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Getty
Images)
The
KattenFlex
program
planted
a
stake
in
the
legal
landscape,
bucking
the
trend
of
“mandatory
office
creep,”
by
adopting
a
policy
that
elevated
flexibility
allowing
practice
groups
and
individual
professionals
the
freedom
to
figure
out
a
hybrid
path
that
works
for
them.
As
the
firm
declared
at
the
time
“it
‘doesn’t
feel
right’
to
mandate
that
everyone
must
come
into
the
office
a
set
number
of
days.”
So…
Katten
just
informed
attorneys
that
they
need
to
come
in
twice
a
week.
Today,
we
announce
an
update
to
KattenFlex:
beginning
May
1,
the
firm
expects
attorneys
to
work
from
a
Katten
office
a
minimum
of
two
days
per
week.
Additionally,
the
firm
continues
to
expect
that
regardless
of
where
you
are
working,
all
professionals
are
generally
available
during
regular
business
hours
and
as
needed
to
meet
client
demands
after
hours.
It’s
understandable
to
see
this
as
a
retreat
from
the
firm’s
earlier
laissez-faire
policy
because
it
is,
in
fact,
a
retreat.
Every
time
a
firm
blasts
out
a
new
revision
to
bring
people
back
to
the
office,
it
will
rankle
attorneys
who
thought
they
were
going
to
be
treated
as
true
professionals.
But
in
an
industry
marching
toward
four-day
attendance
policies
and
paranoid
surveillance,
let’s
focus
on
what
Katten
is
still
getting
right.
Katten
stresses
that
the
expectation
is
not
a
mandate
or
requirement,
but
an
effort
to
set
some
consistency.
The
program
amendment
is
a
mere
two
days,
offering
attorneys
more
freedom
from
commuting
than
peer
firms.
And
the
mandate
does
not
set
specific
days
to
come
in,
continuing
to
give
groups
and
their
attorneys
the
flexibility
to
choose.
Ultimately
that’s
more
important
than
the
number
of
days
required.
Attorneys
want
to
be
able
to
say,
“I
can
come
in,
but,
for
me,
I
need
to
be
home
on
Wednesdays
because
that’s
the
day
I
have
to
handle
school
car
pool”
or
whatever
it
is.
The
announcement
even
stresses
“we
are
keeping
the
‘flex’
in
KattenFlex,
a
key
component
of
Katten’s
supportive
workplace
environment.”
That
said,
the
announcement
might
be
too
loosey-goosey.
However,
select
legal
departments
or
practice
groups
may
choose
to
require
or
designate
specific
days
for
in-office
attendance
or
for
a
specific
number
of
days
per
week.
Your
legal
department
or
practice
group
will
provide
additional
guidance.
This
is
the
sort
of
exception
that
risks
swallowing
the
rule.
Katten’s
memo
suggests
that
leadership
intends
to
work
with
practice
groups
to
prevent
groups
from
invalidating
the
spirit
of
the
rule,
but
it
still
extends
an
awful
lot
of
latitude
to
partners
itching
to
bring
everyone
back
in.
Fully
remote
work
was
never
going
to
take
hold
across
Biglaw.
The
stakes
are
too
high,
the
importance
of
providing
practical
training
to
young
associates
too
engrained,
and
the
partner
egos
too
brittle.
But
firms
that
protect
attorney
flexibility
will
earn
themselves
a
consistent
advantage
in
recruitment
and
retention.
Katten’s
new
policy
walked
back
some
of
core
features
while
claiming
to
preserve
others.
How
much
of
a
retreat
this
turns
out
to
be
is
now
up
to
the
implementation.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
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