As
Biglaw
bonuses
continue
to
be
announced
with
much
fanfare
from
associates,
some
firms
are
hoping
to
slip
their
less-than
desirable
announcements
in
under
the
radar.
When
associates
are
constantly
refreshing
their
emails
in
the
hope
of
seeing
bonus
news,
no
one
wants
to
instead
see
a
memo
about
an
increase
to
their
in-office
facetime,
but
here
we
are.
Earlier
this
week,
Reed
Smith
—
a
firm
that
brought
in
$1,504,888,000
gross
revenue
in
2024,
putting
it
at
No.
37
on
the
most
recent
Am
Law
100
—
notified
associates
that
beginning
on
January
5,
2026,
they’d
be
expected
to
work
from
the
office
four
days
each
week.
To
say
that
associates
are
displeased
with
the
inopportune
timing
of
the
announcement
would
be
quite
the
understatement.
While
associates
at
other
firms
are
being
rewarded
with
six-figure
bonuses,
associates
at
Reed
Smith
are
being
rewarded
with
…
additional
office
days.
No
wonder
they’re
upset.
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; Dechert
(junior
associates);
DLA
Piper (corporate
associates); Goodwin; 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 Lin