DPW return to office Forum

[Anonymous User]

All,

As I have discussed in recent Town Halls, the Firm has been giving significant thought to returning to the office and our working model going forward. Our goal is to strike a balance that cultivates our unrivaled culture – a balance that captures the genuine good that has come from remote working, like greater flexibility in managing personal and professional lives, and the challenges, like supporting a team orientation and a feeling of community.

Over the last 16 months, we have learned a lot about what can work in a remote environment. I am incredibly proud of how our Firm responded to the pandemic in every respect.

But our business is built on personal relationships. In-person interaction is crucial to supporting and cultivating our culture of teamwork and collaboration for lawyers and business services personnel alike, and to continuing to develop our associates through mentoring programs and our best-in-class training curriculum.

As you know, we identified early September as the time that we can all expect to return to the office on a more regular schedule. Below I have laid out the Firm’s current thinking with regard to our return to work paradigm.

We will begin with an initial trial period. That trial period will begin on Monday, September 13, 2021. During the trial period, we will evaluate our operations and policies. We will conclude the trial period at the end of 2021 and update our office policies as appropriate as we move into 2022.

During the trial period, our expectations with respect to lawyers and business services personnel are as follows:

Lawyers
· We expect our lawyers to be in the office at least seven out of every 10 business days.
o This is, of course, always subject to client and team needs.
o We generally expect 3 or 4 days in the office each week.
· During the trial period, lawyers will be allowed one remote week of their choosing, where they may work remotely without being required to take vacation days.
o We may move to a model of additional floating remote weeks in 2022.
o Please note that a “remote week” = five consecutive days.
· There is no requirement to pre-clear your specific in-office days. We are all on the honor system.
· Remote work must comply with applicable bar requirements.

Business Services Personnel
· We expect the majority of our business services personnel to be in the office three days per week.
o Specific parameters (e.g., designated days) may be determined by department.
· Legal assistants and individuals on our Professional Development team are expected to be in the office seven out of every 10 business days.
· Some functions, including A/V, Computer Hardware, Copy Center, Mail, Maintenance, Reception, Security and Supplies, necessarily require in-office work, and individuals in those departments are expected to be in the office full-time.
· An email from Terry Clark outlining our plan for Administrative Assistants is forthcoming later this week.
· We are still considering our plan for the Word Processing department.

Outside of New York, policies may vary based on circumstances applicable to the region in which the office is located.

I am thrilled that so many of you have taken the opportunity to get reacquainted with being in the office through our Spring Back to the Office and Join Us in June days. I encourage you to continue along this path while taking advantage of our Summer Social events.

I am excited for all that is to come for the Davis Polk community as we move toward our next chapter, and, most importantly, I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

[Anonymous User]

Yikes

(also, 7 out of 10? is the partnership that dysfunctional it couldn’t resolve a 3-day vs. 4-day impasse?)

[Anonymous User]

This kind of a policy makes very little sense for a firm that's been hemorrhaging associates.

[Ultramar vistas]

Yikes

(also, 7 out of 10? is the partnership that dysfunctional it couldn’t resolve a 3-day vs. 4-day impasse?)

Seriously, this policy is (unintentionally) absolutely hilarious. I know we like to rip on DPW for it’s ankle monitor ways, but boy does it consistently play into the stereotype.

[JusticeChuckleNutz]

People need to vote with their mobility, and bail on firms that go this rigid route. We need to seize the moment and not let WFH slip away...Makes biglaw infinitely more bearable

[Anonymous User]

isnt this basically just 3 days a week like other firms are doing? Not sure what the fuss is abour

[Mullens]

This kind of a policy makes very little sense for a firm that's been hemorrhaging associates.

Agree. I’d look to move immediately if I worked at DPW.

[Anonymous User]

isnt this basically just 3 days a week like other firms are doing? Not sure what the fuss is abour

That's my thinking. This doesn't seem that bad to me?

[Rule23andMe]

Someone should ask if three full days and one half-day every week would suffice

[Anonymous User]

This can't be real lol. Basically the law firm saying "we don't trust our associates or treat them like adults in any way".

[Sackboy]

isnt this basically just 3 days a week like other firms are doing? Not sure what the fuss is abour

That's my thinking. This doesn't seem that bad to me?

3 days a week would be 6/10 business days. 7/10 business days is requiring you to come in at least 4 days every other week. It's overly restrictive and comically paternalistic.

[Anonymous User]

I'm at S&C and the 3 days a week is really not mandatory at all. Friends at other firms also have had same experience. Yeah it's 3 days a week but half the teams are on zoom anyway and no one has given a shit yet. Id be shocked if DPW was any different. The problem is law attracts hall monitors so a portion of every level has people who can't fathom not following the rules and/or are deathly afraid of being perceived as not following the rules. Just be smart about it and you'll be able to remote far more than the "mandatory" rules suggest (At least until 2022).

[Anonymous User]

To the people saying 3x/week isn't that bad - my question is why is there a rule at all? At my firm, it's come in when you need to come in. If you're working for a partner that loves in-person meetings, well that sucks but you're going to come in.

If you're team doesn't care and everything is over phone/skype - stay at home as much as you please. Basically, there's no stupid, hard and fast rule of 3-4x/week. We're trusted to use our judgment as professional adults to determine our own schedules and working flexibility.

There's some things I wish we did differently, but I'm really happy we do wfh flexibility right.

[jotarokujo]

rise of the delta variant might put everyone back on wfh until we all get boosters

[Anonymous User]

rise of the delta variant might put everyone back on wfh until we all get boosters

I've been thinking about this. I'm at S&C and I wonder what it would take for the firm to back away from the return to office now that everyone is back. I imagine firms who have brought people back don't want to reverse course, especially firms with returns months earlier than the rest of the market.

Cases are creeping up a bit in NYC although they're still very low. Will be interesting to see how firms handle it if/when cases spike again.

[blair.waldorf]

isnt this basically just 3 days a week like other firms are doing? Not sure what the fuss is abour

Personally, the “one week of remote work without using vacation” would be what makes me mad. I will come in 5 days a week 75% of the time if I can take a week or two whenever I feel like it to work from my parents place on the beach and spend time with them.

Also, lol at anyone forcing me to use a vacation day if I’m working the entire time, just not in the office.

[Anonymous User]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

[Anonymous User]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

Official policy is 20 days for first to fourth year associates and 25 days for fifth year and above

[Anonymous User]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

Official policy is 20 days for first to fourth year associates and 25 days for fifth year and above

Huh, this thread is interesting. At my law school DPW had the reputation of being the "cool" white shoe firm but this wfh policy and the vacation policy are awful. Like, strictly worse than peer firms awful.

[Anonymous User]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

Official policy is 20 days for first to fourth year associates and 25 days for fifth year and above

Huh, this thread is interesting. At my law school DPW had the reputation of being the "cool" white shoe firm but this wfh policy and the vacation policy are awful. Like, strictly worse than peer firms awful.

Not sure how DPW's vacation policy is worse than an unlimited one.

[Wubbles]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

Official policy is 20 days for first to fourth year associates and 25 days for fifth year and above

Huh, this thread is interesting. At my law school DPW had the reputation of being the "cool" white shoe firm but this wfh policy and the vacation policy are awful. Like, strictly worse than peer firms awful.

The wfh policy aside, that vacation policy is actually head and shoulders above many firms. In some states, a set number of vacation days means you get paid out for the unused days when you end your employment. 20 days is at the upper limit of what an associate at most firms could expect to take, so if you take less, you still get paid for them (and it also usually results in them being encouraged to be used more often). At firms with unlimited vacation, no one knows how much to use and when you inevitably don't end up using your "unlimited" vacation you don't get paid for it.

[Anonymous User]

Curious to know if people are more or less inclined to take a vacation if they know they're "paying" for it? I was in a tough financial situation at one point and made the hard decision to forego vacation so I could get paid. Now I have unlimited vacation and I use it way more liberally because I know I'm hitting my max salary.

[ithrowds]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

Official policy is 20 days for first to fourth year associates and 25 days for fifth year and above

Huh, this thread is interesting. At my law school DPW had the reputation of being the "cool" white shoe firm but this wfh policy and the vacation policy are awful. Like, strictly worse than peer firms awful.

I’m not a DPW associate - but felt compelled to reply that having a set number vacation days is WAY BETTER than an “unlimited” policy.

For one, people with “unlimited” vacation hardly take more than 15-20 days off a year anyway, but more importantly - you don’t accrue vacation time and there is nothing to pay out when you leave the firm (since, it’s technically “unlimited”). When I left my last firm, they had to pay me a month and a half worth of salary that I’d accrued in vacation and unused over a few years.

[Anonymous User]

Curious to know if people are more or less inclined to take a vacation if they know they're "paying" for it? I was in a tough financial situation at one point and made the hard decision to forego vacation so I could get paid. Now I have unlimited vacation and I use it way more liberally because I know I'm hitting my max salary.

Most places limit the amount of vacation you can save unused (like a months worth), so you’re incentivized to use your vacation days or lose them.

[Idontwanttomakeaname]

Does DPW actually limit vacation days? I thought nearly all firms were on a "unlimited vacation so long as you hit your billables" policy.

Official policy is 20 days for first to fourth year associates and 25 days for fifth year and above

Huh, this thread is interesting. At my law school DPW had the reputation of being the "cool" white shoe firm but this wfh policy and the vacation policy are awful. Like, strictly worse than peer firms awful.

I’m not a DPW associate - but felt compelled to reply that having a set number vacation days is WAY BETTER than an “unlimited” policy.

For one, people with “unlimited” vacation hardly take more than 15-20 days off a year anyway, but more importantly - you don’t accrue vacation time and there is nothing to pay out when you leave the firm (since, it’s technically “unlimited”). When I left my last firm, they had to pay me a month and a half worth of salary that I’d accrued in vacation and unused over a few years.

Also not at DPW but at a firm with a similar policy: I have taken 100% of my vacation every year while my friends at “unlimited” firms end up taking way less. Unlimited vacation is a scam