The Peloton Obsession: Fad or Wellness Tool For Law Firms?

Remember the Thighmaster? How about Jazzercise? Workout DVDs? There has been no shortage of exercise fads in recent decades.

It would be easy—but inaccurate—to put Big Law’s interest in Peloton in the fad category. Several firms have instituted Peloton groups, and one even purchased the equipment for its people. The Peloton name has been dropped in countless conversations between Law.com reporters and law firm leaders and personnel in the past 18 months, particularly when the topic of conversation was wellness and work-from-home survival tactics. 

While the pandemic was a catalyst for interest in home workouts, there is a bit more to Peloton that makes it almost the perfect fit for attorneys and business professionals at law firms looking to blow off steam and connect with other active colleagues.

The platform allows users to share workout scores, appealing to attorneys’ competitive tendencies. And, perhaps most importantly, it can build a sense of community and inclusiveness that transcends the hierarchical structure of your typical law firm. 

In a time when law firms have been starved for community connection and eager to maintain firm culture, many have seized on that opportunity.

‘Lawyers Are Competitive’

“I think Peloton has become the cool thing to do,” Margaux Trammell, director of professional development at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, said. “And you see it in a lot of law firms as the ‘new thing.’”

It isn’t new for Brownstein. Trammell said the firm started with a small group about four years ago.

“What was really cool about that first group is that we had our former managing partner, our future managing partner [Rich Benenson] as well as associates,” Trammell said. “Now we have staff and people from almost every department. The group was created to hold ourselves accountable and keep ourselves motivated.”

But the group setting provides more than just motivation for a workout. 

“Lawyers are competitive,” Brownstein’s managing partner Benenson said. “And they want to please and do well. They got good grades in school and they maintain that mindset. There is a competitive dynamic that appeals to lawyers.”

Friendly competition builds bonds and creates community. Ask anyone who has played a sport against someone else over the years.

While competition within a law firm is nothing novel, this venue for friendly face-offs may be a newer concept for law firms. 

Trammell said she has used the Peloton group as both a recruiting tool as well as a way for her to get to know her new people, especially during the pandemic where in-person, casual encounters aren’t always in the cards. And it helps her get them to send their administrative work in on time.  

“I am shameless in using this as a tool for onboarding,” Trammell said. “I use it to integrate new associates into the fold and, I believe since I have been in charge of our Peloton challenge, I haven’t had any issues getting department heads to get their evaluations in on time. They know they will be penalized by the group.”

Making It Official

Russell Yankwitt, founder and partner at litigation boutique Yankwitt LLP in White Plains, New York, went all in on Peloton for his people. He bought one for each of his 20 employees. 

“Everyone received a Peloton,” he said. “Everyone.”

That may not be scalable for a firm like Yankwitt’s former outfit, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. But Yankwitt sees not only a physical and mental health element to his gift but also a tool for retaining his people. 

“We have never lost an attorney that I didn’t want to lose,” he said. “Everyone that has been a great attorney for us has stayed, and doing things like Peloton as a group helps. Doing these things keeps people together. The law is a competitive business, and we have never been poached.”

O’Melveny & Myers also decided to go big on Peloton. With hundreds of lawyers, it’s not economically feasible for the firm to purchase the hardware for its entire workforce. Instead, starting Oct. 6, all U.S.-based O’Melveny employees will receive free access to a Peloton Digital Membership or subsidized pricing for an All-Access Membership as well as preferred pricing for the Peloton Bike and Bike+.

George Demos, chief operating officer at O’Melveny and architect of the collaboration, said he sees the benefits of this partnership not in terms of a fad or one-off, but rather as an important spoke in the wheel of wellness the firm is trying to maintain. 

“When Peloton launched its corporate program in June of this year, I thought this would be a terrific opportunity to add to our physical and emotional well-being components,” he said. “We don’t see this as a momentary thing. Our vision is that it is something that is lasting and can be part of the firm’s overall DNA.”

Brad Butwin, chair of O’Melveny and no stranger to Peloton himself (or how difficult it can be to share one bike with multiple family members under lockdown), said he also sees the apparatus and platform as a wellness tool, not just an exercise bike. 

“Apart from the machinery, there is this whole digital world that is tapped into Peloton, through apps that include meditation, yoga, stretching and more. This alone isn’t our wellness program, but it can be an important part of it,” he said.

It can be difficult to bring staff, attorneys, young associates, older partners, new laterals and firm leadership together on issues not directly related to work. The pandemic only made that more challenging, by removing many of the usual options for social interaction.

But on an exercise bike, and connected by a digital app, these colleagues can for a short time exist in what is about the cleanest form of meritocracy one will find in a law firm. 

“In our Peloton group, there is no hierarchy based on their position at the firm,” Benenson, of Brownstein, said. “It is based on your scores and your banter with others. I have had junior associates give me feedback on how slow I am. It is the great equalizer.”