Law Firms
4 days per week in the office gains steam as 3 more BigLaw firms announce stricter policies
Various large law firms have announced plans to require four days of in-person work, starting in 2026. (Photo by Cecilie_Arcurs/Getty Images)
Three more BigLaw firms announced four-days-per-week attendance policies this week as the move for more time in the office picks up.
According to Law.com, the three law firms are:
• Cooley, which will require four days per week for U.S. and European lawyers beginning Jan. 1.
• Goodwin Procter, which will require in-office attendance Monday through Thursday for U.S. and U.K. lawyers beginning Jan. 5.
• Dechert, which will require four days in the office for junior associates and business professionals beginning Feb. 2. Partners are already required to be in the office four days per week. Higher-level associates and counsel need to be in the office only three days per week.
According to previous reports by Reuters, Law.com, Above the Law and Law360, other law firms that require four days per week include:
• A&O Shearman
• Covington & Burling
• Davis Polk & Wardwell
• DLA Piper
• Duane Morris
• Hogan Lovells
• Latham & Watkins (in New York)
• Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
• Ropes & Gray
• Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
• Sidley Austin
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
• Weil, Gotshal & Manges
• Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr
• Vinson & Elkins
• White & Case
Sullivan & Cromwell, meanwhile, expects five days per week in the office, according to a revision in its office manual.
Three days per week are still common, however, according to a March survey of 675 legal professionals in private law firms by Law360 Pulse.
Sixty-four percent of legal professionals said their firms have formal attendance policies, according to the survey. Of that group, 71% have hybrid schedules. And in that group, a majority—54%—said they are expected to be in the office three days per week.
The survey found that large law firms were “far more likely to have structured, formal office attendance policies in place,” the article reported. Even in firms without formal polices, 64% said they were still encouraged to come into the office, with 35% reporting they were encouraged to be there at least five days per week and 26% reporting they were encouraged to be there three days.
A majority of the respondents were associates and equity partners. Other attorneys and professional staff also responded to the survey.
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