Last
week,
employees
at
Debevoise
&
Plimpton’s
New
York
office
had
a
terrifying
experience
that
is
far
too
common
in
this
country.
An
emergency
notification
went
out
through
the
building,
informing
of
an
active
shooter
in
the
area.
Fortunately,
the
alert,
which
was
sent
out
based
on
information
from
law
enforcement,
was
a
false
alarm
and
there
was
no
danger.
But,
as
an
office-wide
email
confirmed,
it
naturally
caused
“a
great
deal
of
fear,
concern,
and
likely
some
confusion.”
The
cold,
hard
reality
is
that
Biglaw
firms
around
the
United
States
—
like
schools
and
hospitals
and
movie
theaters
and
concert
venues
and
parades
and
nightclubs
and
malls
and
bars
and
churches
and
splashpads
and
literally
everywhere
else
—
have
to
plan
for
this
increasingly
likely
event.
A
point
underscored
by
this
summer’s
deadly
shooting
at
345
Park
Avenue,
where
Loeb
&
Loeb
is
located.
A
firm
spokesperson
told
Above
the
Law,
“building
management
reported
an
active
assailant
incident
based
on
information
from
law
enforcement,
which
was
soon
confirmed
to
be
a
false
alarm. The
safety
and
well
being
of
our
people
is
our
foremost
priority.
Like
any
large
organization,
we
regularly
evaluate
and
improve
our
emergency
protocols,
and
continue
to
do
so
in
the
wake
of
this
week’s
incident.”
In
addition
to
the
logistics
of
security,
there’s
also
the
real,
human
element
to
the
planning.
Indeed,
a
tipster
at
the
firm
said
that
even
though
it
was
a
false
alarm,
it
was
challenging
to
“get back
to
‘business
as
usual,’” after
the
stark
reminder
of
the
fragility
of
safety.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].