For the whole month of August, US company Shearman & Sterling is allowing all of its London employees the opportunity to work remotely.
Following an internal corporate poll regarding its working rules, the remote option includes trainees. Lawyers at Shearman presently work a hybrid schedule that requires them to come into the office at least three days each week.
“We are implementing this initiative to encourage productivity and support the wellbeing of our most important asset, our people. New working practices have been formalised over the past few months and hybrid and remote working are now commonplace within the legal industry and many others. During the pandemic all of our people demonstrated they could continue to meet client service expectations whilst working remotely. We, like so many firms, see value in being in the office together regularly, while also being able to provide our people more flexibility.”Matthew Readings, head of Shearman’s London office
A three or four day in-office work week is becoming common in many law firms. Some of them are even allowing permanent remote work. For instance, RPC has permitted permanent home working for employees and attorneys as long as it doesn’t interfere with client care or teamwork.
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