Will this become a new industry standard?
Weil, Gotshal & Manges has become the latest BigLaw firm to roll out a four-day work week policy, announcing that it would be requiring its U.S. lawyers to report for work on-site four days every week effective this September.
On Tuesday, Weil, Gotshal & Manges circulated a firmwide memo viewed by Reuters which said its U.S. lawyers would only be expected to work in the office from Monday to Thursday beginning September 5, leaving Friday as a flexible workday. The decision was made after Weil management had had the opportunity to study similar office policies implemented by other law firms as well as by its business clients.
"Over the past year, we have all seen the many benefits that come with people working regularly in-person – especially with the predictability of knowing people will be in consistently on the same days," the memo said. Among the benefits Weil management expected to see alongside the work week shift was improved attorney mentorship, professional development, and better morale among its lawyers, Reuters reported.
Weil also announced that its associates and counsel would get 12 “flexible remote” days every year in addition to flexible Fridays, following a similar remote-day “bank” practice by Davis Polk & Wardwell which gave its lawyers and staff 16 days on which they could work out-of-office, on top of existing benefits and flexible work arrangements.
Other BigLaw firms recently announced four-day-work-week policies in recent months – including two law firms which, like Weil, were headquartered in New York – prompting the American Bar Association (ABA) journal to observe that this could become “a new industry standard”.
Since COVID-19 cases began to wane midyear 2022, more and more BigLaw firms have been transitioning away from purely remote work policies to requiring their lawyers to report for work in the office at least three days a week – a trend echoed by multiple business sectors in New York and across the U.S., Reuters reported.
Still, even before the pandemic forced BigLaw leaders to offer employees and associates greater flexibility and the possibility of remote work, lawyers have long entertained the idea of a four-day work week and the boost in productivity and morale it could bring.
In 2019, UK-based Portcullis Legals ran a five-month trial of a four-day work week and, encouraged by its success, eventually rolled the policy out across the firm, giving staff a pay rise to ensure they did not lose out financially. Managing director Trevor Worth reported that his team was happier and more motivated as a result.
