office- do you read it differently?

[Anonymous User]

I live in the Midwest and am interviewing for a DC firm. Fully remote because it is a niche field that they have not been able to fill by someone in DC. Pay is closer tied to my market than DC market. Only about half of firm leadership is on board with remote attorneys, and firm policy is that every time I need to travel to DC (few times a year), it will be out of my own pocket. I am thinking I don't want to be the guinea pig for this new policy...has anyone else come across something like this?

[jotarokujo]

I live in the Midwest and am interviewing for a DC firm. Fully remote because it is a niche field that they have not been able to fill by someone in DC. Pay is closer tied to my market than DC market. Only about half of firm leadership is on board with remote attorneys, and firm policy is that every time I need to travel to DC (few times a year), it will be out of my own pocket. I am thinking I don't want to be the guinea pig for this new policy...has anyone else come across something like this?

That seems kind of absurd. It's just one DC firm, but perhaps new york as a whole will be more lenient wrt long term wfh

[polareagle]

I live in the Midwest and am interviewing for a DC firm. Fully remote because it is a niche field that they have not been able to fill by someone in DC. Pay is closer tied to my market than DC market. Only about half of firm leadership is on board with remote attorneys, and firm policy is that every time I need to travel to DC (few times a year), it will be out of my own pocket. I am thinking I don't want to be the guinea pig for this new policy...has anyone else come across something like this?

Paying you market rate for where you live may make some sense and is a likely downside of full WFH that I think people aren't fully grasping. (See this article or this one about the tech companies doing it.)

But making you pay for your own work travel is BS. (And may be illegal? This DC reg would suggest so, although it's unclear to me if the general minimum wage exclusion for administrative and professional employees also applies to that provision--maybe something to research!)

[purplegoldtornado]

I live in the Midwest and am interviewing for a DC firm. Fully remote because it is a niche field that they have not been able to fill by someone in DC. Pay is closer tied to my market than DC market. Only about half of firm leadership is on board with remote attorneys, and firm policy is that every time I need to travel to DC (few times a year), it will be out of my own pocket. I am thinking I don't want to be the guinea pig for this new policy...has anyone else come across something like this?

Paying you market rate for where you live may make some sense and is a likely downside of full WFH that I think people aren't fully grasping. (See this article or this one about the tech companies doing it.)

But making you pay for your own work travel is BS. (And may be illegal? This DC reg would suggest so, although it's unclear to me if the general minimum wage exclusion for administrative and professional employees also applies to that provision--maybe something to research!)

I don't think you're wrong, but if firms really did this, there would almost be no incentive for lawyers to go for a V100 remotely when they could choose a lifestyle "regional big law" firm instead.

[lawbear2022]

Not exactly the same, but Cooley currently has "Bay Area Flex Position" job postings. IIRC, your works comes from the Bay Area offices but you can live wherever you want.

The ads on Cooley websites are a bit unclear to me. It seme like you still have to be at another Cooley office- do you read it differently?

During OCI I met a two mid-level associates (one at Cooley and one at WSGR) who were “based” in the SV office but working from home elsewhere in the country. But I agree with the second anon that the job ads on Cooley’s site imply working out of a satellite office on matters that originate in Palo Alto.

[nixy]

I live in the Midwest and am interviewing for a DC firm. Fully remote because it is a niche field that they have not been able to fill by someone in DC. Pay is closer tied to my market than DC market. Only about half of firm leadership is on board with remote attorneys, and firm policy is that every time I need to travel to DC (few times a year), it will be out of my own pocket. I am thinking I don't want to be the guinea pig for this new policy...has anyone else come across something like this?

Paying you market rate for where you live may make some sense and is a likely downside of full WFH that I think people aren't fully grasping. (See this article or this one about the tech companies doing it.)

But making you pay for your own work travel is BS. (And may be illegal? This DC reg would suggest so, although it's unclear to me if the general minimum wage exclusion for administrative and professional employees also applies to that provision--maybe something to research!)

I don't think you're wrong, but if firms really did this, there would almost be no incentive for lawyers to go for a V100 remotely when they could choose a lifestyle "regional big law" firm instead.

Except that there are usually more V100 jobs than regional big law jobs.

[Anonymous User]

I was talking to a friend last night who works in corporate for a large firm and they are currently hiring people and expecting to hire people who will work fully remotely. Friend said he and almost everyone at his firm are pushing to allow full WFH and management seems receptive.

[Anonymous User]

Which firm? (If you can share that is)

[Anonymous User]

I work at Goodwin and asked our recruitment folks about this. Can confirm that there will be *no* expectation to move back to a Goodwin office once COVID is over. We have lawyers in permanent WFH arrangements in states where we have no footprint. They’ll be expected to fly in to an office when appropriate.

Goodwin is a V5 next year in my survey if this is true.