Not all large U.S. law firms have said good riddance to remote lawyering since the pandemic.
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.
The initiative will give the 19-office, 327-lawyer firm an edge in recruiting and retaining talent by offering flexibility, its leaders said.
"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."
Many law firms retained some work-from-home flexibility since the pandemic, when the industry briefly abandoned offices en masse. Most have moved away from allowing fully remote work, arguing that it can erode attorney mentoring and client service.
Fifty six percent of respondents to a recent survey said their firm requires lawyers to come in at least three days per week, according to an April report by the Thomson Reuters Institute, which shares the same parent company as Reuters. The data included 350 responses from 105 U.S. law firms.
Fennemore is not the only large, traditional law firm to offer a fully remote option, however. Midwest-founded national firm Husch Blackwell launched a virtual "office" in July 2020 that lets participants "work from the location that makes the most sense for the individual," according to the 1,000-lawyer firm's website.
The program has grown from around 50 lawyers and staff when it launched to more than 700 people in total now, including nearly 230 lawyers, a Husch Blackwell spokesperson said.
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a 1,000-lawyer litigation firm, adopted a policy in December 2021 that allows its U.S. lawyers to "work from anywhere," with access to an "office base," indefinitely.
Andrew Rossman, co-managing partner of the firm's New York office, said in a statement the Quinn Emanuel program has been successful and currently has "well in excess" of 50 lawyers.
Fennemore's new program, dubbed Fennemore Forward, already has 53 remote employees, including 18 lawyers and 35 legal professionals, including people who worked at the firm but have moved to cities without physical offices, Goodnow said.
Goodnow said there will be no difference in compensation based solely on lawyers' remote or in-person status.
The program's director, Chris Wilson, said it will primarily recruit senior attorneys at the partner level who have books of business "sufficient to sort of support themselves". He anticipates between 50 and 100 lawyers working remotely as part of the program after a few years.
Wilson said the initiative stands out by providing a strong support system for people who need or want to work remotely. Goodnow said Fennemore's infrastructure and in-person network also differentiates its program from fully virtual, or so-called "distributed" firms. Remote lawyers have access to Fennemore's physical offices and events, he said.
Early pandemic-era remote work was a boon to virtual firms, where all or nearly all lawyers primarily practice remotely. Wilson, a corporate and finance attorney, joined Fennemore a year ago to spearhead its remote program after roles at two virtual or hybrid firms, Taylor English Duma and FisherBroyles.
Originally published by Reuters, July 9, 2024.
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