Law Society Joins Latham, Cleary and Others In Remote-Working Push

Latham & Watkins, Eversheds Sutherland, CMS and the Law Society of England and Wales are the latest legal industry players to implement remote-working strategies as the disruption caused by COVID-19 grows.

McDermott Will & Emery, CMS, Osborne Clarke, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Fieldfisher are also among the latest firms encouraging remote-working strategies.

The Law Society of England and Wales has also asked its staff to work from home, while the University of Law has issued updated advice and cancelled all face-to-face teaching indefinitely.

A person at Latham & Watkins said that the firm’s offices remain open in all locations except where there is a nationwide lockdown, adding that “the vast majority of our lawyers and professional staff are working remotely”.

In a statement on the firm’s website, Latham chairman Rich Trobman said that the firm has a ”robust technology infrastructure that enables our lawyers and professional staff to provide world class service to our clients both in and out of the office”.

“Our lawyers have had the option for remote working for many years and our professional staff have now been enabled to do the same,” he added. “We are and will continue to provide the same seamless, uninterrupted, and secure service which you expect.”

According to a spokesperson for U.K. top 50 firm Osborne Clarke, the firm undertook a stress test yesterday of its remote working systems, and that it is now “supporting all staff to work from home if possible.”

The spokesperson added that in the U.K., the firm’s offices in Bristol, London and Reading are all open and accessible for those who wish to come in, although this is being kept under review.

Fellow top 50 U.K. outfit Fieldfisher managing partner Michael Chissick confirmed the firm is encouraging all its people to work from home where possible, while a spokesperson for CMS said in a statement that, although the majority of the firm’s offices remain open, “home working is being recommended where possible and staff are being advised to avoid all but essential travel.”

According to one person at Cleary, staff across the firm’s global network are being encouraged to work from home where possible, and the same measure has been rolled out across  McDermott’s global offices, according to a London partner at the firm.

Eversheds Sutherland, meanwhile, has requested its teams in the U.S., U.K., Continental Europe and the Middle East to work remotely wherever possible, according to a statement by the firm.

Meanwhile the University of Law has extended its cancellation of all face-to-face classes and postponement of assessments indefinitely, and will close all its campuses from this Friday.

In an email sent to students on Tuesday, the university’s vice chancellor and CEO, Professor Andrea Nollent, said the university has taken the decision “to stop all face to face teaching and assessment from 17:30 today until further notice.”

The email stated that all of the university’s physical campuses will close, “with a skeleton staff only remaining,” until further notice. Students can visit their campuses to collect materials and equipment until then, it added.

On Monday, the university had emailed its students to inform them it had cancelled all face-to face classes until mid-April.

Meanwhile, the Law Society, the professional body for all solicitors in England and Wales, is now encouraging its employees to work remotely where possible.

It has also cancelled all face-to-face meetings until the end of July. The organisation is offering full refunds to anyone who has already registered and paid to attend an events, according to a statement on its website.

A spokesperson for the organisation said in a statement to Legal Week: “We take the welfare of our staff very seriously and – in line with government advice – we have today taken the decision that where possible Law Society employees should work remotely.”

Linklaters, Dechert and King & Spalding are among the latest firms to have issued new guidance on working from home.

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