Associates at top US law firms kept heading to the office this week, even as corporate America switched to remote work

Associated Press

Pedestrian uses her phone while wearing a face mask in Herald Square, Thursday, March 12, 2020, in New York. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he will announce new restrictions on gatherings to halt the spread of the new coronavirus in the coming days, but he hopes to avoid closing all public events such as Broadway shows. For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms. For some it can cause more severe illness. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

• As the coronavirus spread throughout the globe and with large companies like Microsoft, Google and Twitter instructing employees to work from home, associates at the most elite Manhattan law firms continued to show up for work this week, business as usual.
• Law firms including Dechert, Wachtell Lipton, and Cravath Swaine & Moore, were still open as of Friday, according to sources close to the firms and internal memos seen by Business Insider.
• The communications illustrate the all-hands-on-deck work environment at the nation's top law firms, where associates toil around the clock for Fortune 500 companies to handle their most pressing problems.

Much of corporate America switched to working from home this week. Associates at top Manhattan law firms kept heading to the office.

Firms like Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Dechert issued memos to update their associates on work policies in light of the coronavirus, but did not instruct them to work from home, according to internal communications seen by Business Insider.

Faisa Saeed, Cravath's presiding partner, told staff in a memo on March 11 that if they were concerned about mass transit, they could discuss the "feasibility" of working remotely with their supervisor, but noted that the expectation was for the office to stay "well-staffed."

The next day, however, she encouraged attorneys who wanted to work remotely during the month of March to do so, before adding: "The New York and London office will remain open and accessible to anyone wishing to work in the office."

"In the event that remote work becomes necessary, be sure you know your options," said a memo sent March 12 to all associates by Dechert's chair Andrew Levander and CEO Harry Nassau.

The communications illustrate the all-hands-on-deck work environment at the nation's top law firms, where associates toil around the clock for Fortune 500 clients to handle their most pressing problems.

Life of an associate at a major law firm comes with a fat paycheck, with salaries ranging from $190,000 for the most junior, to $350,000 for senior associates with nine years experience.

But the job can also mean demanding bosses who require their nearly 24/7 attention.

Senior partners contacted by Business Insider about the current policies said that they weren't surprised and that it seemed normal, given the high-pressure demands that come with a career at a major law firm.

To be sure, not all law firms are staying open, with Reed Smith telling employees to work from home, and Quinn Emanuel shutting down its New York office after one of its partners tested positive for the coronavirus.

Other firms, however, are not taking such measures, even as corporate clients implement work-from-home policies designed to reduce the chance of transmission.

Among the corporations that have reportedly told employees to work from home are Amazon, Google, Chevron, and Apple.

Big Wall Street banks like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan have told New York-based employees to start working from home in shifts.

One other law firm whose New York office has stayed open was Wachtell Lipton, according to people familiar with the matter, though one insider said attorneys were told they could work from home so long as they could "meet the demands of clients with the same standards of excellence."

"It's not unpatriotic," said this person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal firm policy. "Companies are under serious distress."

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