More and more Biglaw firms are mandating that associates work from the office four days each week. The holiday decorations won’t even be packed away before reality hits at the latest top firm to announce an increased in-office attendance policy — or, in the firm’s words, “doubl[ing] down on the power of presence.”
Goodwin — a firm that brought in $2,448,850,000 gross revenue in 2024, putting it at No. 19 on the Am Law 100 — recently announced in a memo viewed by Above the Law that it will upping the ante on its in-person attendance requirement to four days each week. Come January 5, 2026, the firm will be expecting attorneys to be at their desks Monday through Thursday each week, with Friday remaining an optional day to work from the office or from home. What a way to spend the new year….
Thankfully, Goodwin seems to be keen on flexibility, and will be removing personal attendance dashboards for attorneys, encouraging everyone to instead focus on “developing the habit of intentional engagement and getting the most out of our time with one another.” The firm is also adding additional flexible options for attorneys in the lead-up to its new policy:
We recognize this is a shift, and we want to make the transition as smooth as possible. To support you during this time, we are adding an extra work-from-anywhere week in December between Christmas and the New Year. We are also introducing Thrive Back, a new re-entry program for colleagues returning from leave.
Flexibility remains a core value and we appreciate that life happens. Necessary focus time, medical appointments, or your child’s school play are real human obligations – among countless others – that we make space for. We are confident in our collective ability to adhere to professional responsibilities while also managing the necessities of our everyday lives.
Quite a few Biglaw firms are now requiring four days in the office firmwide, including the likes of A&O Shearman; Cooley; Covington; Davis Polk; DLA Piper (corporate associates); Hogan Lovells; Latham; Paul Weiss; Ropes & Gray; Sidley; Simpson Thacher; Skadden; Vinson & Elkins; Weil Gotshal; WilmerHale; and White & Case. Sullivan & Cromwell has taken its attendance policy one step further, requiring attorneys to work from the office five days each week.
As soon as you find out about office attendance plans at your firm, please email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Office Reopening”) or text us at (646) 820-8477. We always keep our sources on stories anonymous. There’s no need to send a memo (if one exists) using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. If a memo has been circulated, please be sure to include it as proof; we like to post complete memos as a service to our readers. You can take a photo of the memo and attach as a picture if you are worried about metadata in a PDF or Word file. Thanks.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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