A growing cohort of law firms have introduced formal agile working policies in the last 12 months. Here’s a run-down of the firms that are have flexible working schemes in place or are thinking about implementing them.
Agile and flexible working: who’s doing what?
Berwin Leighton Paisner: Agile working policies that currently vary by office.
BLM: Has introduced agile working for staff in its London office
Clifford Chance: London managing partner David Bickerton is encouraging partners to work from home when possible.
DAC Beachcroft: Has made Leeds an ‘agile office’ where all lawyers hot-desk.
Dentons: UK partners, associates and legal executives are permitted to work from home one day a week on an informal basis.
DWF: Has various agile working policies.
Foot Anstey: Piloting a ‘warm-desking’ policy for 12 months.
Herbert Smith Freehills: Lawyers can work from home one day a week.
Macfarlanes: All lawyers will be able work from home for one day per fortnight from August 2016.
Mayer Brown: Piloting agile working in its construction department, with management to report on the results of the trial to the partnership in July.
Mishcon de Reya: Managing partner Kevin Gold has told his lawyers they can work as many or as few days as they want.
Nabarro: Fee earners can work from home one day a week.
Olswang: Will offer agile working to all staff by 2017.
Schillings: Offering voluntary agile working to lawyers and staff (with the exception of paralegals, legal secretaries and client services staff) and suggests employees should come in two days per week
Shearman & Sterling: Has informal policy but reviewing its thinking on agile working for London lawyers after it introduced a policy to allow its US-based associates to work from home two days a month.
Slaughter and May: Trialling flexible working scheme this week that allows associates and partners to work from home one day per fortnight.
Wedlake Bell: ‘Experimenting’ with agile working.
White & Case: Agile working policy encourages staff to work remotely on an ad hoc basis, while a flexible working programme allows staff to have regular arrangements to work from home.