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Effective Hybrid Work Polices Need a Stick to Go with the Carrot

By Anthony Davies
September 01, 2023

That the pace of change is "accelerating" is surely an understatement. What seemed almost a near certainty a year ago — that law firms would fully and permanently embrace work-from-home — is experiencing a seeming reversal. While many firms have, in fact, embraced hybrid operations, the meaning of hybrid has evolved from "office optional," to an average required 2 days a week, to now many firms coming out with four-day work week mandates — this time, with teeth.

Without the teeth, what most firms saw over the past 18 months was high rates of non-compliance with RTO policies. Forrest Solutions conducted a survey earlier this year, showing that while the majority of firms (93%) had RTO policies in place, 94% of attorneys were not complying with the policies. This meant, for firms with 2-3 required days in the office in their RTO policy, firms were, on average, experiencing 1-2 days of office time for their attorneys. Id.

We are now seeing a significant uptick in firms putting teeth to their policies. Some law firm measures include linking time in the office to bonus qualifications, some to partnership opportunities, some to both. Specific announcements include the Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom announcement in May that employees must work from the office for a minimum of four days a week, and others, including Paul Hastings, Milbank and Davis Polk & Wardwell, are taking similar stances.

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