Eversheds Sutherland will devote an entire floor of its London office to a “bring your dog to work day” later this year.
The firm is gearing up to run the well-being initiative in the next few months, in partnership with Suffolk-based dog trainers Canine Creche Group.
Trainers will be in the office all day to assist with any needs the owners or dogs may have, and provide owners with advice on best practice for dog ownership.
The day will take place on a floor of Eversheds’ London office. Any staff who work on the chosen floor will be able to hot-desk around the building if they suffer from allergies or have any other issues.
Eversheds Sutherland co-CEO Lee Ranson, who is the owner of two dogs, was the key driver in establishing the firm’s first animal-friendly office day.
Ranson said: “We’ve been considering this for a while and, having received universally positive feedback on the concept, I am really keen that we make this happen.
“The health and wellbeing of our people is critical to us and we think this will be a fun and enjoyable addition to our varied programme of wellbeing events. I look forward to hosting our canine friends at Eversheds Sutherland.”
The idea for the day is understood to have been partly inspired by Polo – the dog of real estate partner Richard Lampert, Polo has regularly been to the firm’s office on Fridays.
If successful, the firm is open to making it a more regular event. Pets have been linked to helping people live mentally healthier lives, with many law firms conscious of the need to support their staff in the workplace through a variety of initiatives. Hogan Lovells, for example, brought in on-site psychologists in New York and Washington DC last year as part of its “wellness programme”.
Eversheds Sutherland is now into its seventh month as a merged firm after the legacy UK practice combined with Atlanta-founded Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.
The tie-up created a £600m-revenue firm with more than 530 partners and 2,000 lawyers across 61 offices in 29 countries, with seven offices across the US alone.
