Law firms coming back to office (and this time they mean it) - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
Many of the downtown Minneapolis employers revised their return-to-work plans recently because of the Covid-19 delta variant — and now some of them are gearing up again to bring employees back in a more meaningful fashion.
Fredrikson & Byron
The largest law firm in the Twin Cities by attorney count is taking it slow. The firm had plans to bring employees back several months ago, but scrapped them because of the Covid-19 delta variant.
"Given the current Covid-19 transmission rates, our Minnesota offices remain in voluntary return-to-office status," a spokesperson said. "We have not set an official return-to-the-office date at this time. When we do, we will be operating on a hybrid basis."
The firm has about 280 attorneys in the metro area.
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath's roughly 250 Twin Cities-based attorneys are back in the office one day a week.
"On Nov. 1, 2021, Faegre Drinker initiated a transition period leading up to a full implementation of Phase 2 of the firm's hybrid workplace model, currently planned for early 2022," the firm said. "During this transition period, all colleagues with hybrid roles — including the firm's attorneys and consulting professionals, paraprofessionals, legal administrative assistants and most of our operations professionals — are expected to work on-site one day per week starting Nov. 1 through the end of the year."
It's unclear when or if the firm's employees will return to its downtown Minneapolis office on a more permanent basis.
Dorsey & Whitney
The largest law firm headquartered in Minneapolis is bringing people back Jan. 18, said Jeri Longtin-Kloss, the firm's brand evangelist and marketing communication specialist.
"Starting Jan. 18, lawyers and staff will have the option of a hybrid work arrangement. Dorsey expects lawyers and many staff roles to resume working in U.S. offices on at least a 50% basis," she said in an email to the Business Journal. "We have had lawyers and staff working in the office throughout the pandemic and have seen an increase of people coming into the office in October."
Dorsey has about 210 attorneys in the Twin Cities.
Robins Kaplan
The firm, which has about 130 attorneys in the Twin Cities, suspended its return-to-work policy recently. Employees can come into the office voluntarily for now; the firm will mandate it soon.
"A couple of weeks ago, we suspended our return-to-office policy," said Ronald Schutz, chairman of the firm’s executive board. "Our return to office three days a week policy goes back into effect mid-January."
Taft Stettinius & Hollister
Taft has been one of the more aggressive firms when it comes to bringing employees back — although it's now softening a bit.
"As you know, we had a full return to the office on June 1. We have maintained our status quo of being in the office more than not," said Justin Weinberg, partner-in-charge of Taft’s Minneapolis office. "But with that, we do have flexibility across all positions in the firm to work from home under a pilot program we announced Nov. 1."
Taft has more than 140 attorneys in the Twin Cities, and finished a renovation of its IDS Center offices earlier this year. (See below)
Largest Law Firms in the Twin Cities
Ranked by Attorneys in the metro area as of Dec. 1, 2020
| Rank | Name | Attorneys in the metro area as of Dec. 1, 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fredrikson & Byron | 265 |
| 2 | Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | 258 |
| 3 | Dorsey & Whitney | 213 |
| View This List | ||
source: https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2021/12/13/twin-cities-law-firms-december-2021.html
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